Eastern Illinois (0-0, 0-0 OVC) at Florida A&M (0-0, 0-0 SWAC)
Tallahassee, Fl. | Moore-Kittles Field
Game One | Friday, Feb. 17, 3:00 p.m.
Game Two | Saturday, Feb. 18, 1:00 p.m.
Game Three | Sunday, Feb. 19, 12:00 p.m.
Series Notes
ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois baseball will start their 2023 season on the road heading south to Tallahassee, Fl. as they will play a three game series against Florida A&M. The season will start on Friday, Feb. 17 at 3:00 p.m. CT.
EIU finished the 2022 season with an overall record of 33-20 and a 12-12 OVC record. Their 33 total wins were the most by a Panther team since 2001 and was their highest OVC tournament ranking (4th) since the 2012 season.
The Panthers will start their season with 19 straight away games before heading back to Charleston, Ill. for their first home game at Coaches Stadium. EIU will play #8 Arkansas next weekend for their first game against a ranked opponent since 2018.
OVC PRESEASON STANDINGS: Eastern Illinois was selected to finish third in the Ohio Valley Conference this season by OVC head baseball coaches and communications directors. The OVC released their full standings last Friday.
Southeast Missouri State, two-time defending OVC Champion was tabbed as the favorite to win the OVC this season after receiving 16 first place votes. Morehead State finished second in the voting after earning two first place votes.
After the Panthers, OVC newcomer Little Rock finished in fourth after playing in the Sun Belt last season. The Trojans took two of three games against the Panthers last season. The rest of the OVC standings were as follows: Tennessee Tech, SIUE, UT Martin, Southern Indiana and Lindenwood.
QUICK HITTER NOTES: Ryan Ignoffo and
Chris Worcester were both selected to the All-OVC Preseason team after their impressive 2022 seasons. The two were also selected to the Perfect Game All-OVC preseason team along with relief pitcher
Zane Robbins.
Ignoffo returns for his senior season after earning All-OVC First Team honors last spring. He was the team leader in batting average (.395), hits (73), doubles (16), home runs (14), RBI (58) and slugging percentage (.708%). Ignoffo was second in the OVC in batting average and also ranked 17th in the NCAA. He posted the following rankings in the NCAA: 10th in hits per game (1.66), 28th in slugging percentage, and 11th in RBI per game (1.32).
Worcester was named the OVC Freshman of the Year last season and named to the All-OVC Freshman Team after holding down the shortstop position for the Panthers. After missing some games early in the season, he managed to finish the season hitting .320. He had 15 games with multiple hits while also securing 10 stolen bases.
Lucas DiLuca holds down the middle infield at second base as he was the only Panther to start all 53 games last season for the Panthers. He was selected to the All-OVC second team last season after posting a .320 batting average, tied for third on the team. DiLuca lead the team in runs scored with 50 while also recording the second most at-bats last season with 203. Not only could he hit, but DiLuca was ninth in the OVC in on-base percentage with a .440. He recorded 33 walks and 11 hit-by-pitches last season which were both second on the team.
Tyler Conklin looks to hold down a spot in the starting rotation after being named to the All-Freshman team last season with fellow Panther Worcester. It marked the first time since 2019 that multiple Panthers made the All-Freshman team in the OVC. With 12 appearances last season, Conklin went a perfect 3-0 with a 4.80 ERA. He recorded 30.0 innings of work while allowing 29 hits, 19 runs and 16 earned runs. He posted 22 strikeouts for EIU to just 12 walks.
Robbins is back on the mound as EIU's closer for the second season in a row. Robbins was second in the OVC in saves with 11 and also ranked tied for 17th in the NCAA. He also finished 17 games for EIU which ranked sixth in the conference. He had the third lowest ERA for the Panthers with a 4.43 in 20.1 innings of work. His 1-1 record came in 22 appearances while also allowing 19 hits, 10 runs scored and tossing 35 strikeouts to just 15 walks.
RETURNING CATEGORY LEADERS
Multiple Hit Games: Ryan Ignoffo (22),
Logan Eickhoff (19),
Lucas DiLuca (18)
Multiple RBI Games: Ryan Ignoffo (13),
Logan Eickhoff (8),
Lucas DiLuca (8)
Hits: Ryan Ignoffo (73),
Lucas DiLuca (65),
Logan Eickhoff (60)
Home Runs: Ryan Ignoffo (14),
Nicholas Rucker (6),
Logan Eickhoff (4)
Wins: Blake Malatestinic (5),
Mac Hickman (4),
Tyler Conklin (3)
SERIES HISTORY: The Panthers are 3-0 against Florida A&M and have only played one series in their entire history. Their first meeting came back during the second weekend of the 2020 season before it was canceled due to COVID-19. EIU took all three games in Tallahassee during their trip three season ago.
Blake Malatestinic earned his first win that season against Florida A&M in game two when the Panthers won 6-1.
ON DECK: Eastern Illinois will continue their 19 game away trip to start the season when EIU travels to the University of Arkansas to face the eighth ranked team in the nation. The Panthers last played Arkansas during the 2020 season. The three-game series will start on Feb. 24th at 2 p.m.
HEAD COACH: Jason Anderson begins his eighth season as the Eastern Illinois head baseball coach. Anderson got his first win as the Eastern Illinois head coach on March 5, 2016 against No. 12 Arkansas by a final score of 10-8 (10 innings). He would go on to finish with a 15-39 record in his first season. He would improve each season over the next three years after posting 21, 23 and 26 wins before posting an 8-6 record during the 2020 COVID-19 season. Following that season, Anderson coached Trey Sweeney who was drafted 20th overall by the New York Yankees in 2021. Sweeney was the third highest drafted Panther of all-time. In 2022, Anderson would post his most wins in a season after going 33-20 and securing the number four seed in the OVC Tournament held n Lexington, Ky. It was the most wins by an EIU team since 2001. From that team, Anderson coached two first team All-OVC players (
Ryan Ignoffo and
Hayden Birdsong) and the OVC Freshman of the Year (
Chris Worcester). He is a 2012 graduate of the University of Illinois after playing baseball there from 1998-2000. He was the Pitcher of the Year in the Big Ten during the 2000 season, and was drafted in the 10th round by the New York Yankees. After his eight year playing career in the MLB, he made coaching stops at Danville Community College and the University of Illinois before coming to Eastern Illinois. He is assisted by
Derek Francis, Forrest Arnold,
Mike Pugliese and Colton Hann.
