ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Eastern Illinois baseball team (19-32, 12-14 OVC) picked up their fourth straight win with a 6-2 victory at Lindenwood (16-37, 9-17 OVC) on Friday. The win clinched the series and guaranteed the Panthers a spot in the OVC Tournament for the third consecutive season.
Just like in the series opener, the Panthers got off to a hot start with a multi-run first inning. The first run came across on a
Lucas Loos single that scored
Cole Gober from second base.
Following a
Michael O'Conor base hit,
Trenton Pallas kept things going with a two-RBI double to extend the lead to 3-0. EIU tacked on one more when Pallas scored on a throwing error by the Lindenwood catcher.
The next four innings were mostly uneventful offensively, as both teams struggled to produce base runners.
The Lions finally broke through in the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly from Colin Shea, but were unable to draw any closer.
The Panthers immediately responded in the top of the seventh with a
Lucas Loos RBI ground out followed by a
Michael O'Conor RBI single to extend the lead to 6-1.
However, just as in Thursday's game, the Lions refused to go away quietly. After scoring one run in the eighth, Lindenwood put together a furious ninth inning rally and found themselves trailing by just one with the tying and go ahead runs in scoring position.
The comeback fell short, though, as
Colton Coca was able to end the game with a swinging strikeout to give Eastern a 6-5 win and clinch the Panthers' spot in this year's OVC Tournament.
Christian Carew (1-3) got the win while
Colton Coca picked up his second save of the season.
Carew was dominant in his five complete innings on the mound, allowing just one run on three hits with a trio of strikeouts.
Michael O'Conor and
Quade Peters were the only Panthers in the multi-hit club, as they both went 2-4. O'Conor added a run scored and RBI to his performance while Peters posted one run scored.
Meanwhile,
Lucas Loos and
Trenton Pallas drove in two runs apiece.
This weekend's series finale is set for Saturday at 1 p.m.
