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Eastern Illinois (4-2, 0-0 OVC) at Dayton (0-6, 0-0 A-10)
Dayton, Ohio | Woerner Field at AES Ohio Stadium

Game One | Saturday, Mar. 4, 11:00 a.m.
Game Two | Saturday, Mar. 5, 3:00 p.m.
Game Three | Sunday, Mar. 5, 11:00 a.m.
Game Four | Monday, Mar. 6, 3:00 p.m.

ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois baseball travels to Dayton, Ohio for a four-game series against the Flyers of Dayton University. The Panthers will continue their non-conference schedule while hitting the road for their seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth road games of the year.

The Panthers currently sit in third place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings after taking one of three games at No. 9 Arkansas last weekend. It marked the fifth all-time win for EIU against a ranked opponent during the regular season and was their first since 2016 (No. 12 Arkansas, Jason Anderson's first career win).

At the beginning of the season, Eastern Illinois was selected to finish third in the OVC standings. Southeast Missouri State was tabbed as the favorite to win by receiving 16 first place votes and are last year's defending champs. Morehead State finished in second with two first place votes.

Due to weather, the weekend series has been pushed back by one day. Dates and times will be updated, for more information go to eiupanthers.com.

QUICK HITTER NOTES: Cole Gober was instrumental in taking down No. 9 Arkansas last weekend in game three. Gober led all players for EIU in that game by going 4-5 with four RBI, two home runs and a double. Overall in the series, he led all Panthers in BA (.500), hits (6), home runs (2) and RBI (5).

With 27 at-bats, Gober is currently leading the team (min. 10 at-bats) with a .407 batting average while collecting 11 hits, three home runs and seven RBI. His batting average currently ranks sixth in the OVC while his 22 total bases ranks fourth. Other OVC ranks: 6th in slugging (.815), second in hits (11) fourth in home runs (3).

Ryan Ignoffo bounced back after his one hit weekend at Florida A&M with four hits against the Razorbacks. He was fourth on the team in batting average with a .364 through three games at Arkansas. In the final game of the series, Ignoffo had two hits including a two-run home run for his first of the season.

After being selected to the OVC Preseason team earlier this year, Ignoffo is currently hitting .250 on the season after starting all six games at designated hitter and right field. He has five hits, three runs scored and six RBI which is second on the team.

Chris Worcester made his season debut this past weekend after starting all three games. He collected three hits at Arkansas including his first double of the season. Worcester also was perfect on the diamond with four put-outs and nine assists with no errors. Worcester was also selected to the OVC Preseason team.

Lincoln Riley has also made a name for himself this season after his performances against Florida A&M and Arkansas. Riley is currently hitting .348 for the Panthers through six games. He also is second on the team in hits with eight and also has three RBI this season.

Against Arkansas in the fifth inning of game three, Riley made a game changing catch in center field against the fence at Baum-Walker Stadium which saved a big play for the Razorbacks with the game tied at 1-1. He has recorded 16 put-outs in center field.

On the mound, Ky Matthews-Hampton was the only Panther to pick up a win last weekend after throwing seven innings against the Razorbacks in a 12-3 win. He only allowed three hits in the win and was named the OVC Pitcher of the Week after his performance.

In the OVC, he currently ranks sixth in ERA with a 2.08, seventh in opponent batting average with a .208, first in innings pitched at 13.0, first in wins with two and seventh in runs allowed with three. He is also tied for the team lead in strikeouts with nine.

Tyler Conklin suffered his first loss of the season in a 5.0 inning effort last Saturday by a score of 10-3. He allowed five hits and four runs while walking three and striking out two Razorbacks. Conklin allowed his opponents to hit .250 off of him. On the season, he has a .491 ERA through 11.0 innings. He has allowed nine hits and six runs so far.

CATEGORY LEADERS
Hits: Cole Gober (11), Lincoln Riley (8), Grant Lashure (5), Ryan Ignoffo (5)
RBI: Cole Gober (7), Ryan Ignoffo (6), Nicholas Rucker (3), Lincoln Riley (3)
Batting Average (min. 10 at-bats): Cole Gober (.407), Grant Lashure (.357), Lincoln Riley (.348)
Home runs: Cole Gober (3), Ryan Ignoffo (1), Cade Zalewski (1), Kolten Poorman (1)
Strikeouts: Ky Hampton (9), Jonathon Hanscom (9), Ryan Ignoffo (5), Zane Robbins (5), Tyler Conklin (5)
Wins: Ky Hampton (2), Tyler Conklin (1), Zane Robbins (1)
 
SERIES HISTORY: This marks the first time in the series history between Eastern Illinois and Dayton that they have played each other. The Flyers have played three OVC opponents before in their history: Morehead State, SIUE and Tennessee Tech.

In the 2023 season, Dayton and Eastern Illinois have only one common opponent. Both teams will play the Butler Bulldogs at least once this season.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS: Dayton is currently 0-6 heading into the four game series this weekend. They played a three game series at Western Kentucky and played at No. 3 Tennessee last weekend. This marks their first home games of the season.

Leading Dayton at the plate is Ben Jones who is currently hitting .261 to lead the team. He has six hits on the year with two RBI. Dayton has only scored eight runs through their first six games this season. 

On the mound, starting pitcher Mark Manfredi has throw the most innings for the Flyers (8.1). He has allowed six hits and four runs throughout his two appearances this season. He has also allowed eight walks this season while striking out seven.

Dayton is led by sixth year head coach Jayson King. He currently has a 106-125 record and as reached the A-10 Championships in two of his six season.

ON DECK: Eastern Illinois will continue their non-conference schedule as they head to Arkansas State next weekend. The Panthers will begin play on Friday, March 10 at 6 p.m. for their first night game of the season. All three games will broadcast Livestats.

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.