JONESBORO, Ark. – The Eastern Illinois baseball team (3-3, 0-0 OVC) split their Monday doubleheader at Arkansas State (2-5, 0-0 Sun Belt) to secure their first series win of the 2025 season.
Eastern Illinois 8, Arkansas State 4
EIU extended their winning streak to three and clinched the series with an 8-4 victory in game one.
Anthony Solis moved to 2-0 on the season after giving up just three runs in five complete innings, with
Dalton Boruff picking up the save after pitching the final four innings, allowing a single earned run on three hits with two strikeouts.
Luke Melton led the EIU offense, going 3-4 at the plate with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored, including a homer.
Like in Sunday's game, Arkansas State struck first, this time with two runs in the second inning on a Raul Torres sacrifice bunt and Kaden Amundson RBI single.
The Panthers got one back in the third inning with a
Luke Melton lead off solo shot to left field before a
Brett Stanley sacrifice fly in the fifth tied the game.
The Redwolves regained the lead briefly with a Cason Tollett RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, but with runners on second and third in the top of the sixth, a throwing error allowed
Pierce Bauerle and
Cade Zalewski to advance home and put the Panthers in front 4-3.
EIU doubled their runs scored in the seventh to provide some insurance, with Bauerle,
Jake Ottensmeier, Melton, and
Ethan Rossi each recording one RBI in the frame.
A-State scored their last run in the seventh when a Hunter Ryan RBI groundout scored Wil French, who had reached on a lead off triple.
ASU had two on and nobody out in the ninth, but Boruff retired the next three batters in order to secure the win for EIU and earn his first save of the season.
Eastern Illinois 0, Arkansas State 4
The Panthers struggled to get the bats going as they dropped the series finale 4-0, with the offense only recording three hits.
Tyler Kapraun (0-1) suffered the loss after giving up four runs on six hits with one strikeout through six innings.
After scoreless first and second innings, Arkansas State broke through for three runs in the third. The first score came on a Wil French RBI single that plated Amundson, who had reached on a lead off triple.
After the next two batters reached on bunt singles to load the bases, the Redwolves extended their lead with a Cross Jumper sac fly and Daedrick Cail RBI groundout before Kapraun was able to get out of the inning.
The last run of the ball game was a Kaden Amundson sacrifice bunt that scored Raul Torres in the fourth inning.
Bryce Riggs was inserted into the game in the seventh and pitched a pair of scoreless innings, but the Panthers were unable to put a rally together as the final seven EIU batters were retired in order.
Next up for Eastern is a trip to Clarksville to take on former OVC opponent Austin Peay this weekend. Game one is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m.
