Panthers fall in rollercoaster series
Junior Michael Starcevich Delivers a pitch in the bottom of the ninth Saturday at Tointon Family Stadium. Starcevich picked up the loss giving up two earned runs in one and a third inning of work in game two of the weekend series.
March 5, 2017
The Eastern baseball team knew it had a tough matchup ahead coming into the weekend, but giving up 41 combined runs was not part of the plan.
The Panthers were swept in a three-game series against Division I powerhouse Kansas State, but it was not all bad, but they were also able to have some success.
Eastern faced two pitchers who came into the series with a 1.80 ERA, but still managed to score double-digit runs in two games.
But, unfortunately the Panthers just could not string together the pitching needed for a win.
Eastern’s toughest loss came in day two of the series.
Much like the first game, the Panthers tacked on a few runs early on to hold a lead, and also like the first game Kansas State responded quickly.
The Wildcats struck Eastern for seven runs in the fourth inning to seemingly kill all momentum for the Panthers.
But a combined eight runs scored by the Panthers in three innings put them ahead heading into the bottom of the ninth with a one-run lead.
Kansas State prevailed.
The Wildcats took advantage of a young Eastern bullpen scoring two runs in the final frame to complete the walk-off comeback 12-11 victory.
A 15-10 loss in game one came after Brendon Allen was run out of the game early, and the pitching staff gave up 12 runs in four innings.
The highlight of that game was seeing what a young Eastern lineup could do on its brightest days.
Despite the loss, the Panthers did get to a tough Wildcat starter who leads his team in ERA.
Behind home runs from Joe Duncan and Frankie Perrone, Eastern scored 10 runs in a game that was supposed to sport a strong pitching duel.
Game three was Eastern’s roughest appearance of the series as the team just appeared to run out of gas while running into a tough pitcher in the 14-0 loss.
Duncan continues to head that attack as he has gotten a hit in all but two games to start this season, while hitting .357 from the plate against the Wildcats.
Perrone’s homerun in the series marks his second of the season as he tries to continue boasting power in the middle of that young Eastern lineup.
Maher Kawash can be reached at 581-2812 or mwkawash@eiu.edu
