LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Some red-hot bats led the Eastern Illinois baseball team (5-8, 0-0 OVC) to a 15-8 win over Bellarmine (2-13, 0-0 ASUN) in Louisville on Tuesday afternoon.

The EIU offense recorded season-highs in runs scored and hits with 13 total knocks in the contest.

Zak Goodwin had a big day at the plate, going 4-5 with four runs scored including a homer, a double, and four RBIs.

Tyler Castro and Jake Ferguson were also key contributors to the Panthers' offensive onslaught, with Castro going 2-3 with a double and four RBIs, while Ferguson went a perfect 3-3 with a trio of RBIs.

It was a collective effort on the mound with seven EIU pitchers making appearances in the game. Eli Cartwright was awarded the win after giving up zero earned runs through an inning of relief work.

Bryce Riggs got his first start of the season and allowed zero earned runs with four strikeouts through 4.0 innings pitched.

Meanwhile, Lukas Touma and Kole Bradley combined for a scoreless ninth inning in their 2025 debuts.

With two on and two out in the top of the first, Zach Goodwin got the scoring underway with a three-run homer to right center. It was Goodwin's first round-tripper of the season.

The Panthers tacked on two more in the second when a fielding error allowed Tyler Castro and Quade Peters to score before stretching the lead to eight in the third with a two RBI single from Jake Ferguson and a Joey Hagen RBI groundout.

Bellarmine cut the lead in half with four runs in the bottom of the third, with a Eli Watson double bringing in their first two runs before a balk allowed Casey Sorg to score. The Knights added one more run with a Luke Scales RBI single.

However, Bellarmine's newfound momentum could not slow down the EIU bats, and after a Castro two-RBI double and Ferguson sacrifice fly in the fourth, the Panthers had extended their lead to 11-4.

Eastern piled on four more runs in the next inning with an RBI single from Brett Stanley and RBI double from Goodwin before Castro drove in two more runs with a base hit to left field.

The Knights scored an unearned run in their half of the fifth, and after EIU's first scoreless at-bat of the game, BU carved two more runs off their deficit in the sixth as a throwing error allowed Landon Akers to score before a Borden single plated Joey Milto.

The final three innings of the game were quiet with both teams combining for just four hits and zero runs as EIU secured the midweek victory.

Next up for the Panthers is a trip to Cullowhee, North Carolina to take on Western Carolina in a three-game set. Game one is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. ET.