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Eastern Illinois (25-9, 7-2 OVC) vs. Murray State (18-18, 4-8 OVC)
Mattoon, Ill. | Lakers Baseball Park

Game One | Friday, Apr. 22, 3:00 p.m.
Livestats | Listen

Game Two | Friday, Apr. 23, 1:00 p.m.
Livestats | Listen

Game Three | Saturday, Apr. 24, 1:00 p.m.
Livestats | Listen

Game Notes

ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois baseball will travel to near by Mattoon, Ill. to host a home series against Ohio Valley Conference opponent Murray State at Lake Land College. EIU is utilizing Lake Land's field while Coaches Stadium is under maintenance. The Panthers are currently in first place in the OVC with a 7-2 record including three series wins against UT Martin, SIUE, and Austin Peay. Murray State is currently on a two-game losing streak after playing Memphis and North Alabama earlier this week. They just swept UT Martin this past weekend to improve their OVC record to 4-8.

PANTHERS SHUTOUT MCKENDREE: EIU took on Division II McKendree on Tuesday, April 19 in Ranotul, Ill. The Panthers won 9-0 after only allowing two hits through the game to the Bearcats. Starting pitcher Mac Hickman threw a perfect four innings without allowing a single hit, run, or walk and struck out five batters. Six Panther pitchers combined for the shutout in the win. EIU is not 4-0 when playing at the Rantoul Family Sports Complex.

Lincoln Riley, Nathan Aide, and Dalton Doyle all added two hits in the win. In Ryan Ignoffo's first game back after missing the last nine games, he went 0-2 with a walk and two RBIs. Dylan Drumke also had two RBIs after he hit his first homerun of his collegiate career against McKendree after he came in the seventh inning.

OVC TOP TEN: Multiple Panthers are currently in the top-ten for various hitting and pitching categories. Trevor Nicholson has posted a 2.38 ERA (2nd OVC), a .213 opp. batting average (3rd OVC), and has 65 strikeouts this year (1st OVC). He has only allowed 35 hits this season (Tied for 3rd fewest) while giving up the third fewest runs (16) and second fewest earned runs (12) in the conference. His ERA this season ranks 51st nationally and his strikeouts per nine innings is ranked 26th at 12.90.

Fellow pitcher Zane Robbins has collected 10 saves this season following EIU's win over Austin Peay last weekend in game one. He is currently tied for first all-time in saves in a single season in EIU history. Robbins is second in the OVC in saves with 10 and is 4th in games finished with 14. Robbins is T-4th in the NCAA with nine saves this season.

Lucas DiLuca's .358 batting average is second on the team and sixth in the OVC this season. He currently has a .487 on-base percentage which is second in the OVC and tied for 59th in the NCAA. He currently is one of three Panthers with at least 40 hits (43) and has collected at least 25 RBIs. Lincoln Riley has been consistent in getting on base for EIU this season. He leads the team in walks (27), hit-by-pitch (17), and is first in on-base percentage (.490). His ob% ranks first in the OVC and 51st in the NCAA, he is second in walks, and is first in hit-by pitches. Riley is also tied for fifth in the NCAA in hbp.

PRESEASON PANTHERS: Eastern Illinois' Logan Eickhoff and Cameron Doherty both earned preseason All-OVC earlier this offseason. Eickhoff was chosen at the utility position while Doherty was chosen for relief pitching. Eickhoff played in 31 games making 26 starters in the outfield. He was among OVC leaders with a .435 batting average before suffering a mid-season injury. Eickhoff returned on April 30 at SIUE and finished the season hitting .423 to become 23rd player in program history to hit .400 or better during a season. He held an on-base percentage of .463 and slugging percentage of .514.  Doherty posted a 3-2 record with a team high five saves during the season. He finished the season with a 3.45 ERA in 75.2 innings of work. He was also selected as the OVC preseason pitcher of the year for his performance last season.

PITCHING SUCCESS: EIU has been very successful on the mound this season helping the Panthers to their 25nd win of the season. After 34 games, EIU has the lowest ERA as a staff in the OVC at 4.31. Opponents are hitting .270 off of EIU pitchers which is tied for third in the OVC. Although EIU is currently ranked seventh in innings pitched, the Panthers lead the conference in strikeouts at 314. Eastern also has the lowest amount of runs allowed in the OVC (157), earned runs allowed (139), and walks allowed (105).

RHP Mac Hickman has stepped up for the Panthers during midweek games in Rantoul, Ill. Hickman is currently one of two pitchers with an undefeated record this year for EIU with at lead three wins (Trevor Nicholson). He has an ERA of 1.29 in 14.0 innings pitched this season. He has a perfect strikeout to walk ratio, 13-0. Hickman is also holding opposing batters to a batting average of .137.
 
SERIES HISTORY: The Panthers are currently winning the all-time series against Murray State with a record of 49-40. The Panthers are only 16-17 when playing the Racers at home, but are 31-19 when they play them on the road. Last season, Murray State took two of three games from the Panthers in a home series at Coaches Stadium. The Panthers have lost four of their last five games against the Racers. EIU and MSU first played in 1987 when the Panthers won a close game by a final of 9-7.

SCOUTING REPORT: Jake Slunder is leading the Racers at the plate with a batting average of .313 in 34 games played this season. He has 46 hits this season including four doubles, six triples, and three homeruns. He is also third on the team in RBIs. Bryson Bloomer leads MSU in RBIs this year with 27. Of his 30 hits this season, he has five doubles and six homeruns to lead the team.

Shane Burns will be on the mound on Friday for the Racers. He currently has a 3.46 ERA over 26.0 innings of work. He is a perfect 3-0 when starting this season. Burns has allowed 11 runs on the season on 24 hits while also punching out 24 strikeouts and 19 walks.

ON DECK: The Panthers will travel to Illinois Wesleyan for a midweek game against the Titans on Wednesday, Apr. 27 starting at 3:00 p.m. Although the Panthers are away, EIU will be the home team for this game. Livestats will be available for this game.