EASTERN ILLINOIS 10 UT MARTIN 4 (GAME 1)
MARTIN, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois baseball (13-5, 1-1 OVC) bounced back after an opening game loss with a 10-4 win against UT Martin (6-18, 1-1 OVC). The Panthers scored the first 10 runs of the game to secure the win.
Chris Worcester went 3-4 in game one with two doubles and two RBI.
Nicholas Rucker had a hot start to the double header with three hits and three RBI. Seven different Panther collected a hit in game one.
Starting pitcher
Ky Matthews-Hampton (W, 4-0) went seven innings allowing just five hits with five strikeouts. Jordan Armstrong (L, 1-3) suffered the loss for the Skyhawks after allowing 10 hits and five runs in five innings of work.Â
QUICK STATS
Nicholas Rucker: 3-4, 3 RBI
Chris Worcester: 3-4, 2 RBI, 2 2B, 3 R, BB
Lincoln Riley: 2-4, 2 R
Ky Hampton: W (4-0), 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 5 K
Eastern Illinois wasted no time in the second game of the three game series as they scored 10 straight runs to open up the game. Worcester got EIU up early with an RBI double in the first after
Lincoln Riley got on base.
In the third inning,
Cole Gober, Rucker and
Kolten Poorman had back-to-back-to-back RBI singles to push EIU ahead 4-0. Eastern Ill. would also score in the fourth with an RBI single by Worcester to score
Joey Hagen.
With the bases loaded in the sixth inning, EIU would score on back-to-back wild pitches by UT Martin which brought home Riley and Worcester. Rucker capped off the inning with a sac fly that brought the score to 8-0.
Eastern Illinois would finish their scoring run in the bottom of the eighth after Rucker and Poorman slapped RBI singles together which gave EIU a 10-run lead heading into the final inning.
UT Martin would score four runs in the ninth off of
Colton Coca. Caleb Hobson had a two RBI triple while Andrew Fernandez had a two-run home run to end the scoring at 10-4.
The Panthers would score 10 runs on 13 hits with two errors while the Skyhawks scored four runs on 10 hits with two errors in game one.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 4 UT MARTIN 12 (GAME 2)
MARTIN, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois baseball (13-6, 1-2 OVC) would lose the rubber match against UT Martin in game three of their opening Ohio Valley Conference series as UT Martin (7-18, 2-1 OVC) took game three by a final score of 12-4.
The Panthers scored all four runs in the fourth inning after
Kolten Poorman had a three RBI double which put EIU on the board. EIU only posted four hits in the game three loss.
Ryan Ignoffo (L, 0-1) suffered the loss for the Panthers after coming in relief for starter
Blake Malatestinic. Ignoffo allowed seven hits on five runs in 1.2 innings of work. Erica Steensma (W, 1-1) picked up his first win for UTM after throwing in four innings.
QUICK STATS
Kolten Poorman: 1-3, 3 RBI, 2B, R
Ben Gallaher: 1-3, RBI
Blake Malatestinic: 4.0 IP, H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 K
Ryan Ignoffo: L (0-1), 1.2 IP, 5 H, 7 R, K
After scoreless innings by both teams in the first inning, UT Martin got on the board early after two errors by the Eastern defense. The Skyhawks would go up 2-0 in the second after a wild pitch and ground out RBI by Nate Self.
Poorman would give EIU the lead in the fourth inning after he hit a rope down the third base line to clear the bases. Gallaher would then add an RBI single to score Poorman and put EIU on top 4-2.
The Skyhawks wouldn't stay down long as Fernandez would hit an RBI single before Hunter McLean hit a grand slam off of Ignoffo to put UTM back on top 7-4. Will Smith later hit a two-run home run for the Skyhawks which put the game out of reach.
The Panthers would score four runs on four hits with four errors. UTM scored 12 runs on 10 hits with no errors. EIU will be back in action startin enxt Tuesday, March 28 at Bradley with a 6:00 p.m. start time. For more updates go to eiupanthers.com.
