COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois (10-9, 2-4 OVC) fell in the rubber match of the series to Tennessee Tech (8-6, 4-2 OVC), 9-1. Eastern Illinois sole run came at the hands of
Christian Pena, whose groundout scored
Lucas DiLuca. The Panthers started
Hayden Birdsong in the final game of the series, but the redshirt freshman struggled against the Golden Eagles. He was awarded the loss in the final game of the series. The Panthers will face Illinois State on Tuesday, Mar. 23, at 6 p.m. in Normal, Ill.
QUICK HITS
- Lucas DiLuca went 3-4 from the plate and recorded the Panthers' lone run.
- Foster Anshutz recorded 3.2 innings of relief for the Panthers and struck out two batters.
- Nick Laxner pitched one full inning, allowed one hit, and struck out three batters.Â
- Christian Pena recorded an RBI in today's game.
- The Panthers recorded eight hits overall in Sunday's game.
GAME THREE
DiLuca played strong for the Panthers in the third game of the series. The redshirt junior was the hottest bat for EIU during the game, going 3-4 with three singles. The rest of the Panther bats struggled to put the bat on the ball.Â
The Panthers was sparked by a DiLuca single up the middle to bring up
Logan Eickhoff. Eickhoff drew a walk in four-straight pitches to put runners on first and second.
Trey Sweeney flew out to right field but put the ball deep enough to bring the speedy DiLuca to third base. Eickhoff stole second, his eighth bag of the season. Pena knocked a groundout to the Tennessee Tech shortstop to put the Panthers on the board. EIU was unable to score again as the Panthers fell 9-1.Â
ON DECK
The Panthers will face Illinois State next in Normal, Ill., on Tuesday, Mar. 23, at 6 p.m.
