NORMAL, Ill. – In their final midweek contest of the season, the Eastern Illinois baseball team (17-32, 10-14 OVC) picked up a 5-3 win over in-state foe Illinois State (26-24, 14-10) in Normal. It was a historic night for the Panthers, as Zane Robbins surpassed the EIU record for career saves.

After Lucas Loos extended his reached base streak to 44 games with a two-out single in the first, Cole Gober gave the Panthers an early lead with a towering two-run homer to right center.

Then, following Michael O'Conor and Trenton Pallas base hits to further extend the inning, Cade Zalewski delivered an RBI single to put the Panthers up 3-0 after their first at-bat.

The Redbirds wasted no time responding, and with one on and one out in the bottom of the first, Daniel Pacella crushed a ball over the right field wall to cut the lead to one. Just a few pitches later, Illinois State clean up man Noah Rabin got in on the action with a solo shot to tie the game.

Despite the early fireworks, both teams were held scoreless through the next six innings as both bullpens were able to restore order.

Illinois State threatened in the seventh with bases loaded and just one away, but Bryce Riggs worked out of the jam with a strikeout and ground out to keep the score even.

In the eighth, the EIU offense rewarded Riggs' effort with another Cade Zalewski RBI base hit that plated Michael O'Conor, who had initially reached on a double.

After Danny Infante drew a walk to put pinch runner Eli Hill in scoring position, Tyler Castro kept things moving with an RBI single to make the score 5-3.

Now with the lead, Bryce Riggs locked in and retired the Redbird side in order to send EIU into the final frame with a two-run lead.

After the Panthers were unable to score any insurance runs, skipper Jason Anderson called on Zane Robbins to close the game. Robbins delivered and discarded the final three Illinois State batters to secure the EIU win and pick up his first save of the season.

It was Robbins' 19th career save, which is a new Eastern Illinois record. Robbins also holds the EIU record for saves in a season (11), which he set in 2022.

Bryce Riggs (4-2) was credited with the win while Mathew Donnison (0-2) suffered the loss.

Seven Eastern Illinois batters recorded multi-hit outings, including Cole Gober and Cade Zalewski who both added a pair of RBIs to their performances.

The Panthers will close out the regular season with their final OVC series against Lindenwood this weekend. Game one is set for Thursday at 5 PM.