CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Eastern Illinois baseball team (12-20, 6-6 OVC) defeated Bradley (10-23, 4-8 MVC) 14-9 in another midweek barn burner at Coaches Stadium on Tuesday. The game was called early in the top of the ninth due to thunderstorms moving into the area.
After EIU left two stranded in scoring position in the bottom of the first inning, Bradley struck first with a Logan Delgado solo home run to right field in the second.
The Panthers responded in the bottom of the second as
Quade Peters drove in a run with a single up the middle and scored on an error to make the score 2-1.
The Braves came right back with three runs in the third to regain the lead, but Eastern exploded for seven runs in the next at bat to surge ahead for good.
Six different Panthers recorded RBIs in the inning, including
Joey Hagen who got the scoring started with a two RBI double down the right field line, which gave him his first RBIs of the season.
Bradley cut three runs off the deficit in the fourth, but a
Dylan Drumke two RBI double in the bottom of the fourth kept the Braves at arm's length.
With two outs in the top of the fifth, the game was put on hold due to lightning being detected in the area. After a nearly one-hour delay, the game resumed with
Lukas Touma getting a swinging strikeout to retire the side.
Each team would score a few more runs, including a
Danny Infante solo homer in the eighth, before the game was called in the top of the ninth due to severe weather.
Slater Wilcox (2-0) was credited with the win, while Cooper Chinn (0-1) suffered the loss.
Dylan Drumke was the Panther's primary run producer with three RBI.
Joey Hagen and
Quade Peters also had multi-RBI outings with two apiece.
Hagen went 3-4 at the plate, including a pair of doubles, after not recording a hit in any of his previous eight at-bats this season.
Lucas Loos extended his on-base streak to 27 games with a 2-5, one RBI performance.
The Panthers will close out their home stand on Wednesday when they take on Saint Xavier at 3 p.m. They will then travel to Little Rock this weekend to resume OVC play. Game one is set for 6 p.m. on Friday.
