EIU Edges SIUE 3-2 in Baseball Action

An RBI single by Hunter Morris broke an even 2-2 score in the bottom of the eighth and gave Eastern Illinois a 3-2 win in their series opener against SIU Edwardsville on Thursday at Coaches Stadium. The Panthers and Cougars will be back in action again tomorrow at Coaches Stadium at 1 p.m.

With the win, Eastern Illinois improves to 13-39 (6-22 OVC). SIU Edwardsville drops to 9-38 (6-22 OVC).

Both Brendon Allen and P.J. Schuster kept the opposing offenses in check during the first two inning, but the Panthers broke through against Schuster in the bottom of the third inning. Mitch Gasbarro reached first on a one-out single and quickly came around to score on the Demetre Taylor RBI double to center. The inning continued for the Panthers as Jason Scholl gave Eastern Illinois a 2-0 lead with an RBI double of his own into the gap in left center.

After a scoreless fourth and fifth inning by both teams, the Cougars were able to put something together in the top of the sixth. Back-to-back doubles by Skyler Geissinger and Jacob Stewart tied the game at 2-2.

A single by Taylor in the bottom of the eighth to start the inning gave Eastern Illinois a solid scoring opportunity. Matt Dunavant executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Taylor up into scoring position. After a fly out, Morris bounced a single up the middle and brought in Taylor to give Eastern Illinois a 3-2 advantage.

Michael McCormick tossed a scoreless ninth in his second inning of relief on the day to pick up his second win of the season and give the Panthers a 3-2 win.

Allen provided the Panthers with a quality start, allowing just two run in seven innings pitched. Gasbarro led the Panthers’ offense, going 3-for-4 at the plate. Taylor added two hits and two runs scored.