Eastern Illinois (3-3, 0-0 OVC) at Austin Peay (5-4, 0-0 ASUN)
Feb. 28 – Mar. 1 | Clarksville, Tenn. | Raymond C. Hand Park
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Game 1: Friday at 4 p.m. |
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Game 2: Saturday at 1 p.m. |
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Game 3: Sunday at 1 p.m. |
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LEADING OFF: After taking two of three at Arkansas State, the Eastern Illinois baseball team heads to Clarksville this weekend to battle old Ohio Valley foe Austin Peay. The three-game series is set to get underway on Friday, February 28th at 4 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY: The Governors lead the all-time series against EIU 45-37. The teams first met in 1978 before becoming annual opponents when Eastern joined the OVC in 1997. This will be the two programs' first meeting since Peay left the OVC following the 2022 season, and their first meeting as non-conference opponents since 1996. The Panthers took two of three against the Governors in 2022.
AUSTIN PEAY:
- Peay enters this weekend with an overall record of 5-4 after dropping a midweek contest against MTSU by a score of 10-9.
- The Govs had a pair of outfielders named to the preseason All-ASUN team, including John Bay and Brody Szako.
- Bay leads APSU in several offensive categories, including batting average (.394), hits (13), and OPS (1.403), among others.
- The Governors have 12 home runs on the season, which leads the ASUN and is top 25 nationally.
- Peay's pitchers have a combined ERA of 5.23. Lyndon Gidwell has a team-best 0.90 ERA in two starts. He holds a record of 1-0 with a .118 batting average against.
- The Govs are guided by third-year skipper Roland Fanning with a career record of 66-57. He led APSU to their 16th conference title in 2024.
LAST TIME OUT: EIU earned their first series win of the 2025 season earlier this week after taking two of three against Arkansas State.
Tyler Conklin threw a gem on Sunday afternoon as the Panthers picked up a 7-1 win in the series opener. The preseason OVC Player to Watch went eight innings, allowing just two hits with five strikeouts while surrendering zero earned runs. It was the longest outing of Conklin's career.
In Monday's doubleheader, EIU clinched the series with an 8-4 win in game one as
Luke Melton went 3-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Arkansas State won the series finale 4-0 as Eastern struggled to get the bats going with three total hits.
NEW CONTRIBUTORS: A variety of newcomers have emerged as key producers for the Panthers through the first two weeks of the season. At the plate,
Pierce Bauerle leads the team in hits with seven while also being second in RBIs (4). Fellow transfers Brett Stanely and
Peyton Wilson are second on the team in hits with six apiece, with Stanley leading the squad in RBIs (5).
On the mound,
Dalton Boruff posted a save in Monday's win and is currently second on the team in strikeouts with eight, while
Tyler Kapraun has a 3.18 ERA with four strikeouts through two starts, including a scoreless 5.1 innings against Louisiana Monroe
Overall, first-year Panthers have combined for 30 starts and 37 total appearances for EIU so far this season.
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 –
Pierce Bauerle (7),
Brett Stanley &
Peyton Wilson (6),
Chris Worcester (5)
Home Runs –
Brett Stanley &
Luke Melton (1)
RBI –
Brett Stanley (5),
Cade Zalewski &
Pierce Bauerle (4), Three players with three RBI
Strikeouts –
Tyler Conklin (9),
Dalton Boruff (8),
Tyler Kapraun (4)
Wins –
Anthony Solis (2),
Tyler Conklin (1)
ON DECK: Eastern will travel north for the first time this season for midweek matchup against Illinois next Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Panthers will then trek to the Cincinnati area to face Northern Kentucky in a three game set next weekend.Â
