Eastern Illinois (15-17, 6-5 OVC) vs. Saint Xavier (22-18, 15-9 CCAC)
Tue., April 15 | 3 p.m. | Charleston, Ill.
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LEADING OFF: After a four-game road trip last week, the Eastern Illinois baseball team returns to Coaches Stadium for a nonconference matchup against Saint Xavier on Tuesday afternoon.
SERIES HISTORY: The Panthers are 2-1 all-time against the Cougars, with the two sides meeting each of the last three seasons. SXU came away with a 4-2 upset win in Charleston last season.
SAINT XAVIER:
- The Cougars enter this week with a record of 22-18, including a 14-6 record away from home. They split a four-game series against Olivet Nazarene last week.
- SXU has a team batting average of .315, which is second best in the NAIA's Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC). Their team ERA of 5.55 is also second in the CCAC.
- Sean Moore leads the Cougars in batting average (.354), hits (46), doubles (12), and runs (42) while Gabe Kirck leads the team in home runs (11) and RBIs (33).
- Saint Xavier pitchers have recorded 249 strikeouts compared to 122 walks.
- SXU is led by fifth year head coach Addison Rouse.
WEEKEND RECAP: The Panthers suffered their first OVC series loss of the season after dropping two of three against SEMO over the weekend.
Eastern took game one 6-3 in a historic 19-inning marathon. The contest set a new OVC record for innings played and lasted over five hours. The Panthers did not allow a run through the game's final 12 innings as part of a masterful pitching performance.
The Panthers allowed zero earned runs in game two, but were unable to overcome a pair of key miscues that resulted in five unearned scores for the home team as they fell 5-4.
EIU lost in heartbreaking fashion on Sunday afternoon, as the Redhawks prevailed 7-6 with a walk-off homer in extra innings.
QUICK HITTERS:
The Panthers offense is batting .269 on the season with five Panthers having averages north of .300. They are tied for the conference lead with an on-base percentage of .392.
Jake Ferguson in ninth in the OVC with a batting average of .338 and leads EIU with an on-base percentage of .486, which is third best in the league.
Mike O'Conor has a batting average of .321 and has reached base in a team-high 16 consecutive games. He has hit seven home runs since the beginning of conference play and leads the team in slugging percentage (.654). He is also tops on the squad in multi-RBI games with seven.
Brett Stanley is tied third in the conference with 15 stolen bases while scoring the sixth most runs (30). He leads the team in sacrifice flies with four.
The EIU pitching staff has a combined ERA of 5.33, which is second best in the OVC. They have allowed the fewest earned runs in the league (170) and the fourth lowest batting average (.272).
The Panthers have surrendered the second fewest walks in the OVC (114) and their 3.57 walks per nine innings is third lowest in the league.
CATEGORY LEADERS:
ON DECK: The Panthers will host Tennessee Tech for an Easter weekend series at Coaches Stadium. Game one is set for Thursday, April 17th at 3 p.m.Â
