In the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and two runners on base, freshman Brooklyn Groppel entered to pinch hit.
Eastern was down 2-1.
Groppel hit the second pitch thrown to her into center field, allowing two runs to score and Eastern to grab it’s first lead of the game.
“I was so excited for my team, just because I knew we were slow at the beginning,” Groppel said. “I was just really happy that we could pull through.”
Groppel’s seventh hit of the season put EIU up for good as the Panthers held on to a 3-2 lead to win the first game of a doubleheader against Western Illinois on Saturday at Willams Field.
Head coach Kristi Paulson said that Groppel gets called upon a lot, and she has stepped up well.
“She’s been really good for us in the pinch-hit position this spring. She swings the bat hard and puts it in play every time,” Paulson said. “She’s just made things happen, so she’s going to keep getting those opportunities.”
The doubleheader sweep marks the 14th straight victory by Eastern (19-16, 11-0). The Panthers remain in first place in the OVC and broke the conference record for most consecutive wins to start the season with their 11th straight victory to start OVC play.
The previous record was 10, set by Eastern in 2000.
The second game was a very different story. Eastern scored nine runs in two innings and completely shut down Western Illinois to win 9-0 in five innings.
Eastern started the first game behind right away. Western Illinois got on the board with a hit down the left field line from only the fourth batter of the game.
From the second inning through the fifth, only one batter reached base on an error by the second baseman. EIU had no hits after the first inning until the sixth.
In the top of the sixth, Western Illinois scored again to take a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning, however, Eastern put the first two hitters on thanks to two bunts mishandled by the Leathernecks.
Sophomore first baseman Abbi Hatton then came up to bat and hit an RBI double to left center which then let Groppel drive in the game-tying and go-ahead runs.
“Their pitchers throw a lot of spin, and we just had to stay disciplined,” Hatton said. “I was just looking for something that was flatter. I just took it to left-center gap, and we just kept it going from there.”
Sophomore pitcher Rylan Gick pitched a complete game. She allowed six hits before the sixth inning, but didn’t let the early scoring or high hits get to her.
“I just knew that going into it that I just needed to keep trusting my defense and that they had my back behind me and then just keep trusting my spin out there in the circle,” Gick said.
Some of that help behind her came in the top of the seventh, when senior outfielder Marybeth Dyson dove into the outfield fence to steal a hit which helped seal the game.
In game two, senior pitcher Karlie McKenzie dominated in the circle. She had five strikeouts and only allowed one hit through all five innings pitched.
McKenzie started the year 0-7 and is now 4-7 after earning the win in this game.
“I was just trusting the pitch calls,” McKenzie said. “We put a lot of time into scouting, and I was just trusting our coaches and doing what they asked.”
The second game also featured good plate discipline by the Panthers. They drew six walks, including two by Hatton.
In the fifth inning, with Eastern already up 4-0, the Panthers were walked four straight times. Two hits later, EIU extended it’s lead to 9-0.
“They’re super spinny pitchers, so if it’s not something that we can hit hard somewhere, just let it go by until we do get something harder,” Hatton said. “Just a lot of patience and discipline and knowing what our approach is to attack the ball.”
EIU finishes the weekend series with one more game against Western Illinois tomorrow at noon at Williams Field.
Patrick Schmitz can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].
