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MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Panther baseball team completed the Ohio Valley Conference series sweep of Morehead State on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Eagles, 6-5, at Allen Field.
 
Trailing 4-3 heading into the ninth inning, the Panthers (20-26, 9-16 OVC) scored three runs on one hit and two errors to take two-run lead. Cameron Berra drove in the first two runs with a single to right field before Brant Valach scored the final run on a Jacob Reese sacrifice fly to centerfield.
 
“I was happy with how we came from behind in two games to win this weekend,” said Eastern Illinois head coach Jim Schmitz. “I am proud of how the guys came to play even though we were already eliminated from the conference tournament. Overall, we put it all together with good pitching, defense and clutch hitting.”
 
The Eagles (15-37, 9-18 OVC) scored one run in the bottom of the ninth inning on one hit and an error to get within one (6-5), but Panther reliever Ben Kennedy struck out the final batter to preserve the win and post his first career save. All told, the Panthers used three pitchers in the final inning of play that combined to allow two hits and one run with two strikeouts.
 
Morehead State took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, scoring one run on two hits and one error. EIU took a 2-1 advantage in the third inning as the Panthers scored their first run on a homer by Caleb Howell before adding the second run on a Valach RBI single.
 
Demetre Taylor drove in Treysen Vavra on a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning to give EIU a 3-1 lead before the Eagles scored three runs on four hits in the next inning to take a 4-3 advantage.
 
EIU had two more hits (11-9) than Morehead State and left four more runners on base (12-8). The Eagles committed one more error (3-2) than the Panthers in the contest.
 
Five Panthers had two or more hits in the game, led by Berra who went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Vavra went 2-for-4 with two runs while Valach finished the day going 2-for-4 at the plate with one run and a RBI.
 
Jake Johansmeier (3-4) earned the win for EIU, striking out one and allowing one hit in 0.2 innings of scoreless relief. Matt Borens made the start and went 7.2 innings with seven strikeouts. The sophomore pitcher surrendered six hits and four runs.
 
Morgan Cirbo (2-3) took the loss for Morehead State, allowing five hits and four runs (two earned) with two strikeouts in three innings of relief. Brandon Rawe led the team at the plate as the sophomore outfielder went 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run.
 
The Panthers return to action at Bradley in a midweek nonconference game on Tuesday, May 14 at 6 p.m.