Eastern Illinois University lost a close baseball game to Northern Illinois on March 24, falling 5-4 in extra innings during their home opener. The defeat moves the Panthers’ record to 13-9, while the Huskies improve to 14-7.
The game was tightly contested, with both teams trading runs throughout. Cole Smith hit a double for NIU in the top of the tenth inning, allowing Charlie Parcell to score what would become the winning run. In the bottom of the inning, Eastern Illinois threatened with runners on first and second base but could not score as Gavin Micklinghoff retired three straight batters for his first save of the season.
Eastern Illinois started strong when Brett Stanley extended his hitting streak to 19 games and later scored on a wild pitch. However, Northern Illinois responded with three runs—one from another Smith RBI in the third inning and two more from Gavin Baldwin’s home run in the sixth.
The Panthers regained momentum in the seventh inning as Joey Hagen drove in Stanley with an infield single for his seventh RBI of the season. Eli Hill then walked with bases loaded to bring Chris Worcester home before Hagen scored on another wild pitch, giving EIU a temporary lead at 4-3. NIU tied it up again in the eighth inning, forcing extra innings under evening lights.
Dalton Boruff pitched over three innings for EIU, allowing one earned run and collecting two strikeouts. James Geshel took over for two relief innings but gave up one earned run and was charged with his second loss of the season. For NIU, Mason Orton struck out four over four innings while Nick Bassi earned his first win out of relief.
Next up for Eastern Illinois is a return to conference play at home against Morehead State on Friday, March 27 at 3:00 PM Central Time.
