Eastern Illinois (3-6, 0-0 OVC) at Northern Kentucky (6-5, 0-0 Horizon)
March 7-9 | Highland Heights, Ky. | Bill Aker Baseball Complex
 
Game 1: Friday at 1 p.m. | Live Stats
Game 2: Saturday at 12 p.m. | Live Stats
Game 3: Sunday at 12 p.m. | Live Stats
 
LEADING OFF: The Eastern Illinois baseball team continues their non-conference schedule this weekend with a three-game set against Northern Kentucky in Highland Heights. Game one is scheduled for Friday, March 7th at 1 p.m. CT.

SERIES HISTORY: This will be the first ever meeting between EIU and NKU.

NORTHERN KENTUCKY:

• The Norse enter this weekend with a record of 6-5 after a 13-11 win over Indiana on Tuesday.
• NKU was picked to finished second in the Horizon League and returned two All-Horizon League selections from last season, including outfielder Tyler Shaneyfelt and catcher Jake Paulick.
• Shaneyfelt is batting .409 for the season and leads the team in hits (18) and runs scored (20).
• NKU has a team batting average of .304 and cumulative ERA of 8.94. They have scored at least 12 runs in each of their six wins and have not allowed less than five runs in any game this season.
• The Norse are led by head coach Dizzy Peyton. The fourth-year skipper led NKU to their first Horizon League Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance a season ago.

WEEKEND RECAP: The Panthers dropped all three of their contests at Austin Peay last weekend.

Eastern fell 12-5 in Friday's series opener as Ethan Rossi went 3-4 with a two-run homer.

In game two, the Panthers possessed a late one-run lead before a pair of unearned runs in the eighth gave Peay a narrow 5-4 win. Tyler Conklin had another strong outing with a line of three earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts through six complete innings.

EIU fell 9-2 in the series finale as they were unable to overcome an early offensive barrage from the Governors. Nate Marshall made his Eastern debut on the mound, pitching two perfect innings with a pair of strikeouts.

AT THE PLATE: The Panthers are batting .224 as a team with 40 runs scored on 68 hits. They have three homers and 11 doubles on the season.

Sam Wiese leads the team with a .421 batting average with at least one hit in all six of his appearances. 

Brett Stanley leads the team with six RBIs. He also has a team-leading eight runs scored on a team-high nine hits.

ON THE MOUND: EIU pitchers have a combined ERA of 5.88. The Panthers have surrendered 49 earned runs on 84 hits with 57 strikeouts.

Tyler Conklin leads the squad in strikeouts with 15 K's through a team-high 19.0 innings pitched. He holds a 1-1 record with a 4.26 ERA. He has allowed a total of four runs in his last two starts, throwing a total of 12 scoreless innings.

CATEGORY LEADERS:
Hits – Brett Stanley/Peyton Wilson (9), Sam Wiese (8), Pierce Bauerle/Chris Worcester (7)
Home Runs – Luke Melton/Brett Stanley/Ethan Rossi (1)
RBI – Brett Stanley (6), Cade Zalewski & Zak Goodwin (5), Pierce Bauerle/Eli Hill (4)
Strikeouts – Tyler Conklin (15), Dalton Boruff (11), Three players with 4

ON DECK: The Panthers will head to Louisville next Tuesday for a midweek contest at Bellarmine before heading to Western Carolina for a three-game series against the Catamounts.