DeKalb, Ill. – The Eastern Illinois baseball team (14-15, 5-3 OVC) scored 13 unanswered runs to pull away from NIU (12-19, 3-9 MAC) in an 18-10 midweek road victory on Tuesday afternoon. With the win, EIU splits the season series against their counterparts from the north.

The victory also improves Eastern's all-time record against Northern to 24-13 and stands as the first win over the Huskies since 2004.

The Panthers generated 18 runs, including 16 earned, on 14 hits and two NIU errors. James Love headlined the EIU offense, recording a team-high three hits with two doubles and three RBIs.

Four Panthers recorded multi-hit outings, with Ethan Rossi and Chris Worcester also posting multi-RBI performances. Eight different EIU batters recorded RBIs in the game, including Quade Peters who went 1-2 with a three-RBI double.

Nate Marshall (2-0) picked up the win after throwing three scoreless innings in relief in which he allowed just one hit with a pair of strikeouts.

NIU fired the opening salvo in the first inning with a Andrew Smart RBI double. With runners on first and second, an error in the outfield allowed a pair of unearned runs to also score, including Smart who completed the round-trip.

The Panthers wasted no time responding, and after Luke Melton was walked with two outs to load the bases, Quade Peters delivered double to right field that tied the game.

After a 1-2-3 inning for Northern in the second, the Panthers pounced into the lead behind a James Love two RBI double that plated Jake Ferguson and Pierce Bauerle, who had both reached on free passes.

However, the Huskies were quick to answer in the third with Logan Gregorio two-run homer that tied the score 5-5.

Following a scoreless fourth for EIU, NIU surged back ahead with a two-out JP Gauthier grand slam in the bottom of the inning. All four runs were unearned thanks to an error early on in the frame.

The Panthers began chipping away at the lead in the fifth, with Jake Ferguson scoring on an error before a James Love RBI single scored another. EIU completely erased the deficit in the sixth with an Ethan Rossi two RBI base hit.

Eastern kept things rolling in with a big seventh inning, as they flipped the script on Northern to take a four-run lead of their own.

The inning got started with Pierce Bauerle reaching on an error before a James Love double put runners on second and third with no outs. Tyler Castro grounded out in the next at-bat, but it was enough to score Bauerle to put EIU back in front.

After Eli Hill was walked to put runners on the corners, Chris Worcester drove in Love with a base hit to extend the lead before Brett Stanley singled to load the bases.

The Panthers scored their final two runs of the frame on a pair of mishaps from the NIU battery, with Hill scoring on a wild pitch and Worcester coming home on a passed ball to make the score 13-9.

EIU continued pouring it on in the eighth inning, this time with a five-spot. Joey Hagen walked and stole second to lead off the inning before scoring on a Colin Horneman double down the right-field line.

Tyler Castro then reached on a fielder's choice that resulted in no outs before Eli Hill loaded the bases with a bunt single. Chris Worcester was subsequently walked to score another run before an RBI fielder's choice from Brett Stanley plated Castro.

With a runner on third, Mike O'Conor drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, while Stanely would go on to score EIU's 13th consecutive run on a wild pitch.

Northern would score one more run with a Kaden Kosobucki solo homer in the bottom of the ninth, but the Huskies were unable to piece together any sort of rally as Eastern cruised to the midweek win.

Next up for the Panthers is a trip to Cape Girardeau for an OVC clash against SEMO. Game on of the three-game set is scheduled for Friday, April 11th at 6 p.m.