Eastern Illinois (1-2, 0-0 OVC) at Arkansas State (1-3, 0-0 Sun Belt)
February 23-24 | Jonesboro, Ark. | Tomlinson Stadium
 
Game 1: Sunday at 1 p.m. | Listen | Live Stats
Game 2: Monday at 1 p.m. (DH) | Listen | Live Stats
Game 3: Monday at 4:30 p.m. (DH) | Listen | Live Stats
 
LEADING OFF: The Eastern Illinois baseball team heads back to the Sun Belt to take on Arkansas State in a three-game set beginning Sunday. The series was originally scheduled to begin on Friday, but due to winter weather in the Jonesboro area, games one and two were flexed to a Monday doubleheader.

SERIES HISTORY: EIU is 7-20 all-time against Arkansas State. This will be the third consecutive season the teams have faced off, with the Panthers taking both games in 2023 before winning one of three last season.

ARKANSAS STATE:

• The Redwolves hold a record of 1-3 after dropping two against Morehead State last weekend followed by an extra innings loss to Ole Miss on Tuesday.
• A-State returned just 13 lettermen off last season's team, adding 28 newcomers including five from Nicholls State, who the Panthers also faced a season ago.
• Wil French and Cason Tollet were named to the Bobby Bragen National Collegiate Slugger Award Watchlist. Tollet currently leads the team in batting average (.375), on-base percentage (.412), and hits (6).
• The ASU pitching staff has posted a total of 47 strikeouts through the first four games for an average of 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings.
• The Redwolves are led by first-year head coach Mike Silva, who recorded a 98-70 record in three seasons at Nicholls State prior to arriving in Jonesboro.

WEEKEND RECAP: Eastern opened up the 2025 season at Louisiana Monroe last weekend, winning one of three contests.

In Friday's doubleheader, ULM overcame a fast start from the Panthers to down EIU 11-7 in game one before Eastern stranded 13 runners on base in game two in an 8-1 setback.

The Panthers picked up their first win on Sunday, as Tyler Kapraun and Bryce Riggs combined for 7.1 scoreless innings to lead EIU to a 6-2 victory.

Transfers Brett Stanley and Pierce Bauerle put together strong debuts for the Panthers. In three starts, Stanley hit .417 with a homer and three RBIs while adding a pair of stolen bases. Bauerele hit .429 with a double and three RBIs in a pair of appearances.

OVC PRESEASON POLL: The Ohio Valley Conference released its 2025 predicted order of finish last week, with the Panthers picked to finish fifth. SEMO was tabbed as the preseason favorite, receiving 13 first-place votes and a total of 157 points. The Redhawks were followed by Little Rock with five first-place votes (144) and Tennessee Tech (118). Morehead State came in at fourth with one first-place vote (107) with Eastern rounding out the top five at 92 points.

OVC PLAYER TO WATCH: Tyler Conklin was named EIU's Player to Watch. In three starts last season, Conklin struck out 12 batters through 15.0 innings pitched before having his season cut short due to injury. As a sophomore, Conklin posted a 9-6 record with 79.2 innings pitched and a 5.65 ERA. He led the team in strikeouts with 62 and was a part of two combined shutouts during the season.

NEWCOMERS: EIU added 18 new players to this year's roster, including 12 transfers and six freshmen. The transfer class features five pitchers and seven position players, while the freshman class includes two pitchers and four position players.

RIDING OUT: Eastern will play their first 19 games away from home this season, including trips to ULM, Arkansas State, Austin Peay, Illinois, Northern Kentucky, Bellarmine, Western Carolina, and Arkansas Pine Bluff.

CATEGORY LEADERS:
Hits – Brett Stanley (5), Peyton Wilson (4), Pierce Bauerle/Chris Worcester (3)
Home Runs – Brett Stanley (1)
RBI – Brett Stanley/Pierce Bauerle/Zak Goodwin (3), Five players with one RBI
Strikeouts – Dalton Boruff (6), Tyler Conklin (4), Three players with three strikeouts
Wins – Anthony Solis (1)

ON DECK: The Panthers will travel to Clarksville next weekend to take on old OVC foe Austin Peay. Game one is scheduled for Friday, February 28th at 4 p.m.