Eastern Illinois University won its first Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) baseball game of the season against Lindenwood on March 20, scoring five runs in the final two innings to secure a 6-1 victory. The Panthers improved their record to 11-8, while the Lions dropped to 10-11.
The win marks the third consecutive year that Eastern Illinois has opened its OVC schedule with a victory over Lindenwood. The game was characterized by strong pitching performances from both teams, with Tyler Conklin holding Lindenwood in check after the first inning. Conklin threw 105 pitches over seven innings, striking out two and allowing only four hits.
Lindenwood’s Josh Newell also delivered a solid outing, throwing 98 pitches in 7.2 innings, striking out five batters and giving up five hits. Eastern Illinois took an early lead in the first inning when Brett Stanley singled to right field, stole second base, and scored on an RBI double by Chris Worcester. However, Lindenwood quickly tied the game in the bottom half of the inning after Charlie Isom-McCall singled and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Will Geary.
Both teams remained scoreless for seven innings until Eastern Illinois broke through in the eighth. Stanley hit a triple to left-center field that cleared the bases and gave EIU a late lead. Worcester added another run with a single before EIU stranded two runners. In the ninth inning, Quade Peters hit a single down the left field line to drive in two more insurance runs.
By the end of the game, Eastern Illinois had six runs on ten hits with two errors, while Lindenwood managed one run on four hits and also committed two errors. Key contributors included Stanley (2-for-4 with two RBIs), Worcester (3-for-5 with two RBIs), and Peters (1-for-3 with two RBIs). James Geshel pitched two innings for EIU and recorded three strikeouts.
Eastern Illinois will continue its weekend series against Lindenwood with games scheduled for 1:00 PM Central Time.
