The UTM Skyhawks baseball team was defeated in all of its final three home games this weekend by the Eastern Illinois University Panthers.
UTM finished the 2014 season with an overall record of 9–42 and an OVC record of 5–25. Their season also ends on a six-game losing streak after their last victory, a 6–3 12-inning victory at Austin Peay on May 10.
The first game of the series was scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday. However, after the top of the third inning was completed with no score by either side, the game was delayed because of weather. The delay lasted about 90 minutes before officials postponed the game to the following day.
The game resumed at 1 p.m. on Friday with the bottom of the third inning. The game remained scoreless until the top of the fifth inning. Panthers shortstop Dane Sauer scored when left fielder Demetre Taylor grounded out to second base. EIU added another run in the next inning, when catcher Jacob Reese drove in designated hitter Tyler Schweigert.
Both teams scored in the eighth inning. Schweigert scored for EIU on a fielding error that allowed him to extend a triple into an unearned run, while UTM’s Taylor Douglas scored on an RBI single by right fielder Nico Zych. However, UTM was unable to close the gap, resulting in a 3–1 defeat in the first game.
The second game of the series began shortly after the conclusion of the first, at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. EIU scored quickly, as center fielder Caleb Howell reached home on a groundout by Taylor. UTM answered quickly, with shortstop Jake Deason recording a two-RBI double in the bottom of the second that brought around Zych and second baseman Andrew Massey. This gave the Skyhawks their only lead of the weekend, a 2–1 advantage that would last until the fourth inning. At which point, EIU third baseman Brant Valach scored on a sac fly by right fielder Frankie Perrone to tie the game at two runs apiece.
The Panthers added two more runs in the fifth inning and three in the seventh inning to regain the lead. UTM scored only one more run for the remainder of the contest, thanks to a single by Phil Sorensen that drove in left fielder Chase Young in the bottom of the seventh inning. UTM had another chance in the eighth, but designated hitter Ben Upton struck out looking with the bases loaded to end the inning. The Panthers won game two, 7–3, following a scoreless ninth inning.
Prior to the final game of the series on Saturday, UTM’s senior baseball players were honored, receiving a plaque and a portrait of themselves. The seniors honored included: Phil Sorensen, Zack Malone, John Skubina, John Houston, Chris Ross and Alex Boshers. Boshers started the game on the mound for UTM, but was withdrawn in favor of Houston in the eighth inning. Boshers left the field in his final appearance as a Skyhawk to a standing ovation from the spectators.
The Panthers, once again, scored first in game three, as Howell reached home on a groundout by Valach. Meanwhile, UTM remained hitless following a first-inning single by Douglas; this lasted until a double by Young in the seventh inning broke the team’s dry spell. EIU scored two runs each in the eighth and ninth innings, while UTM was again held to only one late run, that of Massey, who scored on a double by catcher Mikey Nantze in the eighth. However it was not enough and for the third time in two days the Skyhawks fell to the Panthers, 5–1.
For EIU who ends their season with a record of 21–31–1, and an OVC record of 15–14–1, the sweep cements their berth in the Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship. They will face Jacksonville State on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Featured Image: (University Relations)
