Photo Gallery (by
Sandy King)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Eastern Illinois traveled (7-3) to Champaign, Ill. on Tuesday afternoon and defeat the Fighting Illini of Illinois (3-7) by a score of 4-2.
Ryan Ignoffo extended his three game hitting streak with an RBI double in the third inning. Starting pitcher
Jackson Nichols threw 3.0 innings while giving up one earned run and striking out three.
Zane Robbins lead EIU with five Ks and earned his third save in the last four games.
QUICK STATS:
Ryan Ignoffo: 2-4, 2B, RBI
Logan Eickhoff: 1-4, RBI, R
Lucas DiLuca: 1-4, R
Lincoln Riley: 1-2, 2B, HBP, BB
Tyler Conklin: W (1-0), 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, K
Zane Robbins: S (3), 2.1 IP, 0 H, 3 BB, 5 K
EIU and Illinois both started off the game scoreless. The Fighting Illini's starting pitcher Ty Rybarczyk was able to strikeout one, while
Jackson Nichols for the Panthers had two strikeouts to start the game.
Ryan Ignoffo led off the second with a single which extends his hitting streak to three games. After a double play by Illinois,
Lincoln Riley was hit by a pitch. Riley leads the OVC in hit by pitches with nine and is 2
nd in the NCAA. EIU left two on base in the second. Nichols went three-up three-down in the bottom of the inning.
After a flyout to shallow right field by
Ja'Lil Akbar, Diluca doubled through the gap in right-center field to extend his hitting streak to seven. Eickhoff became the second Panther to be hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second.
Nathan Aide got the Panthers on the board with a single to right field, and an error by the right fielder scored DiLuca. Ignoffo picked up his second hit of the afternoon which scored Eickhoff from third. It was his seventh double of the season.
Illinois answered in the bottom of the third with an RBI single by Danny Doligale to left field. Nichols answered back with a strikeout, and a groundout to shortstop to end the inning.
After going scoreless in the top of the fourth,
Tyler Conklin came in relief of Nichols for the Panthers. Illinois went scoreless as well with their final out coming from a
Grant Lashure throw behind the plate to catch the runner at second.
Cam McDonald led off the bottom of the fifth for Illinois and tied the ballgame at 2-2 with a homerun to right field off of Conklin. EIU would end the inning without any more damage.
Riley managed to lead-off the sixth with a double, and Doyle hit a single to third to put runners on the corners for EIU. Pitcher Izaak Siefken for Illinois threw a pass ball to home which scored Riley from third, and moved Doyle to second. EIU would leave a runner stranded, but went up 3-2. Illinois left the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, after
Chaney Trout was able to get out of the jam.
Illinois was able to get three straight outs in the seventh to hold off the Panthers.
Zane Robbins came in for relief for Trout with two outs and threw one pitch to get a groundout two second. Panthers were held scoreless in the eighth, but Robbins comes back in for the Panthers and struck out three in the bottom half of the inning.
Lashure was able to get Eastern's seventh hit of the night in the top of the ninth to leadoff for EIU.
Ja'Lil Akbar laid down a sac bunt to first base to move Lashure over to second. Eickhoff was able to fight off a pitch down the third baseline to score Lashure from third to put EIU up 4-2. After loading the bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth,
Zane Robbins struck out the final batter to get EIU its seventh win of the season.
The Panther posted four runs on eight hits and no errors. Illinois had two runs on five hits and two errors.
EIU will be back in action on Friday, March 11 against Alabama A&M for a three game series in Huntsville, Ala.
