It all comes down to one thing: who plays better ball.

Eastern Illinois University is in their second NCAA Regional Tournament since coming to the Ohio Valley Conference in 1997.

The University of Nebraska is in their ninth regional tournament in the past ten years.

However, it’s not going to come down to experience.

It’s going to come down to who plays better ball on game day.

Pitching is Key

Nebraska’s head coach Mike Anderson feels his team has strong pitching and good defense.

“We pitch well, have clutch hits, and good defense,” Anderson said.

“Our numbers don’t indicate how strong we are.”

On the other hand, Eastern has been doing their share of pitching and hitting.

Both teams are not going to start their best pitcher statistically, but both coaches are nothing but confidant.

Nebraska will be throwing the arm of junior Dan Jennings.

“Out of respect for EIU, they are going to get one of our best arms,” Anderson said.

Jennings has been a relief pitcher for the Huskers, but is also their weekday starter.

Eastern will be throwing the arm of freshman Josh Mueller.

“Josh did well in the tournament, and we’re not going to do too much switching up,” Schmitz said.

Mueller struck out six batters in 6 2/3 innings, and allowed only one run in the first game of the OVC Tournament against Tennessee Tech.

Mueller was also named to the OVC All-Freshman Team.

As of right now, Jennings is pitching with an overall ERA of 2.95, while Mueller has a 4.26.

Batter’s Up

Anderson said that his team has clutch hitting; however, Eastern has been a powerhouse, especially in the OVC Tournament.

Juniors Jordan Tokarz and Brett Nommensen had stellar performances in the recent tournament.

Tokarz, a transfer from Elgin Community College, went 9-for-19 in four games.

Six out of nine hits went for extra bases, and he had three doubles in the championship game against Southeast Missouri University.

After his showing in the championship game, Tokarz was named the tournament’s MVP.

Nommensen followed Tokarz with an 8-for-15, scored eight runs, and had a .632 on-base percentage.

Nommensen’s performance didn’t go unnoticed as he was named to the All-Tournament Team.

He is also on a 10-game hitting streak, and has the leading batting average with a .397.

Senior Jake Opitz is leading the Huskers in hitting with an overall batting average of .335.

He has had 72 hits out of 215 at bats so far this season.

His fellow senior teammate, Mitch Abeita, is close behind with an average of .333, and 54 hits out of 177 at bats.

In overall team batting, Eastern leads Nebraska, .281 to .278.

Coaches History

Schmitz came to Eastern in 1995, and has built a solid baseball program.

In his first year of coaching, the Panthers captured the Mid-Continent Conference West Division title.

The following year, Eastern came back to claim their title.

In 1997, the Panthers moved to the Ohio Valley Conference, and the following year they captured their first OVC regular-season title.

In 1999, Eastern won their second straight OVC regular-season title and first-ever tournament championship.

During the 2001 season, Eastern set league records in consecutive OVC wins (17), best start (17-0) and finished with a record of 19-1 which led to another OVC regular-season title.

The Panther also earned third place in the OVC Tournament in 2006.

Anderson arrived at Nebraska in 2002, and became the Husker’s 23rd head coach.

His team has two Big 12 Titles (2003, 2005) under their belts, and has reached NCAA play in four of the past five seasons in which three of those (2003, 2005, 2007) were regional title games.

On the outside it looks like Nebraska might have the upper hand with more experience in the tournament, but Anderson stresses that the past means nothing.

Anderson likes to instill togetherness into his team.

“The most important thing is togetherness,” Anderson said.

“I’ve got the best group of kids. Not the most talented team, but the best group of kids.”

Schmitz likes to let his team play ball.

“We’ve been at it for 17 weeks,” Schmitz said.

“We just need to go out and play ball.”

Molly Clutter can be reached at 581-7944 or at mkclutter@eiu.edu.

Junior infielder Jordan Tokarz prepares to swing the bat during a recent game. The Panthers will face Nebraska in their first Ohio Valley Conference Regional appearance since 1997. (Robbie Wroblewski/The Daily Eastern News)

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