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CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Eastern Illinois baseball team (12-21, 6-6 OVC) closed out their latest home stand with a 4-2 loss to Saint Xavier (25-19, 17-9 CCAC) on Wednesday afternoon. The Panthers were held scoreless in all but one inning as they struggled to figure out a dialed in Cougars pitching staff.

After no runs were scored in the first two innings, SXU took an early lead with a Troy Stukenberg two-run homer in the top of the third.

Not to be outdone, EIU leadoff man Dylan Drumke crushed a two-run homer of his own to left center to leave the score tied up after three innings.

The Cougars regained the lead in the fifth after a fielding error allowed Sean Moore to score after stealing second and third. Moore would tack on one more insurance run for Saint Xavier in the seventh with an RBI single.

In their final at bat, Eastern loaded the bases with two outs, but they were unable to take advantage as SXU pitcher Heath Mann got a swinging strikeout to close the game and pick up his first save of the season.

Joey Hagen (0-1) was designated the loss, while Logan Antrim (3-0) picked up the win.

It was a frustrating day offensively for the Panthers, who combined for just six hits. Half of those hits came off the bat of Quade Peters, who went 3-4 with a trio of singles.

Meanwhile, Lucas Loos extended his on-base streak to 28 games with a pair of walks. 

Eastern will resume OVC play this weekend as they travel to Little Rock for a three-game series. Game one is set for Friday, April 19th at 6 p.m.