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EASTERN ILLINOIS at Jacksonville State
Rudy Abbott Field (1,500)  • Jacksonville, Ala. 

SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 17 at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, May 18 at 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 19 at 2 p.m.

PITCHING MATCHUPS
RHP Mike Hoekstra (3-3 W-L, 2.74 ERA) vs RHP Aaron Elias (2-7 W-L, 3.54 ERA)
RHP Troy Barton (8-4 W-L, 3.32 ERA) vs LHP Daniel Watts (4-6 W-L, 5.09 ERA)
LHP Christian Slazinik (6-5 W-L, 3.94 ERA) vs RHP Hunter Rivers (4-3 W-L, 4.82 ERA) 

GAMES 51-53
The Panther baseball team wraps up regular-season action in a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series at Jacksonville State on May 17-19. EIU is 25-25 (14-9 OVC) on the year while JSU is 24-27 (15-9 OVC).
 
2012 OVC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
The Panther baseball team has clinched a spot in the 2012 OVC Baseball Tournament held in Jackson, Tenn., on May 23-26 at Pringles Park, home of the Double A Jackson Generals (Seattle Mariners).
 
EIU is guaranteed at least the No. 4 seed in the tournament and could finish as high as second depending on a variety of scenarios that will be played out this weekend in the conference's final weekend of regular-season action. First-round action begins at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23 between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Redshirt-senior David Ciaglia went 1-for-3 with three RBI in his final game at Coaches Stadium on Tuesday afternoon, lifting the Panther baseball team over Bradley, 4-3.
 
With the game tied at three heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, Ciaglia drove in the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Tyler Schweigert from third base. Ciaglia also drove in two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on a two-run homer.
 
Senior Darin Worman (4-4) retired the final three Bradley batters to preserve the Panther victory in his final game at Coaches Stadium. Worman earned the win, only allowing one hit in the game's final 1.1 innings.
 
EIU-JSU SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers are 13-15 all-time against the Gamecocks, including a 4-5 record in road contests. EIU is looking to win a series at Jacksonville State for the first time since the 2005 season. Panther head coach Jim Schmitz is also 13-15 all-time versus the Gamecocks.
 
LAST TIME OUT: JSU
The Panthers took the OVC series between the two schools last year on May 7-8 in Charleston. EIU won the series opener, 4-3, in 15 innings on Friday, May 7. EIU then defeated the Gamecocks 7-4 in the first game of the doubleheader the following day before falling, 5-4, in the series finale.
 
The Panthers posted a .288 batting average on the weekend, led by Zach Borenstein who hit .385 (5-for-13) with three runs, two RBI and a double. The pitching staff had a 3.10 ERA in the three games. Troy Barton made two relief appearances and did not allow any hits in 3.1 innings of work.
 
PANTHERS IN OVC ACTION
EIU currently ranks fourth in the OVC standings with a 14-9 conference record. EIU has a .306 batting average conference action led by T.J. McManus who is hitting .414. A total of six players are hitting over .300 in OVC play.
 
The pitching staff has a 4.07 ERA, led by Mike Hoekstra who has a 2.62 ERA in eight starts. He has thrown 46 strikeouts while issuing only 11 walks in 55 innings. Troy Barton has a team high five wins as a weekend starter with a 3.86 ERA.
 
DINEEN NAMED OVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Through four contests last week, Ryan Dineen hit .643 (9-for-14) with a 1.143 slugging percentage. He scored six runs to go along with four RBI, two home runs and a double. The Valparaiso, Ind., native also had two stolen bases on the week.
 
On the year, Dineen has a .335 batting average – the second highest on the team – with 31 runs, 26 RBI and 15 extra-base hits. He also has 14 stolen bases, the fourth most in the conference.
 
Dineen becomes the second Panther to earn an OVC weekly award this season as Christian Slazinik was named pitcher of the Week on March 12. The infielder becomes the first position player to be tabbed player of the week by the conference since Jordan Kreke who picked up the weekly honor on April 13, 2009.
 
Dineen shared the weekly honors with Austin Peay's Jordan Hankins. Austin Peay's Andy Cox and Eastern Kentucky's Matt Fyffe were named co-pitchers of the week.
 
VALACH LEADS OVC FRESHMAN AT THE PLATE
Freshman Brant Valach has a .330 batting average this season, the highest average of any freshman in the conference and the third highest average on the Panther baseball team.
 
The infielder has 25 RBI on the year with 10 extra-base hits and 15 runs. He has a team-best .408 (20-for-49) batting average with runners in scoring position and has 10, two-out RBI. In OVC play, the Orland Park, Ill., native is hitting .404 – the fourth highest batting average in the conference.
 
MCMANUS LEADING THE PANTHER OFFENSE
Redshirt-senior T.J. McManus leads the Panther offense with a .350 batting average, the sixth highest batting average in the OVC. The Glenview, Ill., native has a team-leading 38 RBI and 14 doubles to go along with 31 runs and nine homers.
 
In conference play, he is hitting .414 with 24 runs and 15 extra-base hits. McManus also has a conference-best .805 slugging percentage through 23 conference games.
 
WORMAN TIES EIU SINGLE-SEASON APPEARANCES RECORD
Senior Darin Worman made his 34^th appearances of the year against Bradley on Tuesday, tying the single-season school record set by Jeremy Sanders in 1999. He is also only two appearances away from breaking the OVC single-season mark of 35 appearances set by Zach Gerler in 2010.
 
HOEKSTRA IN THE CAREER PITCHING CHARTS
Redshirt-senior Mike Hoekstra is tied for second all-time in career games started with 43. The RHP has a 14-13 career record with a 4.08 ERA. He currently ranks third in career innings pitched with 271.1 innings of action and ninth in career strikeouts with 180.
 
THOMA IN THE CAREER BATTING CHARTS
Redshirt-senior Ben Thoma is tied for second in career home runs with 37 – two shy of tying the school record – while also ranking sixth in career RBI (136) and ninth in doubles (43).
 
LAST 10 PANTHER OVC GAMES
EIU has won nine of its last 10 OVC games while posting a 6-0 record in conference road games. In those games, the Panthers have come alive at the plate to record a .370 batting average with six players hitting over .300.
 
Freshman Brant Valach leads the offensive change with a .537 (22-for-41) batting average while classmate Caleb Howell has added a .396 batting average to go along with a team-high 14 runs. Ben Thoma has six doubles, five home runs and a team-high 18 RBI in those games with a .870 slugging percentage. T.J. McManus has added a .459 batting average with 17 RBI, 13 runs and eight extra-base hits.
 
Troy Barton leads the pitching staff with a 3-0 record in four starts while limiting opposing hitters to a .244 batting average. EIU has recorded 75 strikeouts in its last 91 innings of conference play.
 
EIU ONE LINERS
• Redshirt-senior Ben Thoma has a .229 (8-for-35) career batting average against the Gamecocks. In 10 career games, he has seven RBI, three runs and two extra-base hits.
 
• The Panthers have only allowed 21 stolen bases this year, the fewest in the OVC by a large margin (2^nd fewest - Southeast Missouri has allowed 45). In OVC games only, the Panthers have only allowed four stolen bases in nine attempts.
 
• In road games, the Panthers have posted a 12-16 record. EIU has a .264 batting average on the road led by T.J. McManus who is hitting .338 with 20 RBI, seven doubles and six homers.
 
• EIU has 96 two-out RBI on the year, paced by sophomore Jacob Reese who has 19 two-out RBI. The catcher also has a .339 batting average (20-for-59) with runners in scoring position.
 
• Junior Ryan Dineen ranks fourth in the conference in stolen bases with 14. As a team, the Panthers also rank fourth in stolen bases with 48.
 
PANTHERS LEAD OVC IN ERA
The Panther pitching staff continues to pace the OVC with a 4.00 ERA. EIU also leads the conference in fewest runs and earned runs while ranking second in fewest walks allowed.
 
PANTHERS LEAD OVC IN SACRIFICE HITS
The Panthers have a total of 76 sacrifice hits on the year, including 57 sacrifice bunts. Junior Nick Priessman paces the squad with 12 sacrifice bunts while T.J. McManus leads the team with seven sacrifice flies.
 
PITCHERS LOOK TO LEAD OVC IN ERA FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE SEASON
EIU returns seven pitchers – including four starters – from a staff that lead the OVC in earned run average a year ago. Under the direction of assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Skylar Meade, the pitching staff has led the conference in ERA in three of the last four seasons. EIU finished the 2009 campaign ranked second in ERA.
 
SCHMITZ ENTERS 18th SEASON AS HEAD COACH
Panther head coach Jim Schmitz enters his 18th season at the helm of the EIU baseball program and 25th overall season as a head coach. Schmitz has amassed over 600 wins as a head coach.
 
Under Schmitz, the Panthers have won four outright OVC regular-season titles – tied for the most by any school in the OVC. He has also won OVC Coach of the Year on three occasions, the most by any skipper in the conference.
 
A total of 16 players at EIU have been drafted under Schmitz, including five players in the last three years. 43 Panthers have earned first team or second team all-conference selections since Schmitz took over the program in 1995.
 
NEW OVC SCHEDULE FORMAT
Previously the OVC played a three-game series spread over two days, with the teams playing a doubleheader on Saturday (with one of those games being a 7-inning game, the other a 9-inning affair) and a single 9-inning game on Sunday.
 
Starting this season the series schedule will move to a three-game series over three days (Friday-Saturday-Sunday), with a single 9-inning game being played each day. Games on Friday will begin no earlier than 3 p.m. local time and no later than 6 p.m. local time.