After issuing back-to-back walks and hitting a batter to load the bases against the Southeast Missouri Redhawks in the top of the eighth inning, graduate right-hander James Geshel settled in.
He struck out right fielder Ryan Lopetegui before getting first baseman Dakota Joggerst to ground into an inning-ending double play to preserve the lead in Eastern’s 5-3 victory over SEMO Friday night at Frost Field at Coaches Stadium.
The game hung in the balance, and head coach Jason Anderson watched it unfold from his office.
Senior catcher Zak Goodwin struck out looking to end the bottom of the seventh inning and immediately turned towards home plate umpire Ben Levin to voice his displeasure with the call.
Then in the top of the eighth, a leadoff walk frustrated Goodwin, who was behind the plate. He said that he told Levin that the calls have to go both ways. Levin responded to Goodwin while brushing off home plate, which drew the presence of Anderson out of the dugout.
A few discussions between him and home plate umpire Ben Levin over a few calls made earlier in the game culminated in Anderson getting ejected after he came out to protect Goodwin.
“It was either my catcher is going to be thrown out, or I’m going to be thrown out, and he [Goodwin] is way more valuable to the game than I am at that point,” Anderson said.
That is when Geshel delivered the biggest sequence of the night, getting Joggerst to hit a ground ball to graduate infielder Peyton Wilson, who turned a 6-4-3 double play that electrified the players and the crowd.
“Didn’t get off to the greatest start,” Geshel said. “Some of those pitches were close, just didn’t get the calls. Coach is getting tossed, bases loaded, no outs. Just got to go out there and make pitches and find a way to let the defense work.”
The win improved EIU to 26-15 overall, while SEMO dropped to 31-14. The Panthers also moved one step closer in the OVC regular season title race, as a four-way tie for first dropped to two.
Graduate right-hander Tyler Conklin gave the Panthers six steady innings as the starting pitcher, allowing three runs on three hits while striking out two. His biggest blemish came in the fifth inning when centerfielder Caleb Klein launched a two-run homer to center field that gave SEMO a 3-2 lead.
Conklin responded by keeping the damage limited and allowing EIU’s offense to answer.
“Don’t be afraid to attack them,” Conklin said, “Defense and offense picked me up today and made a lot of phenomenal plays behind me. I owe a lot of credit to them.”
EIU first got on the board in the second inning when senior outfielder Quade Peters drove in Goodwin on a groundout.
After junior infielder Mike O’Conor tied the game with a solo home run in the fourth, SEMO answered with Klein’s blast in the fifth.
The Panthers immediately responded in the bottom half of the inning. Graduate infielder Chris Worcester delivered an RBI single to score Tyler Castro and tie the game at 3-3.
An inning later, graduate outfielder Dylan Drumke delivered what turned out to be the decisive blow.
With O’Conor on third and two outs, Drumke ripped a double down the right field line to give Eastern a 4-3 lead.
“It’s been a pretty horrendous start from a personal standpoint, but the team’s been killing it,” Drumke said. “It’s not like I’ve been upset, but it’s pretty cool to get the chance again.”
EIU added an insurance run in the seventh when SEMO right-hander Matt Wnukowski committed a throwing error that allowed Castro to score and extend the lead to 5-3.
Goodwin said the Panthers know the series is far from over.
“It feels great. SEMO’s a very well-rounded team. They know how to hit, they know how to pitch, they know how to play defense, they have a bunch of good guys out there and today we just came out on top on the first battle,” Goodwin said. “We got to come back tomorrow and just compete even harder because they’re in a great spot.”
There was a few promotions at the game. Hotdogs were being sold for one dollar each, and it was also kids day. Children filled the concourse and ran to retrieve foul balls, creating an atmosphere that isn’t seen very often at the ballpark.
“I’ve been here for six years, and I’ve never seen anything like that,” Drumke said. “That was actually unbelievable.”
The Panthers return to Frost Field at Coaches Stadium at 5 p.m. Saturday for the second game of the series. The probable starting pitchers are junior right-hander Bryce Riggs for Eastern and Mason Pennington for SEMO.
Ryan Goebel can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].
