Eastern scored 20 runs on 17 hits in a 20-9 non-conference win over the Lindenwood University Lions Tuesday afternoon at Coaches Stadium.
The Lions threw poor pitches to the Panther hitters as Eastern cruised to the victory.
Panther redshirt junior outfielder Dylan Drumke led the team in runs batted in with six. Every Panther who started reached base, with eight of the nine starters recording at least one hit.
Eastern, who were already up 7-0 after the third inning, batted around scoring seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. They scored an additional five runs in the sixth inning to make it a 19-0 game.
After Lindenwood scored two runs, Eastern tacked on their 20th run. The Lions scored seven runs in the final two innings.
“It’s typical midweek baseball where you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Eastern’s head coach Jason Anderson said after the game.
Eastern’s freshman right handed pitcher Slater Wilcox was elevated from the redshirt list to make his collegiate debut.
Wilcox started and threw five scoreless innings, giving up just three hits and recording six strikeouts.
Anderson has turned to freshman pitchers to step up throughout innings for his team in the last three games (right hand pitcher Bryce Riggs’ 7.2 scoreless innings pitched on Saturday versus Dayton, right hand pitcher Anthony Solis’ four innings on Sunday versus Dayton).
Wilcox’s start adds to the list of freshmen who have stepped up for the Panthers.
“Sometimes things don’t go as planned, and these freshmen are starting to take some of these people’s jobs,” Anderson said. “It was time for some changes, I knew he was going to go out there and compete.”
Eastern’s hitting coach Mike Pugliese said the team was able to work through some early season struggles by getting back to the basics.
“The big thing with our guys is that they know they’re great players and we know that they’re great players,” Pugliese said. “It’s good to see them have some success.”
This is the second straight game this season where Eastern’s offense has produced double-digit runs and hits.
“I’m not gonna complain with a win,” Anderson said. “We needed a win, we needed runs on the board, and we needed a lot of hits. So I have no complaints about this one.”
Eastern will begin Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend as they wrap up their home stand with a three game series against Southeast Missouri State.
Game one of that series is scheduled for Friday with the first pitch set for 3 p.m. at Coaches Stadium.
Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at ghnewman@eiu.edu.
