JONESBORO, Ark. – The Eastern Illinois baseball team (2-11, 0-0 OVC) dropped their rubber match against Arkansas State (11-5, 0-0 Sun Belt) on Sunday by a score of 8-7. The Panthers held a five-run lead heading into the seventh inning, but the Red Wolves rallied back to take the series.
EIU jumped out to an early lead with a pair of runs in the first inning. The first came when
Cole Gober scored on a throwing error by the Arkansas State catcher, followed by a
Kolten Poorman single to right field that drove home
Lucas Loos.
In the bottom of the first, A-State got both runs back after starting pitcher
Casey Perrenoud went out with an injury.
After a scoreless second inning, Eastern regained the lead in the third with a
Grant Lashure single that scored
Cade Zalewski. The Panthers tacked on one more run in the fourth inning when
Lucas Loos put the ball in play to allow
Dylan Drumke to reach from third.
Both teams held serve in the fifth inning, but EIU pushed three runs across the plate in the sixth to give themselves a five-run lead, as
Lucas Loos,
Cade Zalewski, and
Michael O'Conor all recorded RBIs in the inning.
The Red Wolves refused to go down quietly however, and after four scoreless innings they used some nice batting in the seventh to advance runners around the base path and cut the Panthers' lead to just one.
Eastern was unable to respond in the top of the eighth, and in ASU's next at bat they scored two more runs, with Cason Campbell singling through the right side to plate the go-ahead score.
The Panthers would go down in order in the ninth inning, as A-State closer Max Charlton secured the series win for the Red Wolves.
Chaney Trout (1-2) suffered the loss, while Chase Armstrong (1-0) picked up the win and Max Charlton was awarded the save.
Lukas Touma had a fantastic performance on the mound after being thrust into action in the first inning. After allowing two runs in the first, Touma pitched four scoreless innings, allowing just three hits with four strikeouts on the day.
Cole Gober had another strong day at the plate as he went 4-5 with three doubles and two runs scored. It was the first time an EIU batter had recorded three doubles in a game since
Ryan Ignoffo did it against Tarleton State in February of 2022.
Eastern Illinois will open up a lengthy home stand this week. The home opener is scheduled for Tuesday at 3 p.m. against Bellarmine. The Panthers will then host Dayton next weekend for a three-game series.Â
