CARBONDALE, Ill. – Eastern Illinois baseball enjoyed a 15-3 advantage in the hit column and scored all five of its runs with two outs in a 5-1 victory at Southern Illinois Wednesday afternoon.

Five Panther pitchers teamed up for the three-hit performance. Josh Wilson worked two innings of hitless relief, retiring all six batters he faced, in his EIU debut. Mike Recchia followed up his eight-inning, 10-strikeout outing on Feb. 22 with three innings of one-hit ball. He's also expected to start Sunday at Louisville.

Zach Skidmore led the way with four hits and two runs scored, posting his second four-hit game as a Panther. Richie Derbak finished with three hits and a RBI. Jordan Tokarz, Alex Gee, Jordan Kreke and Gerik Wallsten each registered a pair of hits.

 

Kreke also pitched a scoreless eighth inning after delivering a two-out, two-run single in the top half of the frame. Derbak gave up a one-out single on the mound in the ninth, but got the next batter he faced to ground into a game-ending 5-4-3 double play.

 

“Obviously we swung the bats very well,” EIU head coach Jim Schmitz said. “We kept putting guys on base and didn't get the big hit early, but didn't get frustrated. The pitching was suburb and they didn't have a lot of good swings. And the defense was solid, too. At Evansville last weekend our play wasn't real impressive. Today we did everything – pitched, hit the ball and played good defense. That's what we talk about, playing every phase of the game well.

 

“Wilson was very good. We thought he might be a little nervous since it was his first appearance for us, but he didn't look it at all. It's nice to have another arm we can count on. Kreke got the big hit late in the game. It was nice to see him get a big hit because he's been struggling with runners in scoring position.”

Eastern (4-2) scored twice in the eighth inning, and once in the fourth, fifth and seventh. The fifth-inning tally gave EIU the lead back after the Salukis had tied the game in the bottom of the fourth.

 

Mike Martin (1-0) surrendered the lone run of the day, but was the pitcher of record when EIU regained the lead in the fifth and earned his first collegiate win.

 

In the fifth, singles by Wallsten, Tokarz and Skidmore loaded the bases for Gee, who collected an RBI when he reached on an infield hit to third.

 

The Panthers had taken a 1-0 lead an inning earlier on a double from Kreke and opposite field single off the bat of Derbak.

 

Skidmore led off the seventh with a bunt single and scored on a wild pitch with Chris Ulrey, who made his first EIU start, at the plate.

 

Kreke capped the scoring with a two-run single in the eighth, plating Tokarz and Skidmore. Both players had also reached on base hits earlier in the inning.

 

Recchia was scheduled to only pitch three innings. The sophomore had been slated to start Sunday against Evansville, but the game was canceled due to cold weather. Recchia gave way to Martin in the fourth and SIU (3-7) scored its run with a leadoff double and pair of groundouts. He pitched over a walk and a balk an inning later.

 

Tokarz extended his career-long hitting streak to 12 games dating back to last season.

 

The victory was EIU's first against SIU since Feb. 1998. However, the two schools did not play from 1999-2005.

The Panthers return to action Saturday for a 10 a.m. (CST) game against Milwaukee in Louisville, Ky.

More Info: Contact Ben Turner, Asst. SID