The Panthers scored early and often to win their home opener against Bellarmine University 9-4 on Tuesday afternoon at Coaches Stadium.
Eastern, who started the season with 13 straight road games, finally got a chance to play without having to travel.
“It’s good to be off the bus,” manager Jason Anderson said after the game. “It’s good to win, it’s good to have a sunny day, and we got some hits today.”
With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Bellarmine’s left-handed starting pitcher Carson Brower loaded the bases for sophomore infielder Mike O’Conor, who came up with a two RBI base hit to put the Panthers up 2-0.
Eastern would never surrender the lead for the rest of the ballgame.
Senior right handed pitcher Mitch Alba started for the Panthers and retired the first six batters he saw. Alba pitched himself into a bases loaded jam in the third inning but was able to get out of it only giving up one run. Alba was credited with the win.
Junior right handed pitcher Elijah Green pitched a scoreless fourth inning, and after facing one batter in the fifth inning, Green was replaced with sophomore left handed pitcher Jack Potteiger.
Potteiger pitched a scoreless fifth and sixth innings but ran into control issues in the seventh inning.
When freshman right handed pitcher Anthony Solis got into the ballgame, he inherited a situation where the bases were loaded with one out.
After getting a strikeout, Casey Sorg came up big for the Knights with a two out two RBI base hit to cut the Panther lead to one.
It was looking like it was going to be an opportunity to save the game for the Panthers for fifth-year closing pitcher Zane Robbins…until the Panthers jumped on Bellarmine’s junior right handed pitcher Hudson Cornett in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Junior infielder Danny Infante led with a hit and scored on a Dylan Drumke RBI single hit. With runners on first and second base and nobody out, senior Lucas Loos sent a ball beyond the fence in left-center field for his third home run of the season, blowing the game wide open for the Panthers.
Robbins continued to throw a scoreless ninth inning to end the game.
“We put some good swings on the ball, but with the wind blowing in, [and] you hit it up in the air here, it’s going to be an out,” Anderson said.
Eastern has won two of their last three games, and improved their record to 3-11 on the season.
Eastern will continue their eight-game home-stand Friday when they open up a series against Dayton University. Friday’s game is set to start at 3 p.m. at Coaches Stadium.
Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at ghnewman@eiu.edu.
