Eastern Illinois (12-4, 4-2 OVC) vs. UT Martin (11-18, 2-4 OVC)
April 3-4 | Charleston, Ill.
 
Game 1: Thursday at 11 a.m. | Watch | Live Stats
Game 2: Friday at 10 a.m. | Watch | Live Stats
Game 3: Friday at 1:30 p.m. |  Watch  | Live Stats
 
LEADING OFF: Following the midweek win over Butler on Tuesday, the Eastern Illinois baseball team is set to continue OVC play with a three-game home series against UT Martin. The weekend schedule has been adjusted due expected rain, with game one now set for Thursday at 11 a.m.

SERIES HISTORY: In a series that dates back to 1997, the Panthers are 48-32 all-time against the Skyhawks, with a 22-16 record at Coaches Stadium. EIU took their previous meeting 8-4 last season in Martin, but lost the series against UTM each of the last two seasons.

UT MARTIN:

LAST TIME OUT: EIU picked up a convincing 14-8 win over Butler at Coaches Stadium on Tuesday afternoon. After going ahead in the bottom of the second, the Panthers possessed the lead for the remainder of the game.

The Eastern bats picked up right where they left off over the weekend, as they piled 14 runs on 12 hits. It was the fourth time in the last five games that the Panthers scored at least 14 runs.

Jake Ferguson led the team in hits, going 3-3 with a double and two RBIs while also scoring a pair of runs. Mike O'Conor was the only other EIU batter with multi-hit outing, going 2-5 with a home run and two RBIs.

Christian Carew (2-1) picked up his second straight win after allowing no earned runs with a pair of strikeouts in a two-inning start. Eli Cartwright also had an effective outing, giving up no runs on just one hit with two strikeouts in two innings of relief.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Mike O'Conor was named OVC Player of the Week following his outstanding offensive performance in the Panthers' four games against NIU and Morehead State. It was O'Conor's first Player of the Week honor, and he became the first EIU baseball player to take home an OVC award this season.

O'Conor had a massive week at the plate for the Panthers, batting .571 with three home runs and 13 RBIs. He finished the week with a slugging percentage of 1.048 and an on-base percentage of .560.

AT THE PLATE: The Panthers are batting .270 as a team with a .394 on-base percentage, which is second best in the OVC. EIU is second in the league in runs scored (198) and tied for third in RBIs (177). Eastern leads the conference in sacrifice bunts with a total of 29.

Five Panthers are batting .300 or better on the season, led by Jake Ferguson with an average of .418. Ferguson also leads the team in on-base percentage (.542) and is second in RBIs (19). He is on a six-game hitting streak and 11-game reached-base streak.

Mike O'Conor is also batting north of .400 with an average of .404. He leads the team in home runs (5) and slugging percentage (.787), and has reached base in 10 straight games.

Chris Worcester is batting .365 and leads the team in total hits (35) and doubles (7). He has recorded a hit in six consecutive games.

Brett Stanley is also enjoying a six-game hitting streak. He leads the team in stolen bases with 12 on 13 attempts.

Tyler Castro leads the team in RBIs with 20, which in ninth most in the OVC this season. He is batting .387 with runners in scoring position and leads the team in sacrifice bunts (5).

ON THE MOUND: The Panthers have a cumulative ERA of 5.87, which is third best in the OVC. They've allowed the second fewest earned runs (147) in the conference while surrendering the second fewest walks (93).

Tyler Conklin is 3-1 with a 3.55 ERA and team-best .211 batting average against. He leads the team in strikeouts with 32 and his 45.2 innings pitched are most in the conference.

Anthony Solis is also 3-1 with a 6.37 ERA. He has 23 strikeouts through 29.2 innings pitched, including a season-high 10 K's against Morehead State last weekend.

Christian Carew has picked up wins in back-to-back games to improve his overall record to 2-1. He has given up zero earned runs with a pair of strikeouts in those two outings.

Eli Cartwright also has two wins on the season (2-0). He has 13 strikeouts through 12.0 innings pitched.

CATEGORY LEADERS:
Hits – Chris Worcester (35), Jake Ferguson/Brett Stanley (23), Mike O'Conor (19)
Home Runs – Mike O'Conor (5), Ethan Rossi (4), Eli Hill (3)
RBI – Tyler Castro (23), Jake Ferguson (19), Mike O'Conor (18)
Strikeouts – Tyler Conklin (32), Tyler Kapraun (27), Dalton Boruff/Anthony Solis (23)
Wins – Tyler Conklin/Anthony Solis (3), Christian Carew/Eli Cartwright (2), Tyler Kapraun/Nate Marshall (1)

ON DECK: Next up for the Panthers is a midweek game against NIU in DeKalb on Tuesday, April 8th at 3 p.m. EIU will then travel to Cape Girardeau for a three-game set at SEMO next weekend. Game one is scheduled for Friday, April 11th at 6 p.m.