CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois (11-20, 6-6 OVC) dropped their series finale against SIUE (13-23, 6-6 OVC) on Sunday by a score of 11-5. The Cougars exploded for nine runs in the first four innings, which along with a stellar performance from starting pitcher Duncan McLaughlin, was enough to subdue the Panthers.
The fireworks started early with both teams scoring three runs in the first inning. Chase Bloomer put SIUE in front with a three-run homer before
Michael O'Conor responded by crushing a three-run blast of his own over the score board in left field.
After a scoreless second, SIUE surged back ahead with another three-run inning in the third before extending their lead even further in the fourth inning with three more runs.
While the Cougars were putting up crooked numbers, the Eastern offense was struggling to figure out SIUE pitcher Duncan McLaughlin, who settled into a nice rhythm after a shaky first inning.
After scoring three runs in the opening frame, the Panthers only mustered four hits and zero runs through the next seven innings before McLaughlin finally made his exit prior to the ninth.
With a new arm in the game, EIU was able to score a pair of runs in the ninth inning with RBI ground outs from
Quade Peters and
Dylan Drumke, but it was far too little too late as EIU was unable to complete the series sweep.
Jack Potteiger (1-1) suffered the loss while Duncan McLaughlin (1-1) picked up his first win of the season.
Zane Robbins had his strongest outing of the year, allowing no base runners with four strikeouts through the final two innings.Â
Offensively,
Michael O'Conor led Eastern with three RBI while
Cole Gober had a solid day at the plate with a 3-4 outing.
The Panthers will close out their home stand this week with a pair of non-conference contests in the midweek. They will face Bradley on Tuesday before hosting St. Xavier on Wednesday. Both games are set for 3 p.m.
