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Eastern Illinois (6-6) at Arkansas-Pine Bluff (6-10)

Game One | Tuesday, March 10, 2 p.m.
Live Stats

Game Two  | Wednesday, March 11, 2 p.m.
Live Stats

GAME NOTES:

MID-WEEK WORK: The Panthers will get to play their first few mid-week games against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Panthers are coming off an OVC series against Jacksonville State that saw the Panthers winning two of the three. This was the first time that Eastern defeated the Gamecocks in a series since 2011. APB is coming off a series win against Prairie View A&M. Their largest margin of victory was on Sunday where they put up ten runs. The Panthers currently hold a 6-6 (2-1 OVC) record. Pine Bluff is sitting at 6-10 (3-3 SWAC). 

THE LINEUP: The Panthers had a good outing against the Gamecocks on the weekend, but could still use more production out of the offense. The Panthers put up 11 hits in game one, nine in game two and ten in game three against JSU. Trey Sweeney has been incredible for the Panthers this season so far, as he is riding an 11-game hitting streak. Sweeney also leads the Panthers in RBI with seven on the season. Christian Pena had a big day on Sunday; going 2-3 at the plate and drawing three walks. Ryan Knernschield has been an anchor for Eastern this season. He has started all 12 games at catcher, and represented the winning run in Sunday's big game. Knernschield was running on fumes by the end of game three, but still managed a hit and two RBI.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN LIONS: Arkansas-Pine Bluff has a lot of solid players on their roster, including Humberto Maldonado, who is batting at a .328 clip. Maldonado is the teams leader in home runs (2) and RBI with 15 in his 16 games played. Kacey Higgins isn't far behind with a .326 batting average and four stolen bases. Justin Robinson will be tricky as he has stolen seven bases out of his eight attempts. He is not batting at a great average with .196, but if he gets on the base paths he will be a headache for the pitcher. The Golden Lions winning-est pitcher is Korey Wasson who holds a 2-1 record. Wasson holds and ERA of 3.97, has given up 23 hits, 20 walks and 23 strikeouts. Wasson leads Pine Bluff in most statistics. 

UP NEXT: The Panthers follow this series with another conference series at Murray State. The Racers have one mid-week game against North Alabama, but are coming off a series against Austin Peay. In the Sunday game against the Governors, the Racers put up 20 runs while holding APSU to two runs.