WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Eastern Illinois took a 3-0 lead in the first two innings but the Panthers were unable to hold that lead, falling 9-5 on Wednesday at Big Ten member Purdue.
EIU fell to 19-9 on the season while Purdue improved to 12-14 on the year.
The Panthers jumped on the board in the first on a home run by
Jadin Justman to left field.Â
EIU tacked on two more in the third as
McKenzie Oslanzi drove in the first of the two runs with an RBI double that had ricocheted off Purdue starter Emma Bailey.Â
Marama Makea laid down a sacrifice bunt to score the next run against relief pitcher Kendall Klochack.
Klochack would shut down EIU's offense with four innings of one-hit relief. She improved to 4-2 on the season.
McKenzie Oslanzi suffered the loss for EIU falling to 11-2. After being held scoreless in the first, the Boilermakers scored in the next five innings.Â
Hailey Hayes had a two-run homer in the second and Purdue tied the game against Oslanzi in the third with an unearned run. Purdue took the lead with a two-run triple by Moriah Polar, one of two run producing triples in the inning.
Hayes had an RBI double in the fifth and Purdue's final runs came in the sixth unearned against EIU pitching.
EIU had one final rally in the seventh loading the bases with no outs. EIU scored one run on a double play followed by an RBI single to left by
Karson Davey. Â Â Davey had two hits to lead EIU.
Kendall Grover joined Justman and Oslanzi with extra base hits for EIU with a double in the seventh.
