EIU Outlasts Memphis to Take Series

Saturday, February 24

Memphis, Tenn.

2 p.m.

University of Memphis

2-4

Eastern Illinois

3-2

Eastern Illinois

Memphis

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Feb 24, 2018 | Baseball

Box Score

Panthers jumped out to a big lead and held on

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Eastern Illinois jumped out to a big lead and held on to beat Memphis 10-9 Saturday at FedExPark. With the loss, the Tigers (2-4) will be playing to salvage the series Sunday at 1 p.m.

Memphis trailed by five runs on three separate occasions and almost every time they managed to cut into the lead, EIU would extend it back out.

Tigers hitters were held down Friday in the series opener and bounced back some in the Saturday loss. All nine Memphis starters had at least one hit in the game and six Tigers had multiple hits. Cale Hennemann produced a four-hit day with two runs scored and Tyler Webb returned to the lineup to go 3-for-5 with two RBI and one run scored.

Colton Neel, Evan Bell, Kyle O'Keefe and Nick Vaage each finished with two hits apiece. Bell blasted his second two-run home run of the season.

After the start of the game was delayed 30 minutes because of weather, the Panthers jumped out to a 4-0 lead with four unearned runs in the first inning. The top of the first consisted of two Tigers errors and three EIU hits.

Tigers starting pitcher Jonathan Bowlan bounced back and kept EIU off the board in the second and third innings, before allowing a single run in the fourth.

Memphis had trimmed the EIU lead to 5-3 but in the fifth Bowlan got into more trouble and the Panthers extended the lead back out to 8-3.

Yet again the Tigers cut into the lead, with two runs in the sixth but the Panthers scored two right back in the top of the seventh to extend the lead to 10-5

The Tigers scored three in the bottom of the seventh to get back within striking distance. Vaage lined a two-run single with the bases loaded and Neel hit a sacrifice fly to make it 10-8.

Memphis scored a final run in the bottom of the ninth to come up just short.

Taylor Bobo, Drew Talley and Blake Bennett pitched the final 2 1/3 innings of the game without allowing any more runs.