Box score

Eastern’s bats weren’t cold in the first game of Friday’s doubleheader against Murray State, despite missing its leading hitter Erik Huber.

Eastern won the first game 11-2 during a game that featured two snow delays because of the cold and windy conditions at Coaches Stadium.

Huber, the leading hitter (.468) in the Ohio Valley Conference, did not play in either game Friday because of a hamstring injury.

Head coach Jim Schmitz said Huber’s injury isn’t a major concern, but didn’t see any reason to attempt to play his first baseman with temperatures near freezing, like they were Friday.

Saturday, the temperatures didn’t increase either, forcing the cancellation of Saturday’s game. The game will not be made up.

The game-time temperature was 32 degrees, but with a brisk wind, made it feel like 18 degrees, according to weather.com.

Eastern senior Chris Vaculik battled through the cold and brief snow flurries to pitch seven innings, allowing only one run on eight hits, in Friday’s first game.

Vaculik struck out a career-high seven, with the seventh strikeout coming in the top of the fourth.

He struck out the side in the third, and struck out two of the three batters he faced in the second.

The cold didn’t affect Vaculik, who had a heating pad in the back of his uniform, and was able to locate his pitches well en route to picking up his second win of the year.

“It’s kind of an advantage to a pitcher on (Friday’s) type of day if you’re able to locate in and out,” Vaculik said. “Because no hitter really wants anything in on the ends or off the bat.”

The Panthers broke open the game in the bottom of the fifth.

Eastern led 3-0 before erupting for seven runs, highlighted by a two-run single by freshman catcher Kory Peppenhorst and a two-run double by second baseman Jordan Kreke.

Murray committed two errors in the inning, helping the Panthers’ cause and increasing Eastern’s lead to 10-0.

Vaculik allowed a run in the sixth, but got out of the inning before any more damage was done.

“It was a little tough at times just to stay loose,” he said. “That long inning helped, but it also hurt me because I gave up one run because you stiffen up so much just sitting out.”

Senior designated hitter Jason Cobb had to deal with sitting on the bench for the majority of both games, but did his part hitting the ball.

Cobb hit a line drive, solo home run in the seventh inning to give the Panthers a 10-run lead again.

Cobb said hitting on a cold day like Friday was tough.

“The wind was hitting your eyes,” he said. “Your eyes were watering. I had to call time up there in one of my at-bats because I couldn’t see the ball at all. Then, you had the gray sky back there too, so it was kind of hard.”

Schmitz said an adjustment in Cobb’s swing has helped the senior from O’Fallon.

“We made a big change on how he’s holding the bat and getting through the zone,” Schmitz said. “We had to have it without Huber.”

Peppenhorst finished 3-for-5, with two RBIs, while Kreke contributed three RBIs.

Senior pitcher Chris Vaculik. (File photo/The Daily Eastern News)

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