Eastern Illinois (6-7, 0-0 OVC) vs. Illinois Wesleyan (1-8, 0-0 CCIW)
March 11th | Coaches Stadium | 3:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Eastern Illinois (6-7, 0-0 OVC) at Memphis (3-12, 0-0 American)
March 13-15 | Memphis, Tenn. | FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field
Game 1: Friday at 6:05 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 2: Saturday at 2:05 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 3: Sunday at 1:05 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats
The Panthers' home opener is officially here as EIU will welcome Illinois Wesleyan to Coaches' Stadium. Eastern Illinois will snap their 14-game road trip to begin the season but will waste no time getting back on the road. EIU will play just one home game before traveling to Memphis, Tennessee, for a weekend series.
Panthers At Home
EIU will face Illinois Wesleyan in their home opener on Wednesday after a 14-game road trip. After IWU, the Panthers will be back on the road until March 24th, when they welcome Northern Illinois. Eastern Illinois is scheduled to play 16 games at Coaches Stadium this season.
Last Time Out
The Panthers traveled to Marion, Illinois, for a neutral-site weekend against Bellarmine University. EIU went 2-1 against the Knights, winning the first two games in the series. The Panthers used a high-powered offense to seal game one, hitting four home runs, including two from Kyree Alexander. The next day, EIU won game two with a lights-out performance from Bryce Riggs. In six scoreless innings, Riggs stuck out seven and only allowed two hits. He leads the OVC in opponents' batting average at .132. James Geshel and Mac Zawistoski provided quality innings of relief pitching. Zawistoski threw 2.1 scoreless innings, while Geshel threw 1.1 scoreless innings. Offensively, the Panthers were balanced in their attack with six batting over .300. Kyree Alexander hit two runs and collected five RBIs in a dominant game-one performance. Quade Peters was explosive throughout, hitting .500 with three triples, two doubles, and four hits. Chris Worcester hit .400 with four hits and a home run. Ethan Rossi rounded out the offense hitting .375 with four RBIs, three hits, and a home run.
About Illinois Wesleyan
The Titans arrive to Charleston, Illinois, with a struggling 1-9 record and on an eight-game losing streak. IWU won their first game of the season against Greenville back in February. Illinois Wesleyan is a DIII school competing in the CCIW conference. The Titans are led by head coach Michael Kellar, who is in his second season at the helm. Last season, Coach Kellar led his team to a 28-15 (16-4 CCIW) record and to their first CCIW regular-season championship since 2013. Coach Kellar relies on multiple standout players on the offensive end. The sophomore, AJ Weller, is batting .441 with 15 hits and seven RBIs. Alongside Weller, John Philip Ferraro is hitting .378 with 14 hits and 10 RBIs.
About Memphis
The Tigers are 3-12 and will face Lipscomb and Arkansas-Pine Bluff this week before facing Eastern Illinois. Memphis is on a seven-game losing streak heading into the new week after getting swept by Missouri State. Memphis has a win over an OVC member, Little Rock, and two wins against Toledo. The Tigers are led by second-year head coach Matt Riser. Coach Riser has an offense-led team with Shane Cox leading the way with a .391 batting average and 25 hits. Right behind him, Freddy Rodriguez has a .310 batting average with 18 hits and four doubles.
All-Time Series vs. IWU
These two programs go back as far as 1960, when they first met, which resulted in a 6-4 win for the Panthers. Illinois Wesleyan leads the all-time series 15-4. However, EIU has won the past four meetings, including two run-ruled games. Last year, the Panthers won 11-1, and the year prior, EIU won 24-7.
All-Time Series vs. Memphis
Memphis leads the all-time series 16-6 with the first win dating back to 1983, where these two programs met for the first time. Last time EIU faced the Tigers, the Panthers swept the season series in Memphis, Tennessee.
Team Leaders
Hits: James Love (18), Brett Stanley (17), Tyler Castro (14), Peyton Wilson (13)
Home Runs: James Love (3), Kyree Alexander (2), Ethan Rossi (1), Peyton Wilson (1)
RBIs: James Love (14), Peyton Wilson (10), Kyree Alexander (8), Tyler Castro (6)
Strikeouts: Bryce Riggs (23), Anthony Solis (14), Tyler Conklin (14)
Wins: Tyler Conklin (3), Bryce Riggs (2)
OVC Leaders
Bryce Riggs – 1st Opponent Batting Average (.132)
National Leaders Top 25
Luke Melton – 24th Triples (2)
Quade Peters – 10th Sacrifice Bunts (4) 24th Triples (4)
Peyton Wilson – 21st Sacrifice Flies (3)
Bryce Riggs – Tied 1st Complete Games (1) | 22nd Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (3.97)
Each game this week can be found on the ESPN+ and live stats links posted above.
