Eastern Illinois (4-8, 0-0 OVC) at Bellarmine (2-12, 0-0 ASUN)
March 11 | 2 p.m. ET
Louisville, Ky. | Knights Field
 
LEADING OFF: The Eastern Illinois baseball team heads to Louisville for some midweek action against Bellarmine on Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET.

SERIES HISTORY: The Panthers hold a 10-2 all-time record against the Knights and have won the last four meetings dating back to 2021. EIU defeated BU 9-4 in Charleston last season.

BELLARMINE:

• The Knights enter this week with a record of 2-12 after suffering a three-game sweep against Southern Illinois over the weekend.
• Bellarmine has scored 100 runs on 130 hits with a team batting average of .275. Seth Sweet-Chick leads the team in batting average (.394), home runs (4) and RBI (17).
• The Knights' pitching staff has a combined ERA of 12.88 have allowed 12 or more runs in 10 of their 14 games, including a combined 44 against Southern Illinois.
• BU is led by first-year head coach Ben Reel. He spent the last 15 seasons at IU Southeast, where he compiled a record of 548-264-1.

WEEKEND RECAP: The Panthers took one of three at Northern Kentucky last weekend, winning the series opener before dropping games two and three in walk-off fashion.

Pierce Bauerle had a strong showing at the plate, batting .500 with a team-leading six hits, including a pair of doubles with three RBIs. Chris Worcester led the squad with four RBIs, including a home run on Sunday.  

Tyler Conklin picked up the win on Friday with a line of four runs on six hits with seven strikeouts through 5.2 innings. Dalton Boruff earned his second save of the season after giving up no runs on one hit with a pair of strikeouts in the ninth inning.

AT THE PLATE: The Panthers are batting .218 as a team with 60 runs scored on 90 hits. They have four homers and 15 doubles on the season.

Of players with at least 10 appearances, Pierce Bauerle leads the way with a batting average of .351. He also leads the team with five multi-hit games, including a season-high three-knock performance against NKU on Sunday.

Bauerle is tied with Chris Worcester and Brett Stanley for the team lead in RBIs with seven.

ON THE MOUND: EIU pitchers have a combined ERA of 5.85. The Panthers have surrendered 67 earned runs on 116 hits with 82 strikeouts.

Tyler Conklin leads the squad in strikeouts with 22 K's through a team-high 24.2 innings pitched. He holds a 2-1 record with a 4.74 ERA.

Dalton Boruff has two saves with 16 strikeouts through 15.2 innings pitched.

Bryce Riggs has allowed zero earned runs in four appearances.

CATEGORY LEADERS:
Hits – Pierce Bauerle (13), Peyton Wilson (12), Chris Worcester (11)
RBI – Pierce Bauerle/Brett Stanley/Chris Worcester (7)
Strikeouts – Tyler Conklin (22), Dalton Boruff (16), Tyler Kapraun (11)

ON DECK: Eastern heads to Western Carolina this weekend to take on the Catamounts in a three-game set beginning on Friday. The Panthers will then trek to Arkansas Pine Bluff for a pair of midweek matchups before their home and OVC opener against Lindenwood on Friday, March 21st.