Eastern Illinois (17-11, 7-2 OVC) at Northern Illinois (18-9, 10-5 MAC)
April 7th | Dekalb, IL | Tuesday at 3:00 PM | Live Stats | Live Stream
Eastern Illinois (17-11, 7-2 OVC) vs. Southern Indiana (19-13, 4-5 OVC)
April 10-12 | Charleston, IL | Frost Field at Coaches Stadium
Game 1: Friday at 5:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 2: Saturday at 1:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game 3: Sunday at 1:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Eastern Illinois will head north to face Northern Illinois in an early week contest. After NIU, the Panthers will return home to face Southern Indiana in OVC play.
Offensive Highlights
Mike O'Conor
O'Conor earned Player of the Week in the OVC for his impressive weekend performance against Tennessee Tech. On Saturday, O'Conor hit three home runs and collected 7 RBIs. Over the weekend, he collected four home runs and 11 RBIs and had a .667 batting average. O'Conor also had a .615 on-base percentage and a 1.667 slugging percentage.
Brett Stanley
Stanley has officially broken the EIU hitting streak record since 1991 with 25 consecutive games with a hit. The previous hitting streaks are listed below.
Steve Dunlop – 23 games (1996)
Jeff Cammann – 23 games (2003-04, 1st two games of 2004)
Erik Huber – 21 games (2007)
The last time Stanley did not record a hit was the third game of the season against Florida A&M on February 14th. Over the course of the season, Stanley is hitting .357 in 112 at-bats, collecting 40 hits, 19 RBIs, eight doubles, four triples, and two home runs.
James Love
Along with Stanley's hitting streak, Love has an active streak as well. James Love has currently reached base in 28 straight games. Over the course of the season, Love hits .330 with 33 hits. Love also has 20 RBIS, 10 doubles, and 21 walks.
Last Time Out
Panthers went 2-1 last week with a conference scheduled for Easter weekend. In game one, the Panthers struggled on the mound, losing in a run-rule, 21-6. Tyler Conklin had the start and threw 2.2 innings, allowing 7 earned runs with only one strikeout recorded. EIU rebounded quickly with a run rule victory of their own, winning game two 13-1 in eight innings. Bryce Riggs had another impressive outing, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Offensively, the bats were hot, scoring 28 runs over the entire weekend. Outside of the star trio of O'Conor, Stanley, and Love, Quade Peters returned to the lineup after an injury and hit .571 with four hits and two RBIs. Joey Hagen hit .333 with three hits, including a triple and four RBIs. Ethan Rossie also hit .333 with three hits, including a triple and four RBIs. The Panthers closed out the series with a win on Saturday, 9-6. EIU scored eight runs in back-to-back late innings, including five in the 8th, to secure the close-out game.
Frost Field Dedication Game
Eastern Illinois University Board of Trustees has approved the installation of lights at Coaches Stadium. In recognition of a gift and a legacy of generosity, the facility will be renamed Frost Field at Coaches Stadium in honor of Harry and Gladys Frost. Their legacy now extends to the baseball diamond, where Frost Field at Coaches Stadium will serve as a lasting tribute to their commitment to student success and the future of Eastern Illinois Athletics.
A formal dedication ceremony for Frost Field will take place prior to the Panthers April 11 home game against Southern Indiana.
Scouting Report
NIU: NIU welcomes EIU to Dekalb, Illinois, with an 18-9 (10-5 MAC) record after going 2-1 against UMass. Less than a month ago, these two programs met at Eastern Illinois for the first game under the lights in school history. Northern Illinois won 5-4 in a 10-inning thriller. Prior to their contest at EIU, Northern Illinois swept the weekend series against Miami OH. The all-time series between these two teams favors EIU at 31-25.
USI: Southern Indiana travels to EIU with a 19-13 (4-5 OVC) record, going 1-2 against SIUE at home. USI will face Bellarmine and Butler before hitting the road to Charleston, Illinois. The Screaming Eagles are coached by Chris Ramirez, who is in his second season at the helm. Ramirez is led by a balanced attack with five guys batting over .300. Patrick McLellan leads the way, hitting .392 with 51 hits and 35 RBIs. Right behind him, Clayton Slack is hitting .352 with 43 hits and 27 RBIs. On the mound, Levein East is their ace with a 2.97 ERA in 30.1 innings of work. The bullpen has been strong with five key guys being called upon. The leader out of the bullpen, Trey O'Neil, has a 0.87 ERA in 10.1 innings of work. Eastern Illinois leads the all-time series 22-11, with the first matchup taking place in 1973, with EIU winning 12-1 and 17-3. Last year, the Panthers went 2-1 against the Screaming Eagles. After dropping the first game, the Panthers rebounded by winning the last two games of the series.
Team Leaders:
Hits: Brett Stanley (40), Chris Worcester (34), James Love (33), Tyler Castro (29), Peyton Wilson (25)
Home Runs: Chris Worcester (7), James Love (4), Peyton Wilson (3), Ethan Rossi (2)
RBIs: Chris Worcester (27), James Love (20), Brett Stanley (19), Peyton Wilson (18), Joey Hagen (16)
Strikeouts: Bryce Riggs (51), Anthony Solis (22), Tyler Conklin (22)
Wins: Tyler Conklin (5), Bryce Riggs (5)
