EIU Drops Sunday Game To Belmont

With one of the largest home crowds on hand for “Kids Day” at Coaches Stadium, the Eastern Illinois ball club was in search for an Ohio Valley Conference series win against visiting Belmont. The Bruins played spoiler on the day as they defeated the Panthers 6-1 on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers will continue their home stand with a single game contest against Saint Louis on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Eastern Illinois drops to 7-33 (2-16 OVC), while Belmont picked up the win and moves to 22-17 (11-7 OVC).

The Panthers picked up the only run in the first four innings in what started out as a pitcher’s duel between Matt Wivinis and Tyler Vaughn. Eastern Illinois got to the Belmont starter for a run in the bottom of the second inning. Frankie Perrone tripled down the right field line and eventually came around to score on a Nick Maton sacrifice fly to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.

Belmont rallied to take the lead with a three-run fifth inning. Kyle Conger started the inning by reaching on an error and moved into scoring position on a groundout. Belmont scored their first run of the inning on an RBI single by Chas Hadden. Tyler Fullerton gave Belmont a 3-1 lead on the next play as he hit a two-run home run over the wall in left center.

Belmont manufactured another run an inning later in the top of the sixth. Desi Ammons singled through the hole in the left side of the Panthers’ infield. A sacrifice bunt moved Ammons up to second, and a deep fly out allowed Ammons to reach third. Conger singled to drive in Ammons and give Belmont the 4-1 lead.

Two doubles accounted for Belmont’s first run in the top of the eighth. The Bruins added another run on a Hadden bases loaded walk, as the score held the rest of the way at 6-1.

Wivinis took the loss on the mound for the Panthers, allowing four runs (three earned) in seven innings. Alex Cain had a scoreless inning of relief for the Panthers, earning two strikeouts.
Joseph Duncan and Perrone were the only Panthers to record multiple hits, as the pair finished 2-for-4 each. Perrone’s two hits were triples.

For the second time during last week week the Eastern Illinois baseball team won on a walk-off in the bottom of the 10th inning. This time however, it was a wild pitch that allowed Dane Toppel to bring home the final run and give the Panthers a 9-8 win against Belmont Saturday at Coaches Stadium.

The Panthers took the lead first in the bottom of the second inning as Frankie Perrone led off with a single up the middle. Perrone quickly came around to score on a Jason Scholl RBI double. A Belmont error continued the inning for Eastern Illinois, with a well-executed double steal scoring the second run of the frame. A walk and a passed ball put runners on the corners, but groundout gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead.

Belmont overtook the lead in the top of the third inning. With runners on first and second, it was Belmont who attempted a double steal, and with an error on the steal the lead runner was able to come in and score. A walk put runners on the corners for the Bruins with two outs in the inning. Brennan Washington cleared the bags with a three-run home run over the wall in right center to give Belmont a 4-3 lead.

Eastern Illinois responded in the bottom half of the inning with two runs to reclaim the lead at 5-4. Mitch Gasbarro placed a perfect bunt down the third base line for a base hit. Demetre Taylor followed the bunt with an RBI triple down the right field line. Scholl added another RBI with a single into right center.

The Panthers extended their lead with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Back-to-back singles by Cale Hennemann and Gasbarro put runners on the corners for Eastern Illinois. The Panthers attempted another double steal, but this time the Bruins were ready for it as Hennemann was thrown out at the plate. With Gasbarro still in scoring position, Taylor singled out to left to drive him in and put the score at 6-4.

The back-and-forth game continued into the top of the fifth inning as Belmont tied it with two runs in the frame. A walk followed by an error put runners at second and third for the Bruins. Chas Hadden singled to bring home the pair and tie the game at 6-6.

After Belmont took the lead with two runs in the top of the seventh, the Panthers cut the deficit in half in the bottom half of the frame on a Scholl solo home run.

The Panthers evened the score in the bottom of the eight as Toppel got the inning started with a double down the left field line. A sacrifice bunt moved Toppel up to third base. The move worked out well in the Panthers’ favor as a wild pitch plated Toppel to tie the game once again at 8-8.

With neither team able to scratch a run across in the ninth, the game was sent to extra innings.

Eastern Illinois pitcher Andy Fisher was able to work around a lead-off walk to give the Panthers a chance to win the game in the bottom of the 10th.

Toppel worked a walk to start the inning for the Panthers. Joseph Duncan attempted to move Toppel up with a sacrifice bunt, but the Belmont pitcher elected to try to throw out Toppel at second. The throw sailed high at second and went into center field and allowed Toppel to move up to third base. A wild pitch on the very next play brought in Toppel to give Eastern Illinois the 9-8 victory.

Fisher picked up his first win of the season for the Panthers with a solid outing in relief. The sophomore left-handed pitcher allowed just two runs in six innings of work.

Hennemann and Scholl paced the Eastern Illinois offense as both players finished 3-for-5 at the plate, with Scholl adding three RBIs. Gasbarro and Taylor added two hits each for the Panthers.