The Eastern baseball team took one win out of a three-game series against Southeast Missouri this weekend. The Panthers won game two 5-4 on Saturday while they dropped game one and three 7-3 and 7-6.

In game three, the Panthers’ bats started out of the gate hot with junior Joe Duncan getting a single and scoring on a single by junior Dougie Parks. Parks would be the main run scorer for the Panthers going 2-4 with three RBIs.

The Redhawks tied it up in the top of the second. Danny Wright doubled to start and scored off of a single from Kyle Bottger.

In the bottom half of the second, the Panthers’ bats poured on the runs, scoring four, starting with a walk by junior Frankie Perrone. Perrone scored on a sac bunt by junior Andrew Curran who reached second base on a throwing error by the Redhawks’ first baseman Tristen Gagan.

Duncan singled which scored Curran. Sophomore Jimmy Govern singled, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. Parks singled in Duncan and reached second base on another error from the Redhawks right fielder Josh Haggerty. Govern scored on a wild pitch and the Panthers took the 5-1 lead after two innings.

Southeast Missouri put up three straight singles scoring only one. Brian Lees doubled in another one and advanced to third on a wild pitch by Eastern senior pitcher Chase Thurston. Thurston’s day was done, only going two innings giving up eight hits and giving up five runs. Senior Brandon Allen came in to stop the bleeding and closed out the second inning with three straight outs.

Coach Jason Anderson said that with the wind, he hoped that Thurston could get more than three innings of work in.

“He’s pitched a lot of innings for us. We’d hope, with the wind the way it was, he could get us through three or four innings by throwing strikes and getting the ball down,” Anderson said. “(He) came out after we scored four and (we) gave four right back to them. That’s where we should have pulled away and we let them back in there.”

Allen came in and immediately shut down the bats of the Redhawks. Allen pitched four innings of scoreless work and gave up only one hit and had four strikeouts.

“I came in and just commanding the zone. It was something I was struggling with a little bit this year,” Allen said. “The last couple of outings, I’ve gotten a better feel for it. Getting ahead of hitters and working on my off speed (pitches).”

Allen said that he continued to work batters with his off-speed pitches and when he needed to get a strikeout, he threw his fastball. Allen said that coming into the game he felt no pressure.

“It’s been an adjustment for me because I’ve started my whole career and this yearI’m out of the pen,” Allen said.

The Panthers could not hold the 6-5 lead as they gave up two runs in the top of the eighth on a two RBI single from Haggerty.

The Panthers next game is 3 p.m. Tuesday against Illinois-Springfield.

Tyler McCluskey can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected]