MARION, Ill. – The Eastern Illinois baseball team (31-22, 17-7 OVC) saw their season come to an end with a 2-1 loss to Little Rock (23-32, 8-16 OVC) in OVC Tournament Championship on Saturday afternoon. Tyler Kapraun had a fantastic day on the mound for Eastern, going 6.1 innings and allowing zero earned runs on just four hits with three strikeouts.

After the game's first nine batters were retired in order, Brett Stanley singled up the middle for the game's first hit before James Love reached base on a fielding error to put two on with one out for the Panthers. However, back-to-back fly outs left both stranded.

Following the fourth scoreless inning from Tyler Kapraun, Zak Goodwin reached on a leadoff single before a James Love base hit with one out put runners on first and second again. This time, Ethan Rossi stepped to the plate and delivered an RBI single up the middle to put the Panthers in front.

The Trojans threatened with runners in scoring position in the fifth and sixth innings, but were unable to scratch any runs across as Tyler Kapraun carried the shutout into the seventh.

However, the Eastern offense was unable to provide any insurance runs, leaving runners on base in both frames, and the lead remained a narrow 1-0.

With no margin for error, a fielding error allowed the leadoff man to reach for Little Rock in the seventh, and following a Cade Martin single, runners were on the corners with no outs.

Following a pop out, Angel Cano delivered a base hit to left field that scored Ty Rhoades and tied the game.

The Trojans would load the bases with two outs, but Christian Carew was able to escape the jam without anymore runs coming across.

However, following a two-out triple by Ty Rhoades in the top of the eighth, the Trojans took their first lead of the ballgame with a Cade Martin RBI double down the left field line.

The Panthers were unable to produce any offense through their final two at-bats, resulting in a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat.

Four Panthers were named to the All-Tournament team, including Bryce Riggs, Tyler Castro, Ethan Rossi, and Mike O'Conor.

EIU finishes the season with an overall record of 31-22 and an OVC regular season title after going 17-7 in conference play.