After winning the opening game of the series yesterday, the Panthers split the doubleheader against Florida A&M. EIU moves to 2-1 on the season, while the Rattlers move to 1-2.
Game 1: EIU 6 Florida A&M 7
The Panthers' early offense continued as James Loved doubled to right field, scoring Brett Stanley, who earned a base hit earlier in the 1st inning. Florida A&M wasted little time getting revenge as Kresak singled to right, driving in Brown and Miller, tying the game at 2 apiece.
In the top half of the third, Love recorded his second RBI of the game with another double, scoring Kyree Alexander. The Panthers would add an insurance run later in the inning when Love scored on a wild pitch to take a 4-2 lead.
The Rattlers exploded for three runs in the bottom of the third off Anthony Solis. Florida A&M used a leadoff home run by Crews to take a 5-4 advantage.
The high-scoring affair saw no action until the Rattlers added an insurance run in the 6th when Ryals homered to left. However, the Panthers found life thanks to James Love once again as he smashed a left-field home run, earning two RBIs and scoring Brett Stanley.
Unfortunately, the momentum was shot after Lopez hit a walk-off home run in the 7th inning, winning 7-6.
By The Numbers:
Brett Stanley went 3-3 with a stolen base
James Love went 3-4 with 4 RBIs, two doubles, and a home run
Game 2: EIU 2 Florida A&M 0
Unlike game one, the second contest was a low-scoring, pitching duel between Bryce Riggs and Jesus Campa. Riggs pitched a complete game, allowing one hit and striking out six batters.
Zak Goodwin hit a sacrifice fly into left field, allowing Alexander to score the first run of the game for the Panthers.
Riggs dominated, stranding the one hit, which was a double from Perez in the bottom of the third. As the game moved along, both offenses continued to struggle to find a rhythm, as EIU only had 6 in total.
Heading into the final inning, Mike O'Conor led off with a double to left field. O'Conor advanced to third on a Quade Peters ground out. The Rattlers intentionally walked Tyler Castro but made the mistake of pitching to Alexander. Kyree singled, scoring O'Conor for a final insurance run.
The extra run was unneeded because Riggs faced no trouble moving through the final order.
By The Numbers:
Mike O'Conor went 1-3 with a double, a stolen base, and a score
Kyree Alexander went 1-2 with an RBI and two walks
Zak Goodwin went 2-1 with an RBI and a double
Bryce Riggs pitched 7 innings, struck out 6 batters, and allowed only 1 hit
Up Next:
The final game of the series against Florida A&M has been canceled due to inclement weather. Eastern Illinois will face Arkansas State on February 20th at 3 PM.
