Despite 18 games already in the books, EIU baseball head coach Jason Anderson is still trying to completely figure out the 2026 roster.
“I’m learning something new about them every day,” he said.
Anderson said that because of injuries, every series has been played with a slightly different group each weekend.
“If I’m learning anything,” Anderson said, “it’s that the depth has come into play way before I thought it should.”
Despite injuries and early season rust, the Panthers (10-8) are set to begin Ohio Valley Conference play with a winning record for the third time in five years with a three game series against Lindenwood this weekend.
Eastern enters the weekend winners of four games in a row and winners of six of their last eight games.
A big factor in recent wins has been the offense finding its form. A by-product of playing baseball in the Midwest and starting the season with 21 road games, says Anderson, is the offense struggling for run production.
In the past eight games, however, Eastern has outscored its opponents 71-52 and has scored 12 or more runs in three of its last four games.
The Panthers really put it together offensively in the final two games of the series against Memphis last weekend, as a 12-7 victory in the second game evened the series. Eastern took the lead with a solo home run on the first pitch of the game by graduate left fielder Brett Stanley and collected 15 of its 20 hits in two-strike counts, which Anderson said was a great sign.
That win set up a barn burner of a rubber match that featured 39 combined runs and a 25-14 win for Eastern.
Senior infielder Mike O’Conor hit for the cycle, and the Panthers scored their most runs in a game since 2011 against Morehead State.
“We’re going to play 21 straight road games before we get to play a home game,” Anderson said. “To see them adjust to that and overcome that and not get too down, that’s something with being a mature [group of] players.”
Eastern most recently swept Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a two game series, with Wednesday’s 13-3 win being Anderson’s 250th as head of the EIU program.
On the pitching side, The Panthers are carried, says Anderson, by the starting pitcher duo of graduate right-hander Tyler Conklin and junior right-hander Bryce Riggs.
Conklin is 3-1 with a 4.88 ERA. In his first three starts, Conklin allowed a combined nine hits and three earned runs while collecting 12 strikeouts in 17 innings of work. His last two starts weren’t as dominant, however, as he allowed eight runs on as many hits in four innings in Friday’s game against Memphis.
Riggs has been one of the best pitchers in the OVC so far, as his 1.95 ERA and 29 strikeouts is not only good for the team lead but ranks fourth in the conference. He also has the lowest opponent batting average in the league among qualified pitchers at .138.
Riggs was one of six OVC pitchers added to the 2026 College Baseball Hall of Fame National Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List on March 11.
“I’m just really proud of him; to see him really figure things out and just develop and grow on the field,” Anderson said.
Anderson said that Conklin and Riggs have been a major factor in most of Eastern’s 10 wins so far.
The Panthers will open up OVC play with the first of three games against Lindenwood on Friday. Following that series, Eastern will play at home for the first time this season with a four game home stand on the horizon.
First pitch for Friday’s game is set for 3 p.m.
Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].
