CHARLESTON, Ill. (Interstat) — A dominant starting performance by Bryce Riggs and a perfect day at the plate from Quade Peters powered the Eastern Illinois Panthers to a 4-2 victory over the Bellarmine Knights in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday at Coaches Stadium at Monier Field.

The win improved Eastern Illinois to 6-6 overall, while Bellarmine fell to 2-11.

The most important part of the game was the foundational work of Panthers starter Bryce Riggs, who stifled the Knights’ offense for six innings. The right-hander allowed just two hits and struck out seven, walking none and keeping Bellarmine off the scoreboard entirely during his outing. His performance provided the stability Eastern Illinois needed while its offense chipped away.

Eastern Illinois trailed 2-0 before ever coming to bat, as Bellarmine’s Landon Akers led off the game with a single, stole second and eventually scored on a passed ball. A second run came home on a wild pitch from Knights starter Chase Carver during the first inning.

The Panthers answered in the bottom of the second against Carver. Ethan Rossi led off with a double and scored on an RBI double by Quade Peters. Peters then came home on a single by Tyler Castro, tying the game 2-2.

Carver was pulled after four innings, having allowed two runs on four hits. The Knights’ bullpen initially held firm, with Aaron Ragat and Chase Chamberlain combining for four hitless innings of relief, striking out four.

The game remained deadlocked until the bottom of the sixth. With Riggs still dealing, Peters sparked the go-ahead rally with a one-out triple. He then scored on a sacrifice bunt by Tyler Castro, giving Eastern Illinois a 3-2 lead.

Riggs departed after the sixth, and Bellarmine immediately pounced on reliever Nate Marshall in the seventh. Pinch-hitter Cole Huett led off the inning with a solo home run to tie the game. Two batters later, Logan Murphy followed with another solo shot, putting the Knights back ahead 4-3.

The lead was short-lived. In the bottom of the eighth, Eastern Illinois mounted its decisive rally against Chamberlain. Chris Worcester singled and moved to third on a single by Ethan Rossi. After a strikeout, Quade Peters delivered again, this time with a sacrifice bunt that scored Worcester and tied the game 4-4. Rossi later scored on a wild pitch to provide the final margin.

James Geshel secured the win for Eastern Illinois with a dominant relief appearance, striking out four of the five batters he faced over the final 1 1/3 innings to earn the save.

Peters was the offensive catalyst for the Panthers, going a perfect 3 for 3 with a double, a triple, two RBIs and two runs scored. Rossi added two hits and scored twice.

For Bellarmine, which managed only five hits, the solo homers from Huett and Murphy accounted for all its scoring.

The victory followed Eastern Illinois’s 11-4 win over Bellarmine on Friday and aligned with the pregame projection from Interstat, which simulated a 4-2 Panthers victory and gave Eastern Illinois a 72.2% probability to win.

The teams were scheduled to conclude the doubleheader later Saturday.