Eastern baseball will travel to the Gateway of the West to face the Saint Louis Bilikens (5-10, 0-6) in another non-conference match-up.

The Panthers (5-10) are coming off their home-opening split of a weekend doubleheader with Saint Xavier University. Eastern is finding it very difficult to eliminate its defensive mistakes. In fact, the Panthers have committed 13 errors in the last three games. To counter these defensive inconsistencies, Eastern head coach Jim Schmitz will be moving junior Chris Uhle back to second base and junior Jeff Cammann to third base.

“It’s kind of hard when the field is playing a little rough, but we definitely need to play better defense,” Schmitz said. “It’s also hard because we became short-handed in the off season.”

Eastern continues to struggle at the plate, as well, by batting .217, with no player batting over .300. Shortstop Kyle Haines is leading the team in batting average with posting a .291. Outfielder Kirk Walters came out of his slump this weekend against Saint Xavier by driving in a career high four RBI in game one.

Schmitz continues to have trouble with his starting pitchers, with Damon White having a stellar beginning to his senior season by posting a (1-1) record with a 1.91 ERA and a strikeouts-to-walk ratio of over three.

The Panthers have also been able to rely on closer Nathan Stone in the later innings. The Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week has racked up two saves, a 1.46 ERA, and opponents are batting .222 against the senior.

Junior Jared Marshall will step to the mound for the Panthers Tuesday with a 6.08 ERA and will be in search of his first victory of the season. Marshall will need to locate the plate better than his team-leading nine walks.

“He really needs to be more consistent on a inning by inning situation because he’s never really put a complete game together,” Schmitz said.

Eastern has struggled early in games by being outscored 23-8 in the opening innings but also are struggling in the seventh inning by a 25-2 margin.

“The positive is that we get down 5-1, and we take the lead so getting behind hasn’t really bothered us,” Schmitz said.

Saint Louis University has lost seven of its last eight games, and the one victory came against a non-Division I opponent. The main problem for the Bilikens is their inability to win on the road, and therefore, a trip back to the Bilikens Sports Center is just what the doctor ordered.

The key for the Bilikens has been its inconsistency on offense by only scoring 25 runs in 10 losses but have plated 47 runs in five wins. Bilikens’ Marshall will have to be careful with his third baseman Dan Rogers and left fielder Corey Lawson. Rogers is leading the team with a .367 batting average and a on-base percentage of .492 while Lawson is the power hitter of the bunch, totaling four home runs and 17 RBI’s.

OVC rival Southeast Missouri has defeated Saint Louis 9-4 earlier this month and the Panthers can use this game as a measuring stick for how they rank in the conference race.

“We do look at these next couple of games to judge us going into conference play,” Schmitz said.