Tweet #W1NasONE

Eastern Illinois (9-7, 1-2 OVC) at Tennessee Tech (6-5, 2-1 OVC)
GAME NOTES

GAME ONE (DH) | Saturday, Mar. 20, 12:00 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch 

GAME TWO (DH) | Saturday, Mar. 20, 3:00 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch

GAME THREE | Sunday, Mar. 21, 1:00 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch

GOLDEN EAGLES VS. PANTHERS
Eastern Illinois (9-7, 1-2 OVC) travel to Cookeville, Tenn. to take on the Golden Eagles (6-5, 2-1 OVC) for the first time since Mar. 22, 2019. The Panthers haven't played since Mar. 13 due to weather cancelations earlier in the week. The Golden Eagles faced North Alabama on Mar. 16, claiming an 18-4 victory. 

ON THE MOUND
The Panthers are going with the same three starters that started in last week's series: Trevor Nicholson, Ky Hampton, and Hayden Birdsong. Nicholson has been the ace for the Panthers thus far. Nicholson has the third-most strikeouts in the OVC with 27 on the season. The lefty has held opposing batters to a conference-best .138 batting average. Hampton will get the start in game two for EIU. Hampton has pitched well this season despite not having a tremendous amount of K's. Birdsong will get the start in the final game of the series. Birdsong has pitched well for his limited experience. The redshirt freshman has shown plenty of potential with a fastball that blows away opponents. Birdsong has the second-most K's on the Panthers roster with 23.

THE LINEUP
Logan Eickhoff has proved himself as one of the top hitters in the conference since entering the OVC. The redshirt sophomore is batting at a .420 clip and coming off a week where he went 11-18 at the plate. Eickhoff knocked in three doubles against Murray State: the most in a single game since Caleb Howell did it in 2015. Lucas DiLuca has been a solid lead-off man for the Panthers. The infielder is leading the Panthers in total walks 13 and accounts for 14 hits and 14 runs. The Panthers lead the OVC in batting average (.283), hits (156), on-base percentage (.378), and runs (120).

ON DECK
The Panthers are scheduled to host Southeast Missouri for a weekend series. The first game starts on Friday, Mar. 26, at 3 p.m. Game two and three will come in the form of a double-header on Saturday, starting at 11:30 a.m.