Box scores

This weekend was a messy one for the Panthers while playing at Tennessee-Martin.

The second game of the three-game series was rescheduled for Sunday and Eastern experienced problems with its starting pitching, causing the Panthers to trail in every game.

But despite all this, Eastern managed to win its second consecutive Ohio Valley Conference series, coming from behind in both games Sunday to win.

The Panthers won the first game 8-5, and the second 8-7.

“In these seven inning games you have to come out early and we didn’t do that,” said senior first baseman Erik Huber. “We were behind early but no one gave up, no one put their head down and we came out with two out of three.”

Huber did his part to help the Panthers win both games Sunday, going a combined 6-for-6 in the two games, with five RBIs and five runs scored.

Huber hit his seventh home run of the season in the fifth inning of Sunday’s first game.

Huber’s two-run home run put Eastern ahead 6-5. The Panthers had trailed 5-0 after the Skyhawks scored five runs in the second inning, but scored four in the third to pull within 5-4.

“I just put the bat on the ball,” Huber said. “Our lineup helps a lot, I have pretty good people around me that get the job done too.”

Eastern’s starting pitching this weekend, however, did not please Schmitz.

No starting pitcher went longer than 3 2/3 innings.

“We need those guys to be making it into the fifth or sixth inning, and they aren’t doing that right now and it worries me,” Schmitz said.

Eastern changed pitchers in the second inning of the first game Sunday, with Schmitz replacing freshman starter Tyler Kehrer with senior Mike Budde.

Budde settled down and allowed one hit in 3 1/3 innings of shutout relief to earn his second win of the year.

In the second game, junior Tyler Brandon had to come in for starter Mike Manns before the end of the first inning.

Manns went 2/3 of an inning, and gave up two runs on one hit, while walking two batters.

“Overall, I think our pitching was very wild,” Budde said. “We hit and walked too many people. It was all over the place this weekend.”

The Panthers rallied from a 4-2 deficit to score four runs in the fifth inning to take the lead for good.

Eastern second baseman Richie Derbak delivered a two-run single to tie the game at four, then the Panthers tacked on their two other runs because of an error by UTM’s rightfielder.

Eastern played two seven-inning games on Sunday because the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader was rained out.

The rainy conditions on Saturday played a role in a wacky ending in the Panthers’ 8-7 loss.

The Skyhakws won the game in the eighth inning when Eastern catcher Kory Peppenhorst dropped the third strike and was throwing down to first base to get the out. However, Peppenhorst’s throw was off line, allowing the UTM runner on second base to come around and score.

“It was so muddy, there was a point at the end when we threw a wild pitch because it was wet on the mound,” Schmitz said. “Then (Peppenhorst) slipped in the mud going to get the ball to throw it to first. It was so wet out there.”

Schmitz said he was happy with how the Panthers came back from deficits this weekend.

“We are totally exhausted,” he said. “These were three unbelievable games and really, I don’t know why we didn’t lose all three.”

Senior left fielder Mark Chagnon makes a running catch during Eastern’s 9-2 win over Tennessee Tech at Coach’s Stadium on Sunday afternoon. (Jay Grabiec/The Daily Easter News)

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