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Eastern Illinois (23-15, 4-8 OVC) vs. Tennessee Tech (13-25, 4-8 OVC)
Charleston, Ill. | Coaches Stadium

Game One: Friday, Apr. 28 at 3:00 p.m. CT | Stats | Watch
Game Two: Saturday, Apr. 29 at 1:00 p.m. CT | Stats | Watch
Game Three: Sunday, Apr. 30 at 1:00 p.m. CT | Stats | Watch

ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois baseball is back in action with a home Ohio Valley Conference series against the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech. Both teams hold a 4-8 record in conference play this season.

EIU is 1-0 heading into their second to last home series of the season with an 11-2 victory at Butler. Despite their 4-8 OVC record, they have the third best overall record in the conference at 23-15.

Eastern currently sits in eighth place overall with a 4-8 record in the OVC. Tennessee Tech is in ninth place with the same record as the Panthers.

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. EIU currently is 18-12 on the road including a victory over No. 3 Arkansas earlier this season by a score of 12-3.

In the NCAA, the Panthers lead the NCAA in road victories with 18. Last season, EIU ranked second in the nation with 24 road wins, only two behind the Huskies of Connecticut.

QUICK HITTER NOTES: Eastern Illinois already has a solid start to Week 11 of the season after picking up an 11-2 victory over Butler in Indianapolis, Ind. EIU tied the season series with the Bulldogs at 2-2/

The Panthers also have played six extra inning games this season including their 12 inning win over Illinois. In those games they have a 4-1 record with their lone loss coming vs. Butler in 14 innings. With six extra inning games, it marks the most in a season since 2014.

As a team, EIU is currently hitting .281 for the season which ranks second in the conference. Eastern's .391 on-base percentage ranks second in the OVC (75th in the NCAA). The Panthers have the lowest amount of strikeouts as a team with just 267.

On the base pads, Eastern Illinois ranks 46th in the country in the stolen bases per game with an average of 1.68 per game. On the season, EIU has 70 stolen bases (54th in the NCAA). With 31 sacrifice bunts on the season, EIU also can play the small game ranking 15th in the NCAA.

On the mound, the Eastern pitching staff has been solid with the lowest ERA in the OVC at 5.14. They are allowing their opponents to hit just .275 on the season while they have also given up the third lowest amount of hits to opponents (363).

With a solid defense backing up EIU pitchers, the Panthers have only allowed 191 runs this season which is the second lowest in the OVC. EIU has only given up 139 walks this season which is the lowest in the conference. Their walks per nine innings (3.76) ranks 40th in the NCAA.

EIU's defense has been solid even with runners on base as they average 0.89 double plays per game (27th in the NCAA). Earlier this season, EIU had six double plays in their series vs. Little Rock. Eastern ranks third in the OVC in fielding percentage at .969. Their 373 assists in the field ranks second in the OVC.

After their 5-0 shutout of Saint Xavier on Wednesday, EIU has now posted six shutouts during the 2023 season. In the country, EIU ranks eighth nationally in shutout wins.

Ryan Ignoffo had his best week of the season after hitting .526 in five games. He collected 10 hits including three home runs against Southern Indiana. Ignoffo totaled six RBI and nine runs scored while also being walked five times. His .625 on-base percentage ranked second on the team last week.

On the season, Ignoffo has now improved his batting average to .306 in 38 games played. He is one of two Panthers to start every game this season (Lincoln Riley). He currently leads the team in hits (45), runs (40)m RBI (38), home runs (9) and stolen bases (20).

Ignoffo has also been available on the mound for EIU. He has appeared in 11 games this season which is tied for second on the team. Ignoffo has an ERA of 6.94 with a 1-1 record in 23.1 innings pitched. He has allowed 18 earned runs and has struck out 26.

Nicholas Rucker has also been hot in conference play, continuing that against USI. In OVC play, Rucker leads the team with a .425 batting average including five extra base hits. In total, he leads the team with 17 hits and is second in RBI with 10.

During his senior campaign, Rucker ranks second on the team in batting average with a .324 (min. 50 at-bats). He has 36 hits including eight doubles and four home runs. His 22 walks is second on the Panthers squad. He is riding a 22 reached base safely streak.

Kolten Poorman has also played very well in his first season with Eastern Illinois. He leads the team in batting average with a .325 in 30 games played. Poorman, a Three Rivers College transfer, has 27 total hits including five doubles and three home runs.

His batting average ranks 10th in the OVC. In conference play, Poorman is hitting .361 with a team-high 13 RBI on 13 hits. Last week, Poorman collected seven hits with a team-high six RBI. He had an on-base percentage of .450 with a slugging percentage of .529.

In their lone win against Southern Indiana last weekend, Ky Matthews-Hampton was able to earn his fifth win of the season in a 22-12 victory. On the season, Hampton has a 3.43 ERA (5th in OVC) in 10 starts. He has also pitched the third most innings in the conference at 57.2.

The Australian native has allowed 67 hits this season while allowing only 22 earned runs and has struck out 33. He is holding his opponents to a .267 average. He is fifth in the conference in walks allowed with five.

Looking to move into a weekend role, Nick Laxner has made an impact for the Panthers during the midweek. He has a 2-1 record for EIU in eight appearances with a 3.46 ERA. Laxner has waked just five opponents, the lowest in the OVC. His 1.15 walks per nine innings ranks ninth in the country.

His strikeout to walk ration of 7.20 ranks 14th in the NCAA. He has a total of 36 strikeouts on the year. His ERA also ranks in the top ten in the conference (6th overall).

CATEGORY LEADERS
Hits: Ryan Ignoffo (45), Lincoln Riley (39), Nicholas Rucker (36)
RBI: Ignoffo (38), Kolten Poorman (24), Riley (23)
Batting Average (min. 50 at-bats): Poorman (.325), Rucker (.324), Grant Lashure (.315)
Runs: Ignoffo (40), Riley (31), Cole Gober (21)
Strikeouts: Tyler Conklin (40), Nick Laxner (36), Ky Hampton (33)
ERA (min. 10 IP): Jackson Nicholas (0.60), Zane Robbins (2.08), Hampton (3.43)
 
SERIES HISTORY: The Panthers are currently losing the all-time series against Tennessee Tech 41-43. They first met during the 1978 season when Eastern Illinois was still a Division II team and lost the first ever meeting.

Over their last six meetings, both teams sit at a 3-3 record. In 2019, Eastern Illinois swept Tennessee Tech in a series in Cookeville, Tenn.

ON DECK: Eastern Illinois continue their OVC play as they head to Morehead State starting on Friday, May 5. They will play a three-game series ending on Sunday, May 7.

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.