Eastern lost a back and forth high scoring game against the University of Dayton Flyers 17-11 on Sunday afternoon at Coaches Stadium.

In a game that took four and a half hours to complete, Eastern came up on the short end of an absolute thriller that would decide who would win the series.

Eastern sent 11 batters to the plate in the second inning, scoring five runs. Dayton ended up doing the same thing in the top of the seventh.

Both teams used a combined 17 pitchers in the game after neither starting pitcher was able to make it out of the first inning. Dayton also committed six errors, but ultimately, the killer for the Panthers was the number of walks the team allowed.

Panther pitchers walked 16 Flyers in the game to go along with three of those batters being hit by a pitch. 

“We just put some pitchers out there that did not compete,” Panthers’ head coach Jason Anderson said after the game. “It’s cold, it’s windy, but it’s both teams and they just out-toughed us. That’s been a common theme throughout the year, some guys back down when the pressure is on them.”

With the temperature in the mid 40s all game, it seemed like both teams were dealing with control issues and mental mistakes.

“We’ve just gotta find the formula to win some games,” Anderson said. “Anytime your starter comes out before the end of the first (inning), you know you’re in for a long day, and we’ve had that pretty regularly this year whether that’s through injury or just not being able to throw strikes.”

Freshman right handed pitcher Anthony Solis, who took over for junior starting pitcher Lukas Touma, had the longest outing by either teams’ pitchers in the game. He pitched for 4.0 innings giving up two hits and two unearned runs.

Eastern’s junior right handed pitcher Christian Carew was credited with the loss. 

Anderson wasn’t pleased with the offensive production from the team despite 11 runs being put up on the board.

“They had six errors,” Anderson said. “We would get in pressure spots and we’d pop the ball up and they’d drop a couple of them, but it wasn’t like we went out and truly banged out 11 runs.”

Eastern remains at home for game five of an eight game home stand as they welcome Lindenwood University to Coaches Stadium on Tuesday.

Despite the opponent being a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, Tuesday’s game will be a non-conference game, set for a 3 p.m. start. 

Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at ghnewman@eiu.edu.