Eastern baseball played a dramatic three-game series against Lindenwood, winning 5-4 in 11 innings thanks to a walk-off error on Friday and splitting a doubleheader on Saturday. 

The Panthers (9-12, 2-1) won the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader 4-3 and lost the second game 14-4 in a run-rule shortened seven inning game. 

The series marked the first home games of the season for Eastern and first series of Ohio Valley Conference play. 

“Winning is hard, and so to be 2-1 after the first weekend [of OVC play] is a big positive for us,” head coach Jason Anderson said. 

Here are three takeaways from the series. 

Both teams brought the arms 

In the first two games of the series, both team’s starting pitchers had strong performances. 

Senior right hander Tyler Conklin and Lindenwood junior right hander Josh Newell both had quality starts in Friday’s opener. 

Newell pitched seven innings and allowed five hits, two earned runs and struck out six batters. Conklin lasted eight innings and allowed three hits, one earned run and had four strikeouts. 

Both pitchers left with a no-decision. 

Conklin’s outing makes him the conference leader in innings pitched at 38.2, while his ERA fell to 3.49 and his opponent batting average fell to .209, which is fourth and third best in the conference respectively. 

The second game was a similar story. Sophomore right hander Anthony Solis started for the Panthers and pitched six innings before giving way to fellow sophomore righty Bryce Riggs, who inherited a one run lead and slammed the door on the Lions (10-14, 1-2). 

Solis and Riggs combined for 10 strikeouts. Riggs pitched the final three innings, only allowing one baserunner in his first save of the season. 

A season ago, Riggs was in the starting rotation, while Solis was a high-leverage reliever. This season, their roles have been flipped. 

“They’re just developing,” Anderson said. “Riggs certainly has the ability to start. He’s just so strong mentally that we need him on the back end of games, and he did a tremendous job on Saturday.” 

Jake Ferguson’s patience at-bat pays off 

Eastern would have lost its home opener on Friday had it not been for senior shortstop Jake Ferguson’s game-tying two-run home run. 

With a runner on first and the Panthers trailing 4-2, Ferguson fell behind into a 0-2 count with two outs in the ninth inning. After taking ball one and then fouling off a pitch before evening the count at 2-2, Ferguson took a pitch that just missed the top inside corner of the strike zone for ball three. 

The next pitch in the sequence was inside as well, but lower in the zone, and swung and drove it over the fence in left field to tie the game and force extra innings. 

“The home run by Ferguson was one of the coolest things I’ve seen here at EIU, and it couldn’t have come at a better time because we really needed that,” Anderson said. 

The home run was Ferguson’s first as a Panther and first home run in over a year having not played a game in 2024. 

You never know what a bunt will do 

Going into the series, Eastern ranked last in the conference in batting average (.238), total bases (197) and extra base hits (36). An offense with limited production has been the team’s issue this season, according to Anderson, who said that this series was more of the same. 

Eastern’s offense had 10 hits in the first game but could only produce 10 hits in the final two games combined. 

“We have to pick it up offensively,” Anderson said. “It’s the same for lefty and righty [opposing pitchers], we’re just not driving baseballs. We have some pretty good plate discipline, but when it comes to getting hits and driving the ball, it’s just not consistent right now.” 

The Panthers relied on manufacturing runs over the course of the series which ended up creating the game-altering play in the second game. 

In the fifth inning with Ferguson on first base, senior outfielder Quade Peters, who co-led the team last season in sacrifice bunts with six, bunted to move Fergueson over to second base. 

Peters bunted the ball down the first base line, creating a tough play for Lindenwood senior left-handed pitcher Eli Brown. Because of Brown’s handedness, he was forced to spin and throw and ended up throwing it past the first baseman, allowing Ferguson to score and tie the game. 

Peters, who was credited with a bunt single, reached third base on the throwing error, and scored in the next at-bat. 

Bunts are an overlooked concept in baseball but plays like that are an example of how game-changing they can be. 

Eastern will finish up its four-game homestand with a game against Northern Illinois on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. 

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