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Rachael Keating

Baseball Hosts Eastern Illinois For Final Home Contest

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

Fans have one more opportunity to catch Leatherneck baseball at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium.

Who | Western Illinois (6-38) versus Eastern Illinois (29-15)
 
When | Tuesday (May 10) at 3 p.m.
 
Where | Alfred D. Boyer Stadium
 
Watch | Twitter Livestream (PBP: Trevor Davis | Color Analyst: Andrew Fox)
 
Listen | 88.3 The Dog (PBP: Kyleigh Rodgers)
 
Social Media | Twitter + Facebook #TRADITIONofTOUGH
 
Western Illinois baseball will play the final game of the 2022 season at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium on Tuesday (May 10), as the Leathernecks prepare for another in state opponent Eastern Illinois. First pitch against the Panthers is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
Headlines
  • Western Illinois took one of three contests over the weekend against Northern Colorado. A dominant outing by Jace Warkentien in the series opener gave WIU a 7-1 victory. Warkentien pitched eight innings, allowed no earned runs, and struck out seven batters to earn his second victory of the season.
  • Western Illinois had big offensive performances from multiple players over the weekend.
    • Kory Olsen went 5-13 with a double, six RBIs, and three runs scored. Four of Olsen's six RBIs came in Saturday's victory, giving him a new career-high in a single game.
    • Nick Mitchell finished 5-14 with a double, an RBI, four runs scored, and four stolen bases. Mitchell scored three runs in the series opener, tying his career-high.
    • Jackson Hugus played in both games of Sunday's doubleheader and batted 3-7 with a double, home run, three RBIs, and a run scored. Hugus' home run is the first of his collegiate career.
    • CJ Richmond hit 4-9 in the series, and also hit a double, home run, drove in three runs and scored three runs.
  • Western Illinois has a number of records to keep an eye on in the final two weeks of the regular season.
    • Jace Warkentien has pitched in 247.2 innings in his Leatherneck career, which ranks fourth all-time. Warkentien needs 16.2 more innings this season to reach third all-time. The record-holder is Brian Quinn (1994-97) with 288.0 career innings.
    • Warkentien is fifth all-time in career strikeouts at 201, becoming just the fifth Leatherneck to reach 200 career K's. Warkentien needs 20 strikeouts before the end of the season to pass his former teammate Javin Drake (2017-20) to become second all-time. Kent Murphy (1982-85) holds the record with 237 strikeouts.
    • Jack Bell appeared in his 26th game of the season in Sunday's doubleheader versus Northern Colorado. Bell has made the second most pitching appearances in a single season, and needs five more to break Cory Domel's (2000) record of 30 appearances in a season.
    • Nick Mitchell is T-eighth in most steals in a single season with 25. Mike Mohr (1987) holds the record for most in a year with 40.
    • As a team, Western Illinois has stolen 93 bases on the year, which ranks sixth all-time in a single season. WIU will attempt to reach 100 this season to become just the sixth team in school history to reach 100 steals in a season. The 1974 Leathernecks hold the record with 136 in a season.
  • Caden Kratz will start his first game as a Leatherneck against Eastern Illinois. Kratz is 1-3 on the season and has the second-lowest opponent average on the team at .230.
  • Eastern Illinois leads the all-time series at 80-51-1. Tuesday's contest will be the first meeting between the two programs since 2012, when WIU had a big 11-1 victory over the Eastern Illinois in Macomb.
Scouting the Opposition | The Panthers are 29-15 overall on the season but are coming off a series loss over the weekend to Morehead State, dropping two of three matchups. Eastern Illinois possesses one of the top hitters in the nation, Ryan Ignoffo. Ignoffo is hitting .423 on the year, which is the sixth-best batting average in the country. He also has 14 doubles, 13 home runs, and 51 RBIs on the season. EIU's expected starter Tyler Conklin comes in with a record of 2-0 and a 6.05 ERA in 19.1 innings pitched. Tuesday's contest will be one of two meetings between Western and Eastern this season.
 
Probable Starters | Caden Kratz versus Tyler Conklin
 
On Deck | Western Illinois continues its stretch against the Ohio Valley Conference this weekend, as the Leathernecks travel to Murray, Ky., for a three-game series against Murray State. The series begins Friday (May 13) at 5 p.m.
 
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