A balanced attack led by Bryce Riggs led the Panthers to a series-clinching victory against SEMO. EIU remains tied for first place with SIUE after both teams won their Saturday contests. Panthers move to 27-15 (14-6 OVC), while the RedHawks fall to 31-15 (12-8 OVC).
With the win, Riggs improved his record to 7-1 after allowing only one earned run with three strikeouts in 7.1 innings of work.
For the RedHawks, Mason Pennington earned his third loss of the season (5-3) after giving up six earned runs in 2.2 innings of work.
Both offenses were ready to battle early, each scoring a first inning run. Riggs found himself in trouble, loading the bases with zero outs.
After a leadoff double and two straight walks, Riggs settled down, allowing only one run. SEMO scored Caleb Klein on a double play before an infield popup ended the RedHawks' scoring opportunity.
The Panthers responded with Mike O'Conor smacking an RBI infield single to score Chris Worcester, who reached on a walk and then stole second base.
SEMO's first inning was the only highlight for the RedHawks' struggling offense. After the early damage, Riggs allowed zero runs on one hit over the next six complete innings.
Eastern Illinois wasted no time breaking the tie, scoring two runs the next time up. The 2nd inning was highlighted by back-to-back RBI singles from Brett Stanley and Worcester. Peyton Wilson and Tyler Castro were plated after reaching on a single and base on balls.
EIU pulled away from the RedHawks early with three runs in the bottom of the third inning.
Trailing 6-1, the RedHawks pitching staff found life, retiring eight straight batters heading into the bottom of the 6th inning.
James Love broke the drought with a two-run deep shot to center field, scoring Worcester to extend the lead to 8-1.
The Panthers ended the game early with three final runs in the 8th inning to complete the run-rule victory. Love kicked off the inning with his 31st walk of the season, ranking 5th in the OVC. O'Conor followed suit with a four-pitch walk to first base.
Zak Goodwin's lone hit of the day was an RBI base hit to left field, scoring Love from second base. John Klus of SEMO struggled in relief, walking Wilson after falling in the count 3-0. With bases loaded, Dylan Drumke, who shined defensively with seven put-outs, provided on the offensive end. Drumke was hit by the pitch, allowing O'Conor to score the Panthers' 10th run of the game.
Quade Peters went 2-4 and earned the run-rule victory single to center field, knocking in Goodwin for the series-clinching win.
Offensively, everyone outside of Wilson earned an RBI for the Panthers. Love earned his 11th multi-RBI game of the season, while Castro improved his game total to six.
Worcester collected his 12 multi-hit games of the season, and Peters earned his 9th multi-hit game of the year.
By The Numbers:
EIU: 11 Runs,10 Hits, 0 Errors
SEMO: 1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors
Tyler Castro: 1-3, 3 RBIs, 2B
James Love: 1-4, HR, 2 RBIs
Quade Peters: 2-4, 2 RBIs
Chris Worcester: 2-4, 1 RBI
Up Next: EIU will attempt the series sweep against SEMO tomorrow at 1:00 PM.
