Eastern Illinois University(이스턴일리노이대학교)Baseball Falls Short In Series Opener Versus UT Martin[미국대학장학금]

Eastern Illinois University(이스턴일리노이대학교)Baseball Falls Short In Series Opener Versus UT Martin[미국대학장학금]

With possible Ohio Valley Tournament implications on the line, Eastern Illinois and UT Martin battled back-and-forth in a slugfest to open up their series on Friday at Coaches Stadium. The Skyhawks pulled away in the late innings and defeated the Panthers, 17-14.

Eastern Illinois (16-30) and UT Martin (22-23) both stand at 9-13 in the conference following Friday's contest and are tied for eighth in the OVC standings.

UT Martin raced out to a 4-0 advantage over Eastern Illinois with a run in the first inning and three more in the second, but the Panthers quickly responded in the bottom-half on the second frame. With runners on the corners and one out in the inning, Andrew Curran brought home the first run for the Panthers with an RBI single. Frankie Perrone, Hunter Beetley and Joseph Duncan hit three consecutive singles as Perrone and Duncan drove in one run each, while Beetley brought home two on his hit. Jimmy Govern gave the Panthers a 7-4 advantage with a two-run home run to center field.

The Panthers extended their lead to 9-4 in the next inning on a two-run home run by Andrew Curran.

UT Martin began to chip away at the EIU lead with a run in both the fourth and fifth innings. The Panthers got a run back however in the bottom of the fifth on Perrone's second RBI double of the game to move the score to 10-6 in favor of the Panthers.

UT Martin regained the lead in the top of the sixth.  The Skyhawks started the inning with runners on second and third and no outs. Ryan Helgren plated the first run in the inning for the Skyhawks with a sacrifice fly. Tanner Wessling followed with an RBI double to the right-center field gap. Back-to-back singles gave UT Martin another run in the inning and pulled the Skyhawks within one. Ben Aslett tied the score at 10 with an RBI single of his own. An EIU error allowed another runner to score and gave the Skyhawks an 11-10 advantage.

The seesaw battle continued as Eastern Illinois overtook the lead in the bottom-half of the sixth after back-to-back solo home runs by Logan Beaman and Dougie Parks. Parks' home run marked his 15th of the season as he moves into a tie for ninth all-time in EIU single-season history.

UT Martin began to take control of the game with a two-out rally in the top of the seventh inning. With runners on the corners, Josh Hauser knotted the score at 12 with an RBI single. Aslett gave the Skyhawks the lead once again at 15-12 with a three-run blast over the wall in left center.

Eastern Illinois scored a run in the bottom of the seventh and eighth innings, but UT Martin responded with a run in the top of the eighth and ninth frames to keep their advantage and picked up the series-opening win.

Alex Stevenson took the loss on the mound for the Panthers as he allowed seven runs (six earned) in 3 1/3 innings pitched in relief.

Parks, Curran and Beetley all collected three hits each to pace the EIU offense, while Duncan and Perrone added two hits each in the contest.

Eastern Illinois and UT Martin will continue their series on Saturday with first pitch set for 1 p.m. at Coaches Stadium.

As a reminder, fans are asked to park in the W lot (located just south of the EIU Rugby Field) for Saturday's contest.