LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – In a 14-inning marathon at Gary Hogan Field, the Eastern Illinois baseball team (13-23, 7-8 OVC) fell just short of clinching a major series victory with a 5-4 loss to Little Rock (22-7, 10-5 OVC) on Sunday. It was Eastern's most innings played in a single game since 2012, when the Panthers went 17 against Austin Peay.
It was a fantastic outing for EIU starting pitcher
Colton Coca, but things got off to a shaky start as the Trojans scored two runs in the first inning on a wild pitch and bases loaded walk.
However, Coca remained composed and got Little Rock to roll into their first of three double plays to limit the early damage.
Eastern would find their way onto the board in the third inning. After one-out singles by
Trenton Pallas and
Tyler Castro, plus a walk by
Quade Peters,
Lucas Loos tied the game with a two RBI base hit.
Two batters later, a hard-hit ball up the middle by
Cole Gober gave the Little Rock infielder some trouble which allowed Peters and Loos to score on an error to make the score 4-2 Panthers.
The next three innings were a total stalemate, as neither team managed to push any more runs across the plate.
After the first inning,
Colton Coca went the next five and two-thirds without giving up a run and striking out three Trojans. His final stat line was three earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts through 6.2 innings pitched.
Little Rock finally broke through in the seventh inning with a Luke Pectol RBI double, but they were unable to tie or take the lead as they left two runners on base.
However, Eastern failed to produce any insurance runs through the eighth or ninth innings, and down to their final out, the Trojans tied the game with a Nico Baumbach RBI single to force the game to extras.
Pitching continued to shine through the first three innings of extras, as both teams combined for just two hits.
In the bottom of the 13th, Little Rock threatened with runners at the corners and just one out, but
Jack Potteiger came in and got a swinging strikeout and ground out to first base to escape the inning and extend the game.
The Panthers offense remained dormant in the top of the 14th, as they were retired in order for the fourth consecutive inning.
In Little Rock's next at-bat, a lead-off walk, an error, and another walk loaded the bases with just one away. This time, Eastern was unable to maneuver themselves out of trouble as Tyler Williams worked a walk to bring home the game-winning run.
Jack Potteiger (1-2) suffered the loss while Austin Stubber (6-1) picked up another win following a perfect four innings of relief work.
The Panthers combined for just six hits on the day.
Lucas Loos was the only Eastern batter with more than one knock as he extended his on-base streak to 31 games with a 2-6, two RBI showing.
EIU will return to Coaches stadium this week for a pair of non-conference games against Butler and Illinois Wesleyan on Tuesday and Wednesday at 3 p.m. before hosting Southern Indiana for more OVC action next weekend.Â
