CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois baseball persevered through a 4-19 start to its year, playing its best in the final two months of the campaign to maximize its season and return to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

 

The Panthers (18-35, 11-12 OVC) were 14-16 after April 1 and went 7-4 in their final 11 OVC games to finish fifth in the conference standings. Five of those seven wins down the stretch were against teams that finished above EIU in the standings. In the opening game of the OVC Tournament, the Panthers overcame a seventh-inning deficit (5-1) to win a 10-inning classic against rival Southeast Missouri State, ending a losing streak in extra-inning games dating back to 2008.

 

Led by its weekend rotation of Mike Recchia, Josh Mueller and Mike Hoekstra, EIU led the OVC in team ERA in all games and conference play. All three hurlers were named OVC Pitcher of the Week after helping lead EIU to a conference victory.

 

Recchia was named a First Team All-OVC starting pitcher for the second year in a row, becoming the first EIU pitcher to accomplish the feat in consecutive seasons. Recchia (87) and Mueller (78) both posted EIU single-season Top 10 strikeout totals, posting the highest combined strikeout total by teammates in program history. Mueller led the OVC in strikeouts per nine innings (10.27) while Recchia was tops in total Ks. The team's 362 strikeouts this season ranked fourth all-time at EIU.

 

Both Mueller and Recchia are expected to be selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft (June 7-9). As juniors, should they opt to return for their senior seasons, both pitchers would have an opportunity to challenge Marty Pattin's EIU all-time strikeouts record (278).

 

Hoekstra returned for an injury that had sidelined him since March 2008 and issued only five walks in 67 innings pitched, establishing a new program record for fewest walks per nine innings. He led the nation in that same category entering the NCAA Tournament Regionals. He was not charged with a wild pitch all season.

 

Offensively, Zach Borenstein became only the sixth player of the program's Division I era (1982-present) to lead the team in each of the three Triple Crown categories – batting average (.353), home runs (11) and RBIs (47). As a sophomore, he was also the first underclassman to accomplish the feat. Borenstein batted .405 after April 1 and ended the season riding a 12-game hitting streak. He started every game at third base and reached base safely in 49 of the 53 games.

 

Alex Gee led the way in conference play with six home runs and 29 RBIs, earning Second Team All-OVC honors at designated hitter. He hit seven of his 10 long balls in the month of May, including two at the OVC Tournament. In the three-game series at Jacksonville State the weekend of May 8-9, he went deep four times and recorded nine RBIs en route to earning National Player of the Week honors from Collegiate Baseball.

 

Cam Strang also started all 53 games at shortstop and led the team with a .390 average in OVC play. He posted a team-best and career-long 16-game hitting streak, hitting safely in 24 of the final 26 games of the year. His .946 fielding percentage ranked second among the OVC's starting shortstops.

 

During a season in which the EIU bullpen struggled, Brent McNeil emerged as the team's most reliable reliever. His quick feet helped him record nine pickoffs, ranking the righthander fifth nationally entering the NCAA Regionals. As a team, the Panthers were also fifth nationally with 23 pickoffs, a total that is believed to be a program record. As a reliever, McNeil only allowed one of the 15 base runners he inherited to score.

 

Eastern struggled in close games and holding leads. The Panthers were 2-13 in one-run games and lost 12 games in which they led as late as the sixth inning.

 

But EIU maximized its season by once again being formidable at home, posting a 10-6 record at Coaches Stadium. Eastern won all four of its OVC series at home and has now won six consecutive home series dating back to 2009.

The Panthers will have to bid adieu to four seniors, all of whom were on the field when EIU won the 2008 OVC Tournament, but are slated to return at least six starting position players for 2011.

Individual Player Recaps Coming Soon...