Eastern Illinois (26-12, 7-5 OVC) at Murray State (21-17, 5-7 OVC)
Cookeville, Tenn. |Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex
Game One | Friday, Apr. 29, 6:00 p.m.
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Livestats
Game Two | Saturday, Apr. 30, 1:00 p.m.
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Livestats
Game Three | Sunday, May 30, 1:00 p.m.
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Livestats
ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois baseball go on the road to Cookeville, Tenn. where they will face-off against the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech for a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series. EIU is currently 7-5 in the conference which is good for third in the OVC. TTU sits in the seventh spot with a 5-7 record. The Panthers' last OVC series ended in a high scoring weekend against Murray State when EIU lost all three games despite scoring at least nine runs in each game. The Golden Eagles went 1-2 last weekend against UT Martin, which included a game in which UT Martin scored 24 runs. EIU looks to win their fourth OVC series of the season.
PANTHERS DEFEAT ILLINOIS WESLEYAN: EIU took on Division III Illinois Wesleyan this past Wednesday where they defeated the Titans by a score of 7-4. EIU threw nine different pitchers in the win including
Blake Malatestinic who picked up his fourth win of the season. The Panthers earned their 26th win of the season which is ranked third in the OVC.
Eastern was walked eight times on Wednesday with three Panthers earning at least two walks.
Lucas DiLuca,
Chris Worcester,
Nicholas Rucker, and
Ben Gallaher all picked up RBIs in the win. Closer
Zane Robbins collected his 11th save the season for the Panthers. This ranks second in the OVC.
OVC TOP TEN: Multiple Panthers are currently in the top-ten for various hitting and pitching categories.
Trevor Nicholson has posted a 3.91 ERA (6th OVC), a .247 opp. batting average (4th OVC), and has 67 strikeouts this year (1st OVC). He has only allowed 45 hits this season (6th fewest) while giving up the sixth fewest runs (25) and sixth fewest earned runs (21) in the conference. His strikeouts per nine innings is ranked 34th at 12.48 in the NCAA, and his 67 strikeouts ranks 56th.
Fellow pitcher
Zane Robbins has collected 11 saves this season following EIU's win over Illinois Wesleyan on Wednesday. He set the new EIU single season record for saves after earning his 11th. Robbins is second in the OVC in saves with 11 and is 4th in games finished with 16. Robbins is T-4th in the NCAA with 11 saves this season.
Lucas DiLuca's .358 batting average is second on the team and ninth in the OVC this season. He currently has a .494 on-base percentage which is first in the OVC and 38th in the NCAA. He currently is one of three Panthers with at least 40 hits (49) and has collected at least 30 RBIs.
Lincoln Riley has been consistent in getting on base for EIU this season. He leads the team in walks (31), hit-by-pitch (19), and is second in on-base percentage (.489). His ob% ranks second in the OVC and 51st in the NCAA, he is second in walks, first in hit-by pitches, and sixth in runs scored with 39. Riley is also tied for eighth in the NCAA in hbp with 18.
Since returning to the lineup,
Ryan Ignoffo has been on a hitting streak including hitting four home runs against Murray State. He ranks first on the team in batting average (.431), hits (53), slugging percentage (.805), doubles (13), home runs (11), and RBIs (43). In the OVC he ranks 1st in batting average, 1st in slugging, 6th in ob% (.458), 4th in RBIs, 5th in home runs, and fourth in doubles. In the NCAA he ranks third in batting average, third in hits per game (1.98), 7th in runs batted in per game (1.48), and 8th in slugging percentage.
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.
ROBBINS MAKES HISTORY: After earning his 11th save of the season, Robbins set the new Eastern Illinois single season save record. His 11 saves also ranks seventh in school history for a pitcher's career. On the season, Robbins has a 4.26 ERA with a 1-1 record. He has 19.0 innings of work while giving up 17 hits, nine runs, and 11 walks. He has also struck out 33 opponents this season. Opponents are hitting .236 on him this season which ranks third on the team.
SERIES HISTORY: The Panthers are currently losing the all-time series against the Golden Eagles 39-42. The Panthers first played Tennessee Tech during the 1978 season in which TTU took the first two games. EIU won their first game against TTU during the 1982 season when they won 2-1. Last season, EIU went 1-2 at Tennessee Tech with their only win coming in a game one win by a score of 18-6.
SCOUTING REPORT: Right fielder
Ryan Guardino was named a
Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week powered by Diamond Sports and a Dick Howser Trophy NCBWA National Player of the Week presented by The Game Headware after hitting seven home runs in a three-game series against UT Martin. He became the first Tech player with multiple home runs in three straight games. Guardino is currently batting .370 on the season with 40 hits, five doubles, 12 homeruns, and 30 RBIs.
Jason Hinchman is leading the Golden Eagles on offense with 17 home runs. He is ranked 7th nationally with .46 home runs per game. He is hitting .372 on the season with 58 hits, nine doubles, 17 home runs, 49 RBIs, and a .756 slugging percentage. He is a two-time OVC player of the week.
ON DECK: The Panthers will host their first true home games at Coaches Stadium on May 6 when Morehead State comes to town for a three-game series. ESPN+ and Livestats will be made available for the entire series.
