Baseball Wins Midweek Tilt At Butler/이스턴일리노이대학교[미국주립대 장학생, 미국대학편입]
Baseball Wins Midweek Tilt At Butler/이스턴일리노이대학교[미국주립대 장학생, 미국대학편입]
After falling behind in the bottom of the first inning, the Eastern Illinois baseball team regained the lead in the top of the fourth and held their advantage the rest of the way as the Panthers picked up a 15-5 decision over Butler on Tuesday.
Eastern Illinois picked up their second win of the year over Butler in as many tries and improved their record to 20-33. Butler fell to 30-19 following the loss.
Chase Thurston had arguably his best outing of his career as the senior tossed 6 1/3 scoreless frames while allowing just four hits to pick up his second win of the season.
Eastern Illinois wasted little time breaking the scoring column on Tuesday as Joseph Duncan doubled down the left-field line to start the game. Back-to-back fly outs brought Duncan home as Logan Beaman was credited with an RBI sacrifice fly to put the Panthers ahead, 1-0.
Butler took advantage of three walks and a wild pitch to start the bottom of the first and tied the game at one. Michael Hartnagel brought home another run for the Bulldogs with an RBI single. Butler added another run later in the inning on an RBI double by Harrison Freed that gave the Bulldogs a 3-1 advantage.
Eastern Illinois responded to tie the game at three in the top of the second. After Frankie Perrone got hit by a pitch, a wild pitch allowed Perrone to move into scoring position. Justin Smith drove in Perrone with a single through Butler infield. Duncan followed the Smith base hit with an RBI double to tie the game at three.
Matt Albert got things going again for the Panthers in the top of the fourth with a lead-off single. A wild pitch allowed Albert to move up to second as he came around to score on an RBI single by Andrew Curran. The next two Panthers reached base ahead of Jimmy Govern, who drove in another run on a sacrifice fly and extended the EIU lead to 5-3.
Eastern Illinois broke the game open in the top of the sixth as the Panthers started the inning with runners on second and third and no outs. Govern drove in the first run of the inning with another sacrifice fly. The next two EIU batters walked following the Govern sacrifice fly to load the bases for Albert. Albert cleared the bases with a grand slam to deep center field that moved the score to 10-3 in favor of the Panthers.
The Panthers added another run in the form of Govern's third sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh. The bats stayed hot for the Panthers into the eighth inning as Dougie Parks blasted a solo home run, his 17th of the season. Parks moved into a tie for third in single-season history with the home run. Hunter Beetley, who singled after the Parks' home run, added another run for the Panthers in the inning, scoring on a passed ball.
After being held scoreless from the second through seventh innings, Butler finally added a run in the bottom of the eighth to cut the EIU advantage to 13-4.
Eastern Illinois added a pair of runs in the top of the ninth. Beaman drove in the first run in the frame on an RBI single as a Butler error later in the inning plated another run for the Panthers.
Butler took advantage of a pair of walks in the bottom of the ninth to score a run, but Derek Flaugher worked out of the jam to give the Panthers the victory.
Duncan had a big day at the plate as he collected four hits in five at-bats to lead the Panthers. Duncan now has a team-high 77 hits this season which places him in a tie for eighth in single-season history with at least three games still to play.
Curran contributed three hits, while Albert and Smith added two hits each in the game.
The Panthers will now move their focus to this weekend as the Panthers are set to host Austin Peay in a crucial three-game OVC series. The series with Austin Peay will begin on Thursday at Coaches Stadium.
