Issue date: 3/11/09 Section: Sports

Eastern freshman catcher Gerik Wallsten pratices on Feb. 18 in Lantz Fieldhouse. The Panthers fell to Indiana State 10-9 Tuesday in Terre Haute, Ind. They travel to Tampa, Fla. for a tournament this weekend. (Erin Matheny/The Daily Eastern News)

The Panthers pitching staff allowed nine walks and hit four batters as they blew an early four-run lead and fell to Indiana State 10-9 Tuesday in Terre Haute, Ind.

Four of the Sycamores nine walks came in a six-run fifth inning that gave them an 8-6 lead.

Eastern starting pitcher, red-shirt freshman Mike Martin, was knocked out of the game in that inning after allowing five runs on four hits. He finished the game with six walks while failing to strike out a single batter.

"Obviously, the six walks are disappointing to say the least," said Eastern head coach Jim Schmitz. "But he showed some signs of pitching in big situations."

The Panthers (6-4) jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead thanks to home runs by senior center fielder Brett Nommensen and senior third baseman Zach Skidmore.

Nommensen led off the game with a home run and added a two-run shot in the eighth inning that pulled the Panthers within one at 9-8. He finished the game 3-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBIs.

"The last two or three weekends I haven't been playing as well as I wanted and I've been working a lot," Nommensen said. "I just went back to the approach of seeing the fastball, hitting the fastball and laying off the junk they throw. I've been able to pick up the ball and drive it instead of just trying to kill the ball."

Sycamore senior first baseman Brian Jett hit the game-winning single for the Sycamores (10-5).

Even with the offensive power the team displayed, Schmitz said he was most pleased with the way the offense was hitting.

"The thing I'm most happy with is that we scored runs in six innings or so," he said. "We scored in a lot of innings, and we're definitely doing better hitting with runners in scoring position and hitting in different situations."

Skidmore finished the game 2-for-5 with two RBIs to go along with his third-inning blast.

Freshman Zach Borenstein got the start in right field in place of the struggling Ryan Lindquist and had 2 RBIs, and junior designated hitter Richie Derbak continued his recent hot streak by going 3-for-3 with two runs scored. He is now 11 for his last 18.


Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.

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