AP Sports Preview: Eastern Illinois at Western Illinois

MACOMB, Ill. (Interstat) — The Eastern Illinois Panthers (30-19) and Western Illinois Leathernecks (15-34) conclude their Ohio Valley Conference series Saturday with a doubleheader at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium. First pitch for the afternoon game is set for 1 p.m., with the evening game scheduled for 6 p.m. The forecast calls for clear skies and 75 degrees.

Eastern Illinois has won the first two games of the series, taking a 9-8 decision Friday and a 7-1 victory Thursday. The Panthers have outscored the Leathernecks 16-9 in the set and are looking to sweep the four-game weekend.

Right-hander Bryce Riggs is expected to start one of Saturday’s games for Eastern Illinois. Riggs pitched six innings Friday, allowing three earned runs on no hits with five strikeouts in the win. Over his last four starts, he has a 5.73 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 22 innings. In his previous outing against Western Illinois on April 25, he tossed four scoreless innings.

Western Illinois will counter with right-hander Jason Buhl, who started and took the loss Friday. Buhl allowed three earned runs on eight hits in six innings, striking out two. He has been inconsistent this season, recording a 1.69 ERA in two relief appearances but struggling as a starter, including a rough outing April 25 when he gave up three earned runs in 4 1/3 innings.

The Leathernecks have lost four straight and eight of their last nine. Their offense managed eight runs Friday behind Gage Hoover (2-for-5, two RBIs) and Kamryn Link (2-for-5, home run, RBI). Western Illinois is hitting .247 as a team.

Eastern Illinois enters on a two-game winning streak after dropping three of four to SIU Edwardsville last weekend. The Panthers’ offense was led Friday by Ethan Rossi (2-for-4, home run, four RBIs) and Zak Goodwin (3-for-5, two RBIs). Eastern Illinois has a .289 team batting average.

The Interstat game simulator projects a 5-3 Eastern Illinois victory, and the ELO system gives the Panthers a 71.4 percent probability of winning.

Saturday’s doubleheader marks the final regular-season meeting between the OVC rivals. Both teams are fighting for positioning in the conference tournament.