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NORMAL, Ill.  – Inclement weather in the fifth inning ended the baseball contest between Eastern Illinois and Illinois State with the Redbirds coming away with a 9-1 victory. EIU drops to 11-15 on the year.
 
“Our pitching was not sharp today for the first time all year,” said Eastern Illinois head coach Jim Schmitz.”Hopefully this is a good lesson for a staff that has been outstanding all year. It was a humbling game and we will need to get back to work tomorrow in preparation for the weekend series with Austin Peay.”
 
The Panthers got on the scoreboard early, scoring their only run in the first inning. Ryan Dineen led the game off with a double to right field before moving to third base on a bunt single by Cameron Berra. Dineen would score on the following at bat when David Ciaglia grounded into a double play.
 
Illinois State took a 3-1 advantage in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs on three hits. A two-out Matt Mirabal RBI single scored the first run before the final two runs scored on a Zac Johnson two-RBI double down the right-field line.
 
The Redbirds added six runs on six hits – all with two outs in the inning – in the bottom of the fourth, taking a 9-1 lead over the Panthers.
 
Illinois State posted nine more hits (12-3) than the Panthers and left one more runner on base (4-3). Neither team committed an error in the contest.
 
Offensively, Dineen led the Panthers with a hit and a run scored while Berra and T.J. McManus each add a hit in the loss. Andrew Grahn (0-3) took the loss for EIU, surrendering six hits and three runs in 2.2 innings of work.
 
Jeremy Rhoades (3-1) took the win for the Redbirds, striking out three and only allowing three hits and one run in four innings. Johnson paced the Illinois State offense as he was 2-for-3 with four RBI and a run.
 
The Panthers return to action at home on April 5-7 in an Ohio Valley Conference series with Austin Peay. Game one of the series is set for 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.