Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Eastern Illinois
Players Mentioned
Panthers Come to Town for Three-Game Set
3/22/2018 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
GAMES 23-25
Murray State (11-11, 2-4 OVC) vs. Eastern Illinois (9-11, 1-2 OVC)
March 23-25, 2018
First Pitch: Friday: 1 and 4:30 p.m. (weather permitting), game three: TBA
Stadium: Reagan Field
Dimensions: 330 (LF) | 400 (CF) | 330 (RF)
Series History: EIU leads the all-time series 48-37
Last Meeting: MSU 5, EIU 7 – March 25, 2017
Watch Live: OVC Digital Network
Live Stats: Game one | Game two | Game three
Twitter In-Game: @RacersBaseball
First Pitch
Weather has again forced a schedule change as Friday's series opener has been moved up to a 1 p.m., first pitch. A doubleheader will be played Friday, weather permitting, with game three still to be announced. Rain his highly likely for Saturday, which would keep the series finale at 1 p.m., Sunday.
Inside the Series
MSU is 19-31 all-time at home against the Panthers and won 2-of-3 at Reagan Field back in 2016. The Racers also took 2-of-3 last season against the Panthers in Charleston. MSU has won 7-of-9 in the series dating back to 2015. The Racers are coming off a 5-4 loss Wednesday at Missouri State in 10 innings, while EIU defeated Robert Morris-Springfield 11-5, also Wednesday.
Fast Out the Gate
The Racers have scored a run in the first inning in seven consecutive games, dating back to March 10 against SIU Edwardsville. MSU is 3-4 over that span.
National Leader
Davis Sims currently leads the country this season with 14 doubles so far. The program record for most doubles in a season is 22 set by Tyler Lawrence in 2016. Sims is also in the midst of a career-best 15-game hitting streak.
Scouting Eastern Illinois
Josh Turnock has a team-high .400 batting average in just 30 at-bats this season while Ryan Knernschield is hitting .344, Hunter Morris is batting .304 and Jimmy Govern is at a .302 clip. Joseph Duncan leads Eastern Illinois with 25 hits, six stolen bases and 15 runs scored in 2018. Morris leads the squad with 21 RBIs while Dougie Parks is second with 18. Parks leads the Panthers with five home runs and 12 extra-base hits.
EIU is batting .259 as a team this season and averaging a shade under five runs per game. The EIU pitching staff has a team ERA of 5.06 this season and is led by Tyler Jones' incredible 0.60 ERA in three starts this season. Michael Starcevich leads the Panthers with 29 strikeouts and nine appearances while Carson Haws has pitched a team-high 23.2 innings. Jones leads the team with two wins on the season while Starcevich's four saves are tied for the league lead.
Jason Anderson is in his third season as the skipper of the Panthers.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Game one: Peyton Hayes (RHP) (0-1, 5.68 ERA) vs. Tyler Jones (RHP) (2-1, 0.60 ERA)
Game two: Blake Clynes (LHP) (1-1, 5.23 ERA) vs. Alex Stevenson (RHP) (1-3, 6.55 ERA)
Game three: TBA vs. TBA
