CHICAGO – Zach Skidmore homered twice and recorded his second career five-RBI effort in Eastern Illinois baseball's 16-1 win at Chicago State Tuesday afternoon.

 

The Panthers (14-5) have won four straight and eight of their last nine heading into Wednesday's home opener against Illinois State.

 

Eastern jumped out to an early 11-0 lead, scoring six times in the second inning and tacking on five more runs in the following frame. Alex Gee and Ben Thoma also hit home runs and finished with three hits apiece. Skidmore and Thoma hit back-to-back jacks in the third.

 

Brian Morrell (2-1) worked five scoreless innings, striking out seven and issuing only one walk. Zach Carney gave up only one run in three innings of relief, and Ryan Green struck out two of the four batters he faced while closing out the contest.

 

“The wind was blowing out and we jumped on them early,” EIU head coach Jim Schmitz said. “Brian Morrell was really sharp, along with Zach Carney and Ryan Green. We scored 16, but only gave up six hits and one run, and also turned three double plays. We were able to extend Brian, which should help him on the weekends. Carney was sharp, which is a good sign because we're going to need him as we get into the heavier stretches of midweek games. With nine Ks and only three walks, the pitching did well.”

 

Richie Derbak led off the fourth inning with a base hit to extend his career-best hitting streak to 17 games. Brett Nommensen stretched his streak to 13 with an RBI double in the third inning.

 

Jordan Kreke also continued his hot hitting, posting his third four-hit effort in the last four games. The senior is currently riding a nine-game hit streak.

 

Ryan Lindquist, meanwhile, doubled twice and registered a career-high four RBIs.

 

“Lindquist hit the ball well and had two doubles,” Schmitz said. “We have a lot of guys that can contribute, so it's great to see him have a big day.”

 

Kreke and Derbak were on base when Gee homered to left to open the scoring in the second inning. After a walk to Restko and base hit by Linquist, Jordan Tokarz collected an RBI with a sacrifice fly to center. Skidmore followed with an opposite-field homer.

 

Gee opened the third inning with a single, but EIU scored all five of its runs in the frame with two outs. Nommensen's run-scoring double was the first of four straight hits. Tokarz followed with an infield single, extending his hitting streak to nine. Skidmore then went deep for the second at-bat in a row, joining Nommensen and Derbak as active Panthers with a multiple-homer game on their résumés. Thoma's subsequent long ball gave EIU its second set of back-to-back jacks this year.

 

Thoma later singled home Cam Strang in the seventh inning. Bart Thyer, Kreke and Gee all scored on Lindquist's two-out, bases-loaded double in the ninth.

 

The Panthers have now hit 13 home runs in their last four games.

Wednesday's EIU-Illinois State game is slated for a 3 p.m. first pitch at Coaches Stadium. Mike Martin is scheduled to start for the Panthers.

More Info: Contact Ben Turner, Asst. SID