Junior Brant Valach went 0-for-3 against Illinois State in Eastern’s 9-4 loss Tuesday, but in the next three games the third baseman went 9-for-15 against Murray State, including a three-home run game Sunday.

To go along with the three home runs in the Panthers’ 14-3 win in the series finale, Valach drove in 10 RBIs against Murray State and scored six runs, which earned him Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week.

Since his return from a hand injury, the infielder has hit 14-for-29 (.483) in seven games.

During that seven-game stretch, Valach has committed only one error for the Panthers.

Taylor hits for cycle

Red-shirt sophomore Demetre Taylor recorded a single, double and triple before his fifth at bat Friday against Murray State.

In the 10th inning he hit a home run to complete the cycle, while also giving Eastern an 8-7 lead.

The Thoroughbreds scored a run in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game, but Eastern bounced back in the 13th inning, scoring two runs and held on to win 10-9.

Taylor’s cycle was the second in as many weeks for an Ohio Valley Conference player, as Tennessee Tech’s Brandon Thomasson also achieved the feat on March 26, in a 13-5 win over Miami (Ohio).

Taylor finished Friday night going 4-for-6, scoring three runs to go along with a walk and his 10th-inning home run. He now has five home runs and 31 RBIs this season, which leads all Eastern hitters.

Howell continues hot streak

Junior outfielder Caleb hit .444 (8-for-18) in four games last week for Eastern and continues to lead the Ohio Valley Conference in batting average at .469 in conference play.

On Tuesday against Illinois State, Howell went 3-for-5 and then he capped of his week’s play by going 4-for-5 against Murray State Sunday. Howell leads Eastern with a .431 overall batting average and has a team-high 53 hits.

In the four-game stretch, Howell scored five runs, adding to his team best 30 this season, 17 have come against conference opponents.

Not only does Howell lead the OVC in batting average, he also has a conference high .565 on-base percentage.

In 18 of 31 games, Howell has recorded at least two hits for the Panthers this season.

Pitching shows improvement

After junior Matt Borens allowed five earned runs against Murray State Friday, sophomore Jake Johansmeier and senior Joe Greenfield combined to throw 13.1 innings allowing five earned runs.

Johansmeier pitched into the eighth inning for the Panthers Saturday afternoon, allowing two runs in 7.1 innings. He received a no-decision, as Murray State eventually scored two runs in the bottom of the 10th inning to beat Eastern 4-3.

Johansmeier surrendered six hits and three walks, while recording four strikeouts.

On Sunday, Greenfield improved to 4-3 this season, pitching six innings and allowing three runs.

It was the senior’s second start of the season and although he walked four batters and yielded nine hits, Greenfield was able to maneuver his way past Murray State to collect the win.

Eastern won two of the three games in Murray, Ky., allowing 16 runs during the weekend, which was 23 less than what Jacksonville State scored against the Panthers at Coaches Stadium on March 28-30.

Upcoming schedule

Eastern plays two midweek games, starting with a 6:05 p.m. start Tuesday in Mattoon against the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign at Peterson Park.

The Panthers return to play at 3 p.m. Wednesday against Illinois College, which is the first of five straight home games for Eastern.

After a three-game series against Tennessee Tech, Eastern ends its home stand with a 3 p.m. matchup against Indiana State on April 15.

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].