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Eastern Illinois (14-7, 1-2 OVC) at Butler (5-19, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Indianapolis, Ind. | Bulldog Park
Saturday, Apr. 1, 2:00 p.m. CT

Eastern Illinois vs. Butler
Charleston, Ill. | Coaches Stadium
Sunday, Apr. 2, 12:00 p.m. CT (DH)
ESPN+ (Game 1) | ESPN+ (Game 2) |Stats

ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois baseball has their Ohio Valley Conference bye weekend this week as they will play a three game series against the Butler Bulldogs. After a schedule change due to weather, EIU will travel to Butler on Saturday for a single game starting at 2:00 p.m. EIU will then host a double header on Sunday at Coaches Stadium starting at 12:00 pm.

After splitting their two midweek games this past week, the Panthers remain in fifth place and in a tie with OVC foe SIUE. Eastern is second in the conference in wins with 14 behind the aforementioned SIUE (15 wins).

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.

ROAD WARRIORS: To start the 2023 campaign, Eastern Illinois baseball had played 20 straight away games. In those games EIU is 13-7 including a road victory over No. 3 Arkansas earlier this season by a score of 12-3.

In the NCAA, the Panthers are leading the way in road wins. Last season, EIU ranked second in the nation with 24 road wins, only two behind the Huskies of Connecticut. All three games this weekend will count as away games despite being labeled as the home team.

QUICK HITTER NOTES: Eastern Illinois took care of business during their home opener on Wednesday after defeating Illinois Wesleyan by a score of 24-7, including scoring 17 runs in the first inning! It marked the first time EIU scored 24 runs since the 2009 season vs. Blackburn.

As a team, EIU is currently hitting .290 for the season which ranks first the the conference. Eastern's .407 on-base percentage also ranks first in the OVC (55th in the NCAA). The Panthers have the lowest amount of strikeouts as a team with just 156 on the season while they rank second in walks with 125 (69th in the NCAA).

Eastern's pitching staff also ranks high in the OVC as their team ERA ranks third at a 5.32. On the mound, the Panthers have only given up 200 hits on the season (3rd in the OVC) and have allowed the second lowest amount of runs this season (125).

EIU's defense has been solid this season as they rank 68th in the NCAA in double plays per game with an average of 0.81. With two shutouts this season, EIU ranks 36th in the nation in that category while ranking 30th in walks per nine innings with an average of 3.56.

After redshirting a year ago, Joey Hagen has found a role on the EIU team while appearing in 14 games and starting eight of those. Hagen is currently hitting .370 this season in 27 at-bats. He has posted 10 hits, two doubles and seven runs scored.

Grant Lashure has also had a solid 2023 campaign as he leads the team in batting average (min. 40 at-bats) with an average of .383. He currently has 18 hits on the season including five doubles and eight RBI. On Tuesday, Lashure went 3-4 against Bradley and had two RBI.

Lashure is currently on a four-game hitting streak while also having the longest active reach base safely streak which is currently at 13. He also is third on the team in multiple hit games with five.

Nicholas Rucker also had his best week of the season last week in five games after hitting .375 with six hits including a home run against Bellarmine. Rucker was tied for second on the team with Ryan Ignoffo in RBI with five.

After a slow start to the season, Rucker is now hitting .298 for the season with 17 hits including three doubles and a home run. He has an on-base percentage of .417 due to his 12 walks.

Lincoln Riley has also been able to get on-base a lot for the Panthers over the first month of baseball. He currently ranks sixth in the OVC with a .427 on-base percentage while also hitting .288 on the year. He is one of three Panthers to start all 21 games thus far.

Known for his ability to reach base, he had a streak of 18 straight games reaching base safely which was broken during the final game of the UT Martin series. Riley also has a total of six multiple hit games including five of those with multiple RBI. He has been hit by pitch nine times this year, which ranks 46th in the NCAA.

Cole Gober has been a welcomed addition to the lineup this season as he has six multiple hit games this season including one with four hits. His .318 batting average currently ranks sixth in the OVC. He leads the team in hits with 28 and is third in RBI with 17.

Eastern's most consistent and dominant pitcher this season has been Ky Matthews-Hampton. With six starts under his belt, Hampton is 4-0 which leads the EIU team and ranks tied for 27th in the NCAA. Over the weekend, he secured EIU's lone with against UT Martin after throwing seven innings and allowing five hits with no runs.

Hampton on the season has an ERA of 2.34 which ranks second in the conference. His 34.2 innings pitched is the most by a pitcher in the OVC and he has thrown the third fewest allowed runs this season (9). Despite throwing the most innings, Hampton has walked just eight opponents thus far.

CATEGORY LEADERS
Hits: Cole Gober (28), Lincoln Riley (23), Ryan Ignoffo (22)
RBI: Ignoffo (23), Riley (18), Gober (17)
Batting Average (min. 40 at-bats): Grant Lashure (.383), Chris Worcester (.321), Gober (.318)
Home runs: Cade Zalewski (6), Gober (5), Ignoffo (5)
Strikeouts: Nick Laxner (22), Ky Matthews-Hampton (20), Jonathon Hanscom (19), Tyler Conklin (19)
Wins: Hampton (4), Zane Robbins (2), Conklin (2) Blake Malatestinic (2), Laxner (2)
 
SERIES HISTORY: The Panthers are currently winning the all-time series against Butler 7-6. Eastern Illinois has lost three of the last four against the Bulldogs. Butler won the four game series last season in Indianapolis. They first met during the 2009 season in Evansville, Ind.

The Panthers and Bulldogs will play one more game later this season in Indianapolis, Ind. on Tuesday, Apr. 25 for a midweek matchup.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Butler is currently 5-19 on the season and are 3-4 in their last seven games. Butler has played one common opponent with EIU as they played a three game series against Southeast Missouri earlier this season.

Butler is hitting .207 as a team this season with 26 doubles, nine triples (leads the Big East) and 10 home runs. They are highlighted by Joey Urban who has three triples on the year and leads the team in batting average with a .284.

Saturday's starter Cory Bosecker is 0-4 on the season with a 5.46 ERA in six starts. He has allowed 28 runs so far this season with 18 of them being earned. He is holding opponents to a .257 batting average.

ON DECK: Eastern Illinois will hit the road for their first true OVC away games at SIUE in Edwardsville, Ill. EIU will play on Thursday, Apr. 6 at 5:00 p.m. for the first of three games. For more information go to eiupanthers.com.

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.