The Panthers lost their final pre-Ohio Valley Conference game yesterday, falling 7-4 to Southern Illinois- Carbondale in what head coach Jim Schmitz called his worst day in 10 years with the Panthers.

Schmitz said he had no comment after a game which saw only three Panther starters play all nine innings, including senior shortstop Cam Strang, red-shirt junior designated hitter David Ciaglia and sophomore third-baseman Ryan Dineen.

The game started on a nostalgic note, as a framed jersey was presented to the widow of former Panther coach Dan Callahan, who lost his four-year battle with melanoma last November. Callahan coached at Eastern from 1989 to 1994 and had been the coach of Southern Illinois since 1995.

The game started off smoothly enough for the Panthers, as freshman left-handed starter Christian Slazinik retired the Salukis without allowing a run in the top of the first. The bottom of the first saw two Panther strikeouts by junior Zach Borenstein and red-shirt junior outfielder Ben Thoma. The second inning saw the Panthers unravel, as they allowed four runs, three of them earned. The Panthers made three errors in the game, one each by Dineen, red-shirt junior first-baseman TJ McManus and sophomore second baseman Daniel Rowe.

After the second inning finally ended, Slazinik was pulled in favor of freshman right-hander Joe Greenfield, who went 2.2 innings and allowed two unearned runs on three hits.

Eastern scored once in the fourth inning on an RBI single by freshman catcher Jacob Reese, and three in the sixth including a solo home run by freshman Tyler Schweigert for his first career hit.

The rest of the game was relatively uneventful, as the only other tally was scored off junior left-hander Adam Clark in the eighth inning.

The loss drops the Panthers to 4-13 on the season as they prepare to open their conference schedule this weekend at home against Eastern Kentucky.

Saturday’s double header is set to begin at 1 p.m. against the Colonels, with Sunday’s game set to begin at the same time in Coaches’ Stadium.

Brad Kupiec can be reached at 581-7944 or [email protected]