Eastern Illinois 28-18 (15-9 OVC) at Illinois State 31-20 (13-11 MVC)
May 12th | Normal, Illinois | Duffy Bass Field
Tuesday at 5:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Eastern Illinois (28-18, 15-9 OVC) at Western Illinois (17-33, 8-16 OVC)
May 14-16 | Macomb, Illinois | Alfred D. Boyer Stadium
Game 1: Thursday at 2:00 PM | Live Stats
Game 2: Friday at 1:00 PM | Live Stats
Game 3: Saturday at 1:00 PM | Live Stats
Eastern Illinois will conclude their regular season with two in-state road trips: Illinois State and Western Illinois. After a rough OVC weekend, the Panthers will look to bounce back before heading to the OVC Tournament in Marion, Illinois.
Weekend Recap
The Panthers went 0-3 last time out after a rough weekend against SIUE. The Panthers celebrated their 17 seniors but fell short in a pivotal OVC series.
Eastern Illinois experienced unusual pitching woes against the Cougars. EIU allowed 43 hits, 39 earned runs, and 17 home runs. SIUE held a batting average of .352 against the Panther arms.
However, Tyler Conklin was a bright spot on the mound for Head Coach Jason Anderson. On his final home start of his career, he tossed 7.1 innings, allowing only two runs on four hits. Conklin finished the outing with five strikeouts and held the Cougars to a .160 batting average.
James Geshel provided 2.0 strong innings of relief, holding opponents to a .125 batting average. Geshel allowed one earned run on one hit.
Offensively, the Panthers collected 23 hits and 15 runs but were unable to keep up with SIUE. Individually, Eastern Illinois was led by Ethan Rossi, who returned to the Panthers' lineup.
Rossi finished with a .600 batting average with three runs, three hits, a double, and an RBI. He held a .800% slugging percentage and a .714 on-base percentage. Defensively, he collected seven put-outs.
Panthers had a trio of pinch hitters this weekend, who each earned a hit. Eli Hill, Jake Ferguson, and Cade Zalewski each went 1-2 on the weekend. Hill and Zalewski collected an RBI in their appearances.
Quade Peters was the final bright spot for the offensive, finishing with a .333 batting average. In nine at-bats, he collected three hits, one RBI, and one run.
Worcester Reaches 200
Chris Worcester earned his 200th career hit as a Panther on Sunday. After celebrating his senior day ceremony, Worcester smashed a double in the 7th inning to secure his career milestone. He is one of two players on the roster to spend five seasons in a Panthers uniform, joining Conklin.
OVC Standings
SIUE is one win away from clinching the OVC regular season title, while the number two seed is still in the air. As of May 11th, Little Rock holds a one-game advantage over EIU and SEMO at 16-8 for second place. Little Rock has the tiebreaker over Eastern Illinois and will face SEMO in the final OVC weekend. Right behind the top four, Lindenwood and Morehead State are tied for fifth at 12-12, while UT Martin sits seventh with a 10-14 OVC record. Southern Indiana, Western Illinois, and Tennessee Tech are battling for the final spot in the OVC Tournament. USI and WIU are tied at 8-16, while Tennessee Tech is two games out of the eighth spot with a 6-18 OVC record.
About Illinois State
The Redbirds hold a 31-20 (13-11 MVC) record after a 2-1 series loss against UIC this past weekend. ISU is coached by Steve Holm, who is in his eighth season with the program. Illinois State's attack is balanced with four players over a .300 batting average. Brayden Bakes has been stellar in his redshirt sophomore season, hitting .389 with 82 hits and 45 RBIs. Bakes are first in the Missouri Valley in hits and doubles, while second in batting average. Graham Mastros is right behind him with a .366 batting average and 70 hits.
On the mound, Michael Addari leads the way with a 2.17 ERA in 62.1 innings of work. The expected midweek starter, Brayden Zilis, holds a 6.75 ERA and has started two games, including a midweek loss to Northwestern last week.
About Western Illinois
The Leathernecks are fighting to remain in the OVC postseason tournament with a 17-33 (8-16 OVC) record. WIU was swept last weekend against Morehead State and is riding a 5-game OVC losing streak. Western Illinois is coached by Terry Davis, who is in his third season with the program. He became the team's ninth head coach in July of 2023. Liam Bushey leads the team in batting average at .335 along with 58 RBIs. Bushey has a .618 slugging percentage and a .453 on-base percentage. Joe Connelly is their second offensive player to watch. Connelly has a .323 batting average and held a 43-game reaching base streak earlier this month.
On the mound, Western Illinois struggles to keep runs off the board, with the three usual starters holding an ERA above 4.00. Max Tripure leads the team in innings thrown with 70.0 and has a 7.04 ERA.
Series History
Eastern Illinois leads the all-time series against Illinois 92-87-1. Panthers fell to ISU 6-5 in extra innings last season.
The Panthers are 99-58-1 all-time against Western Illinois. EIU has now won the last ten meetings and has not dropped a game in the series since 2012. Eastern Illinois swept the Leathernecks last year in the final weekend of the OVC season.
Category Leaders
Hits: Brett Stanley (63), James Love (56), Chris Worcester (51), Tyler Castro (46), Mike O'Conor (46)
Home Runs: Mike O'Conor (13), Chris Worcester (8), James Love (8), Peyton Wilson (4), Ethan Rossi (3)
RBIs: Mike O'Conor (42), Chris Worcester (42), James Love (42), Peyton Wilson (33), Brett Stanley (31)
Strikeouts: Bryce Riggs (70), Anthony Solis (39), Tyler Conklin (35)
Wins: Tyler Conklin (8), Bryce Riggs (7), Anthony Solis (3)
