Eastern Illinois (4-3, 0-0 OVC) at Northern Kentucky (3-4, 0-0 Horizon League)
February 24th – March 1st | Highland Heights, Ky. | Bill Aker Baseball Complex
Game 1: Friday at 1 PM | Live Stats
Game 2: Saturday at 12 PM | Live Stats
Game 3: Sunday at 11 AM | Live Stats
The Panthers continue their long road trip to Highland Heights, Kentucky, to face Northern Kentucky for a three-game weekend series. EIU heads into the weekend with a 4-3 record after dropping the series against Arkansas State.
Long Road Trip Continues
The Panthers are in the middle of a 14-game road trip to start the season, traveling to four different states. EIU will head to Kentucky to face Northern Kentucky. A week later, the Panthers will travel back to Kentucky for a weekend series against Bellarmine. Eastern Illinois welcomes Illinois Wesleyan to their home opener on March 11th.
Last Time Out
Eastern Illinois opened with a midweek matchup against Butler University. The offense was rolling in the 15-12 high-scoring affair victory. For the week, EIU scored a total of 23 runs. However, later in the week, the Panthers struggled in their series against Arkansas State, losing the weekend 2-1. EIU opened with a narrow 3-2 win. Peyton Wilson, Dylan Drumke, and Quade Peters each earned an RBI in the win. The next two games were not kind to EIU, dropping both by more than five runs. For the week, James Love led the way, hitting .462 with six hits, five RBIs, two doubles, two home runs, and a triple. Brett Stanley followed suit, hitting .375 with six hits and two doubles. Bryce Riggs, Jarret Kinder, and James Geshel carried out the pitching performances. Riggs threw four scoreless innings of relief against Arkansas State. Kinder threw four scoreless innings in two appearances. Geshel threw 3.2 scoreless innings of relief in the win over Butler.
About Northern Kentucky
NKU heads into the weekend with a 3-4 record after winning a Sunday game against Alabama A&M 8-5. The Norse have won two of their last three games. Northern Kentucky opened their season at South Carolina, losing the series 2-1. NKU will play fellow OVC member Morehead State on February 25th for a midweek matchup before facing EIU. Last season in Northern Kentucky ended with a 31-25 overall record and an 18-12 Horizon League record. The Norse lost in the Horizon League Tournament to the number one seeded Wright State, 18-1. NKU is coached by Dizzy Peyton, who is in his 5th season as head coach. In 2024, Peyton was named the Horizon League's Coach of the Year. In the same year, he led the program to their first NCAA Tournament appearance. NKU is an offensive-lead team, scoring a total of 38 runs so far this season, including an 11-run game against Eastern Kentucky. However, Northern Kentucky shows its balance with Elijah Green on the mound. In two appearances. Green has an ERA of 0.96 with six strikeouts in 9.1 innings of work. EJ Miramontes has provided a quality number two arm in the rotation. Miramontes has a 3.12 ERA with seven strikeouts in 8.2 innings of work.
All-Time Series
In 2025, these two programs met for the first time. NKU won the weekend series against Eastern Illinois in Highland Heights, Kentucky. The Panthers earned an opening series win 8-5, but NKU collected two straight victories, including an 11-inning thriller on the final day.
Team Leaders
Hits: Brett Stanley (11), James Love (10), Tyler Castro (6)
Home Runs: James Love (3)
RBIs: James Love (11), Peyton Wilson (6), Luke Melton (4)
Strikeouts: Bryce Riggs (10), Tyler Conklin (7), James Geshel (6)
Wins: Tyler Conklin (2), Bryce Riggs (1), James Geshel (1)
OVC Leaders
Luke Melton: 1st in Avg (.600) | 1st in 3B (2) | 1st in OB% (.750)
James Love: 1st in 2B (5) | 1st in TB (26)
Bryce Riggs: 1st in ERA (0.00) | 1st in SV (1) | 1st in SHO (1) | 1st in R (0)
Tyler Conklin: 1st in Wins (2)
All three games can be followed along on the live stat links above. There is no ESPN+ coverage.
