Eastern Illinois (9-18, 4-5 OVC) vs. Northern Illinois (10-21, 6-9 MAC)
Tuesday, Apr. 9 at 3 p.m.
Charleston, Ill. | Coaches Stadium
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ON TAP: After a weekend sweep of Western Illinois, the Eastern Illinois baseball team will make their return to Coaches Stadium this week to host another in-state foe in Northern Illinois. The Panthers and Huskies are set to play at 3 p.m. on Tuesday in a contest that will open up a six-game home stand for EIU.
SERIES HISTORY: Since 1991, Eastern holds a 23-11 record against NIU, but the series actually dates back to when both teams were members of the IIAC. Their last meeting was a 7-4 NIU win in 2007.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES:
- NIU enters this week with an overall record of 10-21 with a 6-3 mark in MAC play. They dropped all three of their games at Bowling Green over the weekend.
- The Huskies are batting .248 as a team with an 8.39 ERA. Their 0.975 fielding percentage is the best in the MAC.
- Northern Illinois is led by first-year head coach Ryan Copeland. He made his way to Dekalb after posting a 131-38 record at Illinois-Springfield.
WEEKEND RECAP: Eastern Illinois swept Western Illinois over the weekend to extend their current win streak to four games. The Panthers took game one in a 4-1 pitcher's dual that featured dominant outings from
Colton Coca and
Jonathon Hanscom. EIU overpowered WIU 14-5 in game two before coming from behind in the ninth inning for a 7-4 victory in game three.
OVC STANDINGS: The Panthers are currently one of five teams with a 4-5 record in OVC play. Tennessee Tech, Little Rock, and Southeast Missouri are atop the league with 6-3 records.
QUICK HITTERS:
- EIU's four-game win streak is their longest of the season. Their sweep of Western Illinois marked their first series win of the season.
- Dylan Drumke is second in the OVC in slugging percentage (.734) and third in OPS (1.188). His none home runs are fourth most in the conference, and he is seventh in RBI with 30.
- Lucas Loos' .354 batting average is eighth best in the OVC, and he is tied for second in doubles with 12. He has reached base in 22 consecutive games.
- Jonathon Hanscom continues to assert himself as one of the top arms in the OVC. He is top five in the conference in multiple categories, including ERA (3.77), opposing batting average (.235), hits allowed (27), and earned runs allowed (12).
- In his last two starts, Colton Coca has an ERA of 3.60 with 12 strikeouts in 10.0 innings of work. He picked up his first win of the season against WIU last Friday.
