MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois baseball dropped game two to Eastern Illinois, 9-8, on Friday afternoon at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium.
The Leathernecks collected 13 hits and hit four home runs in the loss, with Kamryn Link, Liam Bushey, Isaiah Monge and Josh McClintock each going deep.
Western Illinois struck first in the second inning when Monge launched a solo homer to left field to give the Leathernecks a 1-0 lead. After Eastern Illinois tied the game in the third, Wandel Campana answered with an RBI single to center that scored Krayton Morse and put WIU back in front, 2-1.
Eastern Illinois responded with a three-run homer in the fourth to take a 4-2 lead before the Leathernecks chipped away in the fifth. Joe Connolly singled to open the inning and later scored on a double-play ball off the bat of Cordell Coburn to make it 4-3.
The Panthers extended their advantage with three runs in the seventh, but Western Illinois answered right back. Bushey opened the inning with a solo home run to center field before Gage Hoover ripped a two-run triple to left, scoring Coburn and Link to cut the deficit to 7-6.
McClintock tied the game in the eighth with a solo homer to left field, his fourth of the season, making it 7-7. Eastern Illinois regained the lead in the ninth with a solo homer and an RBI single before Link hit a solo shot to right in the bottom half, but the Leathernecks could not complete the comeback.
Hoover finished with two RBIs and a triple, while Link went with two runs scored and two RBIs. Campana added two hits and an RBI, and Bushey reached base four times with a home run, RBI and two runs scored.
Western Illinois and Eastern Illinois continue the series on Sunday afternoon in Macomb.
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