Eastern Illinois (13-8, 3-0 OVC) vs. Northern Illinois (13-7, 6-3 MAC)
March 24th | Coaches Stadium | 4:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Eastern Illinois (13-8, 3-0 OVC) at Morehead State (13-8, 0-3 OVC)
March 27-29 | Charleston, Illinois | Coaches Stadium
Game 1: Friday at 3:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 2: Saturday at 1:00 PM | Live Stats
Game 3: Sunday at 1:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Eastern Illinois will officially play their home opener against Northern Illinois in a midweek showdown. Later this week, EIU will host Morehead State at Coaches Stadium for a weekend OVC matchup.
Last Time Out
EIU went a perfect 5-0 last week, facing no trouble against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Lindenwood. The Panthers won their first run-rule game against the Golden Lions on Wednesday, winning 13-3 in eight innings. Dalton Boruff tossed an impressive performance on Tuesday to open the midweek series. Boruff pitched 5.2 scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Nate Marshall continued the shutout, throwing 2.2 innings with two strikeouts.
Eastern Illinois continued their momentum into the weekend with a series sweep against Lindenwood to start 3-0 in conference play. This is the first time EIU has begun OVC play undefeated since 2022 when they swept UT Martin.
Chris Worcester led the way offensively, hitting .381 (8-21). Worcester collected eight hits, seven RBIs, five doubles, and one home run. Closely behind him, Tyler Castro hit .357 with five hits and a double. Quade Peters and James Love rounded out the above .300 hitting club. Peters hit .333 with five hits and two RBIs, while Love hit .300 with six hits, two doubles, and three RBIs.
On the mound for the Panthers, Blaine Nunnally, Tyler Conklin, Dalton Boruff, Nate Marshall, and Mac Zawistoski each earned a win in their appearance. Boruff opened the week with 5.2 scoreless innings. Blaine Nunnally picked up his first win in the run-rule victory over the Golden Lions. He threw 3.0 innings with three strikeouts as a starter. Conklin opened the weekend at Lindenwood, throwing 7.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Marshall and Zawistoski each earned a win in relief to close out the weekend series.
Brett Stanley
Stanley extended his hitting streak to 18 games last week, including multiple hits in the last three games. He finished the week, hitting .364 with eight hits, six RBIs, three doubles, and two triples. Stanley also finished with a .682 slugging percentage and a .417 on-base percentage.
About Northern Illinois
NIU travels to Charleston, Illinois with a 13-7 record after sweeping the weekend series against Miami OH. The Huskies have a winning record against the OVC this year with a 3-1 series win at Lindenwood. Northern Illinois is 6-3 in the MAC conference with a series win at Ohio and a series loss at Toledo. The Huskies are coached by Ryan Copeland, who is in his third season at the helm. Copeland previously coached the University of Illinois-Springfield before making the jump to Division One. Copeland won 21 games last year with two wins against Power 4 opponents; Purdue and Northwestern. Copeland is led by a trio of hitters; Caden Robertson, Wyatt Wawro, and Cole Smith. Robertson hits .384 with 29 RBIs, 28 hits, and 10 home runs. Wawro hits .361 with 13 hits. Rounding out the lineup is Smith who is hitting .354 with 28 hits, 20 RBIs, and 11 doubles.
All-Time Series vs. NIU
The Panthers lead the all-time series 31-24 against NIU, with the first matchup taking place in 1960. The first two matchups were IIAC conference games, in which NIU won 3-1 and 14-3. EIU won their first game against the Huskies in 1964 with a 6-1 victory. In 2025, these two programs split the season series, with NIU winning game one 15-14, while EIU won the second meeting 18-10.
About Morehead State
Morehead State is currently 10-14 on the year with a midweek matchup with Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday. The Eagles were swept in the conference opening series against SIUE. In the opener, the Eagles lost 23-8 in seven innings. On Sunday, they lost 28-23 in a five-hour slugfest. Morehead State is coached by Chris Rose, who is in his sixth year at the helm. Prior to Morehead State, Rose coached at Gulf Coast College and East Mississippi College. Rose is led by his offensive duo of Aubrey Kearns and Kyle Krupp. Kearns is currently hitting .436 with 41 hits, 28 RBIs, nine doubles, and seven home runs. Krupps is batting .368 with 32 hits, 14 RBIs, three doubles, and three triples.
All-Time Series vs. Morehead State
EIU leads the all-time series 44-9 against Morehead State. The first matchup between these two programs was in 1997. EIU won the season series 2-1 after winning games two and three. In 2025, EIU won the series 2-1 in a high-scoring weekend. Panthers won 19-5 in game one, lost game two 8-7 in 10 innings, before winning game three 14-10 in 10 innings.
Team Leaders
Hits: Brett Stanley (31), James Love (27), Chris Worcester (25), Peyton Wilson (22), Tyler Castro (21)
Home Runs: Chris Worcester (3), James Love (3), Peyton Wilson (3), Kyree Alexander (2)
RBIs: Chris Worcester (19), James Love (17), Peyton Wilson (17), Brett Stanley (13), Kyree Alexander (12)
Strikeouts: Bryce Riggs (4), Anthony Solis (20), Tyler Conklin (17)
Wins: Tyler Conklin (4), Bryce Riggs (3)
National Leaders
Team Triple Per Game – 1st (0.52)
Team Sacrifice Bunts – 7th (21)
Shutouts – 23rd (2)
Chris Worcester – 8th Doubles Per Game (0.56)
Bryce Riggs – 18th Hits Allowed Per Nin (4.89)
Quade Peters – 15th Sacrifice Bunts (5)
James Geshel – 11th Saves (5)
Tyler Conklin – 24th Wins (4)
The game against NIU will be covered on the live stats and ESPN+ links above. The weekend series against Morehead State will be covered on the live stats with ESPN+ coverage on Friday and Saturday.
