EIU Notes  |  Live Stats

EASTERN ILLINOIS at Eastern Kentucky
April 13-15
Turkey Hughes Field (1,500) • Richmond, Ky.

SCHEDULE
Friday, April 13 - 2 p.m.
Saturday, April 14 - 1 p.m.
Sunday, April 15 - Noon
*all times listed as CST

PITCHING MATCHUPS
RHP Mike Hoekstra (2-2 W-L, 2.30 ERA) vs RHP Matt Harris (4-3 W-L, 5.13 ERA)
LHP Christian Slazinik (4-3 W-L, 2.70 ERA) vs LHP Shane Grimm (3-4 W-L, 3.92 ERA)
RHP Troy Barton (4-3 W-L, 1.73 ERA) vs TBA 

GAMES 31-33
The Panther baseball team travels to Richmond, Ky., for a weekend Ohio Valley Conference series with Eastern Kentucky. EIU is 13-17 (4-4 OVC) on the year while EKU is 14-16 (6-3 OVC).
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers are coming off two midweek games, dropping a 10-3 contests at Illinois on Tuesday before defeating Illinois College by the same score on Wednesday. EIU committed a season-high five errors in the loss to the Fighting Illini before committing four miscues against the Blue Boys.
 
EIU hit .324 between the two games, paced by Cameron Berra who went 3-for-5 at the plate. Caleb Howell posted a .500 batting average (3-for-6) in the two contests. The pitching staff put up a 3.18 ERA with 16 strikeouts.
 
EIU-EKU SERIES HISTORY
EIU trails the all-time series between the two schools by one game, 25-24. Panther head coach Jim Schmitz is 24-24 all-time against EKU during his tenure as the Panther skipper.
 
LAST TIME OUT: EKU
The Panthers went 2-1 last season against EKU on March 26-27, 2011 in Charleston. As a team, EIU posted a .377 batting average led by T.J. McManus who hit .538 (7-for-13) in the series. The Glenview, Ill., native also posted five RBI, two runs and a homer. Ryan Dineen also hit .400 (4-for-10) in the series.
 
The pitching staff combined to post a 4.88 ERA in the weekend series with 31 strikeouts to only three walks in 24 innings pitched. Luke Bushur and Christian Slazinik earned the wins from the mound.
 
EIU IN OVC GAMES
Through eight OVC contests, the Panthers are hitting .247 as a team. T.J. McManus is hitting .345 in with eight RBI while Brant Valach has added six RBI. A total of three players are hitting over .300 in those games.
 
The Panther pitching staff has a 1.96 ERA, led by starter Mike Hoekstra's 1.29 ERA. EIU has recorded 62 strikeouts through 78 innings of OVC action.
 
PANTHERS LEAD OVC IN ERA
The Panther pitching staff continues to pace the OVC with a 2.95 ERA, a large margin over the next best pitching staff (Austin Peay – 4.37 ERA). The ERA ranks as the 21st best in the nation (out of 291 teams). EIU also leads the conference in fewest runs and earned runs while ranking second in fewest walks allowed.
 
STARTING ROTATION PACES OVC IN ERA
The Panther starting rotation of Mike Hoekstra, Christian Slazinik and Troy Barton is arguably the best weekend rotation in the OVC as far as ERA is concerned. Barton ranks second with a 1.73 ERA while Hoekstra ranks third (2.30 ERA) and Slazinik ranks fifth (2.70 ERA).
 
Hoekstra also leads the OVC in innings pitched (54.2) while ranking fourth in strikeouts (43 K). Barton also ranks second in opponent batting average (.198 BA) while Slazinik ranks third (.209 BA).
 
PANTHERS LEAD OVC IN SACRIFICE HITS
The Panthers have a total of 47 sacrifice hits on the year, including 41 sacrifice bunts. Junior Nick Priessman paces the squad with 10 sacrifice bunts, the 14th most in the nation.
 
PANTHERS STRUGGLING AT THE PLATE
EIU ranks last in the conference in hitting with a .246 batting average. Only two players in Ryan Dineen (.336 BA) and T.J. McManus (.310 BA) are batting over .300 this season.
 
REESE, PANTHERS CATCH RUNNERS STEALING
EIU has only allowed 14 stolen bases this season, the fewest in the conference. The next best team, Jacksonville State, has allowed 31 stolen bases.
 
Catcher Jacob Reese has caught 17 of the 29 base runners attempting to steal a base, recording a .414 SBA%.
 
EIU ONE LINERS
• Despite having a .190 batting average on the year, redshirt-senior Ben Thoma has a team-high six home runs – all coming inside the friendly confines of Coaches Stadium. Thoma hit two homers in the Panthers midweek victory over Illinois College.
 
• Ben Thoma has a .333 career batting average against EKU with six RBI, five runs and three doubles. In six career games versus the Colonels, Ryan Dineen is hitting .300 with four runs and two doubles.
 
• Junior Ryan Dineen is tied for third in the OVC in stolen bases. The infielder is 10-for-14 on the base paths this season.
 
• Freshman Brant Valach leads the Panthers with a .367 batting average (11-for-30) with runners in scoring position and has a team-high six, two-out RBI.
 
• Senior Darin Worman ranks second in the conference in appearances, making 19 trips out of the bullpen this season. The southpaw is 1-3 on the year with a 5.27 ERA.
 
• Despite only batting .197 on the year, Nathan Sopena has paced the Panthers at the plate through eight conference games with a .350 batting average.
 
PITCHERS LOOK TO LEAD OVC IN ERA FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE SEASON
EIU returns seven pitchers – including four starters – from a staff that lead the OVC in earned run average a year ago. Under the direction of assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Skylar Meade, the pitching staff has led the conference in ERA in three of the last four seasons. EIU finished the 2009 campaign ranked second in ERA.
 
HOEKSTRA IN THE CAREER PITCHING CHARTS
Redshirt-senior Mike Hoekstra ranks fourth in career games started with 38. The RHP has a 13-12 career record with a 4.17 ERA in 237.1 innings of action. He also has posted 153 strikeouts to only 39 walks.
 
THOMA IN THE CAREER BATTING CHARTS
Redshirt-senior Ben Thoma is closing in on the career top-10 charts in doubles and RBI. The outfielder currently ranks fifth in career home runs with 30. He also needs five doubles and eight RBI to enter the top-10 of both of those statistical categories.
 
BUSHUR RETURNS AFTER EARNING OVC NEWCOMER TEAM HONORS
Sophomore Luke Bushur is the Panthers lone returning all-conference selection, earning all-newcomer team accolades in 2011. The RHP posted a 4-5 record as a starter with 49 strikeouts – the second most on the team – in 56.2 innings of work.
 
SCHMITZ ENTERS 18th SEASON AS HEAD COACH
Panther head coach Jim Schmitz enters his 18th season at the helm of the EIU baseball program and 25th overall season as a head coach. Schmitz has amassed over 600 wins as a head coach.
 
Under Schmitz, the Panthers have won four outright OVC regular-season titles – tied for the most by any school in the OVC. He has also won OVC Coach of the Year on three occasions, the most by any skipper in the conference.
 
A total of 16 players at EIU have been drafted under Schmitz, including five players in the last three years. 43 Panthers have earned first team or second team all-conference selections since Schmitz took over the program in 1995.
 
NEW OVC SCHEDULE FORMAT
Previously the OVC played a three-game series spread over two days, with the teams playing a doubleheader on Saturday (with one of those games being a 7-inning game, the other a 9-inning affair) and a single 9-inning game on Sunday.
 
Starting this season the series schedule will move to a three-game series over three days (Friday-Saturday-Sunday), with a single 9-inning game being played each day. Games on Friday will begin no earlier than 3 p.m. local time and no later than 6 p.m. local time.