CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois (4-13, 0-0 OVC) closed out their series against Dayton (12-8, 0-0 A10) with a 17-11 loss on Sunday afternoon. In a wild game that featured 19 total pitchers and a number of miscues by both sides, the Flyers used a late offensive explosion to overcome the Panthers and take the series.

Dayton opened up the game with three runs in the first inning, forcing an EIU pitching change before they could even reach their first at-bat. After entering the game, Anthony Solis was able to work a strikeout with the bases loaded to get out of the inning.

The Panthers responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first. Dylan Drumke represented the first score after being brought home from third on a balk. Lucas Loos was hit by a pitch in the next at bat, which led to the Flyers also making an early change at pitcher.

An at-bat later, Michael O'Conor singled to left field to drive Cole Gober home to score.

Dayton scored on an error in the top of the second to make the score 4-2, but their lead was to be short lived, as EIU would hang five runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning.

The first four Panthers batters of the inning reached base, with Robby Taul getting the scoring started by stealing home on a wild pitch. Dumke scored on another error, while Lucas Loos, Cade Zalewski, and Grant Lashure recorded RBIs in the inning.

The next two innings were much quieter, which just one run scored by Dayton in the top of the third.

In the bottom of the fifth, Eastern extended their lead with a Lucas Loos two-run homer that brought the count to 9-5 entering the sixth.

In the top of the sixth, Dayton responded with a three-run homer off the bat of David Mendez to cut EIU's lead to just one. However, a Tyler Castro sacrifice fly and Dylan Drumke RBI single in the bottom of the sixth put the Panthers back up by three.

Unfortunately, things began to unravel further for the Eastern pitching staff in the top of the seventh, as the Flyers racked up five runs on five hits in the inning to take a 13-11 lead. A Michael Dobie grand slam in the eighth would put the Panthers in an even deeper hole with limited opportunities remaining.

EIU was unable to put a rally together in their last two at-bats, as Dayton's Nick Wissman salted the game away.

Wissman (4-0) was credited with the win while EIU reliever Christian Carew (0-3) was designated the loss.

During a day of erratic pitching, Eastern's Anthony Solis offered a steady presence on the mound for the Panthers. After entering the game in the first inning with the bases loaded, the freshman allowed just two runs on two hits while collecting five strikeouts through his 4.0 innings of action.

Six different Panthers recorded RBIs on the day, including Lucas Loos with a team-leading three. Loos also extended his on-base streak to 12 games.

EIU will be back in action on Tuesday afternoon as they host Lindenwood for a non-conference affair at 3 p.m. The Panthers will then open up OVC play with a home series against SEMO next weekend, with the first game scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday, March 22nd.