The Eastern Illinois Panthers hail from Charleston Illinois, which is roughly halfway between Indianapolis and St. Louis and about two and a half hours southeast of Chicago. They play baseball in the Ohio Valley Conference. Charleston Illinois is a 9 and a half hour bus ride to Athens, and their team made it today.
Last season, the Panthers went 22-33-1. They opened the season at UL Lafayette, who you'll recall made it to a Super Regional last June as a national seed. The Panthers actually took game 1 of that series before dropping the next three. Still, they acquitted themselves well as two of their losses were one run games. The next weekend, they visited our friends from Arkansas in Fayetteville. This weekend wasn't as kind of Eastern Illinois as they were swept and outscored by 14 runs on the weekend. Following this, Eastern played in a three team tourney against our friends from Miss State. Eastern Illinois went 1-3 on the weekend in Starkville, splitting with Michigan State and losing a pair to Miss State. Eastern would then go on to drop 2/3 to SIU Edwardsville and drop a midweek game at Vanderbilt. Following a series loss at Austin Peay and a midweek loss at Southern Illinois, the Eastern Illinois Panthers FINALLY held their home opener with a record of 4-16. Eastern did win their final three series of the season against Eastern Kentucky, Mooehead State, and UT Martin. They went 1-2 in their conference tourney in Jackson Tennessee.
Eastern is coached by Jim Schmitz, who is entering his 21st year as skipper of the Panther program. Schmitz is 684-706-1 as a manager, Interestingly, both Schmitz and Scott Stricklin tied the first games of their careers last season. Another interesting note is that current Atlanta Braves pitching coach Kevin Seitzer played his college ball at Eastern Illinois and has his number retired there.
Friday afternoon we're going to see Jake Johansmeier, a lanky junior right hander from St. Charles Illinois. Johansmeier was Eastern's Opening Day starter a season ago and made 14 starts with 4 relief appearances on the season. He set the tone well in the season debut for the Panthers last year going 6 innings against UL Lafayette and allowing 3 hits and 1 run, while striking out 4 and walking 3. On the year, Johansmeier threw 72 2/3 innings posting a 5.95 ERA and 3-3 record. He won't strike out a lot of people as he only had 42 last season against 30 walks. As a freshman, he was named to the Ohio Valley Conference All Newcomer Team, and compiled a 3.70 ERA and 3-4 record in 48 2/3 innings of work. He had 33 K's and 22 BB's a true freshman. We should be able to put the ball in play against this guy and we should have base runners. The opposition hit .324 against him and his WHIP was 1.75 a year ago. Still, he's an experienced pitcher who will be making his 23rd career start. He took the baseball on Opening Day last season and also against Arkansas and Miss State.
At high noon on Saturday, we'll be faced with a compact 5th year senior named Christian Slazinik from St. Louis Missouri. Slazinik will be making his 33rd career start on Saturday afternoon, but he's somewhat of an interesting case. On his very pitch that he threw in 2013, he sustained a season ending injury. When I read that, I just assumed it was a Tommy John deal, but it was actually a knee injury. There was some hope that Slazinik could return later in the year, but it never happened. In 2014, Slazinik saw a reduced role for himself as he pitched in 11 games with 6 starts. He posted a 5.70 ERA over 30 innings. Walks were a problem as he posted a 21/20 K/BB on the season while the opposition hit .285 against him. These were all a step down from his 2012 numbers. It looks like he was evolving into a front line guy for Eastern before his injury.
Sunday afternoon, a left handed senior named Garrison Stenger will get the nod for Eastern. Stenger is from Arcola Illinois by way of Lakeland Community College. He hasn't gotten a great deal of work for Eastern in his two years in their program. Last season he made 17 appearances, all in relief, and posted an 0-5 record with a 12.21 ERA. In 24 1/3 innings, he allowed 25 walks against 20 strikeouts. The opposition hit a robust .395 against him. 12 of the 45 hits that he allowed in this limited action went for extra base hits. His 2013 numbers were better by comparison. He appeared in 24 games and posted a 3-1 record. His ERA was a very respectable .287 and opposing hitters only hit .265 against him. In 31 1/3 innings in 2013, he had 23 K's against 15 BB's. My guess is that he's going to be on a short leash Sunday afternoon in what marks his first career start.
Junior Chase Thurston is the only player returning for Eastern who recorded a save last season as he collected 1 of the Panthers' 12 season saves. Thurston is a small junior righy from Danville Illinois. He made 17 appearances last year with 4 starts. He posted an 0-4 record and 10.80 ERA. In 28 1/3 innings he allowed 24 BBs and struck out 20. I don't know that they'll use Thurston as their closer this weekend, but as I say, he is their only returner with a save.
Eastern's pitching staff as a whole struggled a year ago. They posted a 5.54 ERA and 2.96 average against. Over the season, their staff had a WHIP of 1.71. Additionally, the opposition stole 67 bases in 87 attempts against the Panthers a year ago.
Eastern Illinois returns their top two hitters from a season ago. Caleb Howell is a left handed hitting OF from Jacksonville IL. The senior hit .420/.492/.469 a season ago, starting 55 games. His 9 steals were tops on Eastern's club. He hit 12 doubles with 0 triples and 0 HRs. He recorded a 6 hit game last year against Eastern Kentucky and hit a whopping .688 on that weekend series. We should see Howell hitting at the top and playing CF.
Brett Valach is a senior right handed hitter from Orland Park Illinois. We should see him at 3rd this weekend and he should hit either 3rd or 4th from the Panthers. Valach hit .333/.401/.503 a season ago. He added 5 HRs. He isn't a steal threat as he was only 0/1 in that category a season ago. He made the Ohio Valley Conference 2nd team each of the last two years and was named Oho Valley "Rookie of the Year" in 2012 (the seem to dislike the term "freshman" when giving out these awards).
Another power threat for Eastern is Demetre Taylor, a 4th year junior from Middleton HS in Tampa Florida. Taylor is a big (6'4, 240 lbs) left handed hitting corner OF. Last year, he hit .309/.386/.536. His 7 HRs lead the team, as did his 53 RBI. 28 of his 64 hits on the year went for extra bases. He was a perfect 6 for 6 in steals. His 44 strikeouts tied for the team lead, but his 25 walks were second on the team behind Howell.
These guys make up 3 of Eastern's top 4 hitters from 2014. They've played a lot of baseball in Charleston.
Eastern ran a decent amount last year, with limited results as they were 38/62 in stolen bases. The run game has been a thorn for us the last couple of years defensively, but we got a little better with it last year and I don't see it being much of an issue this weekend. Stricklin has had such a huge impact on our catchers and then our pitchers do a better job of holding guys on and getting to the plate quickly.
Eastern fielded .964 a season ago. They do not have any players listed on Baseball America's Top Ten draft prospects for the Ohio Valley Conference for this upcoming draft.
This is a team that wasn't great last year and while they did lose a couple of their front line guys, they also have quite a few key players returning and quite a bit of experience. I don't think they'll be scared of us or intimidated by playing in an SEC park. Friday seems to be their best chance given Johansmeier's experience, but Slazinik is probably coming in a bit under the radar and his early numbers suggest that he's capable. We've wrapped up our first weekend series with 2 losses in 4 of the past 5 seasons. Eastern isn't up the level of competition that dealt us those losses in those opening weekends, but I imagine they'll do better than 11 games under .500 this season.
For our part, I know that we are ready to play. And I know I'm ready to finally get this thing started.
Last season, the Panthers went 22-33-1. They opened the season at UL Lafayette, who you'll recall made it to a Super Regional last June as a national seed. The Panthers actually took game 1 of that series before dropping the next three. Still, they acquitted themselves well as two of their losses were one run games. The next weekend, they visited our friends from Arkansas in Fayetteville. This weekend wasn't as kind of Eastern Illinois as they were swept and outscored by 14 runs on the weekend. Following this, Eastern played in a three team tourney against our friends from Miss State. Eastern Illinois went 1-3 on the weekend in Starkville, splitting with Michigan State and losing a pair to Miss State. Eastern would then go on to drop 2/3 to SIU Edwardsville and drop a midweek game at Vanderbilt. Following a series loss at Austin Peay and a midweek loss at Southern Illinois, the Eastern Illinois Panthers FINALLY held their home opener with a record of 4-16. Eastern did win their final three series of the season against Eastern Kentucky, Mooehead State, and UT Martin. They went 1-2 in their conference tourney in Jackson Tennessee.
Eastern is coached by Jim Schmitz, who is entering his 21st year as skipper of the Panther program. Schmitz is 684-706-1 as a manager, Interestingly, both Schmitz and Scott Stricklin tied the first games of their careers last season. Another interesting note is that current Atlanta Braves pitching coach Kevin Seitzer played his college ball at Eastern Illinois and has his number retired there.
Friday afternoon we're going to see Jake Johansmeier, a lanky junior right hander from St. Charles Illinois. Johansmeier was Eastern's Opening Day starter a season ago and made 14 starts with 4 relief appearances on the season. He set the tone well in the season debut for the Panthers last year going 6 innings against UL Lafayette and allowing 3 hits and 1 run, while striking out 4 and walking 3. On the year, Johansmeier threw 72 2/3 innings posting a 5.95 ERA and 3-3 record. He won't strike out a lot of people as he only had 42 last season against 30 walks. As a freshman, he was named to the Ohio Valley Conference All Newcomer Team, and compiled a 3.70 ERA and 3-4 record in 48 2/3 innings of work. He had 33 K's and 22 BB's a true freshman. We should be able to put the ball in play against this guy and we should have base runners. The opposition hit .324 against him and his WHIP was 1.75 a year ago. Still, he's an experienced pitcher who will be making his 23rd career start. He took the baseball on Opening Day last season and also against Arkansas and Miss State.
At high noon on Saturday, we'll be faced with a compact 5th year senior named Christian Slazinik from St. Louis Missouri. Slazinik will be making his 33rd career start on Saturday afternoon, but he's somewhat of an interesting case. On his very pitch that he threw in 2013, he sustained a season ending injury. When I read that, I just assumed it was a Tommy John deal, but it was actually a knee injury. There was some hope that Slazinik could return later in the year, but it never happened. In 2014, Slazinik saw a reduced role for himself as he pitched in 11 games with 6 starts. He posted a 5.70 ERA over 30 innings. Walks were a problem as he posted a 21/20 K/BB on the season while the opposition hit .285 against him. These were all a step down from his 2012 numbers. It looks like he was evolving into a front line guy for Eastern before his injury.
Sunday afternoon, a left handed senior named Garrison Stenger will get the nod for Eastern. Stenger is from Arcola Illinois by way of Lakeland Community College. He hasn't gotten a great deal of work for Eastern in his two years in their program. Last season he made 17 appearances, all in relief, and posted an 0-5 record with a 12.21 ERA. In 24 1/3 innings, he allowed 25 walks against 20 strikeouts. The opposition hit a robust .395 against him. 12 of the 45 hits that he allowed in this limited action went for extra base hits. His 2013 numbers were better by comparison. He appeared in 24 games and posted a 3-1 record. His ERA was a very respectable .287 and opposing hitters only hit .265 against him. In 31 1/3 innings in 2013, he had 23 K's against 15 BB's. My guess is that he's going to be on a short leash Sunday afternoon in what marks his first career start.
Junior Chase Thurston is the only player returning for Eastern who recorded a save last season as he collected 1 of the Panthers' 12 season saves. Thurston is a small junior righy from Danville Illinois. He made 17 appearances last year with 4 starts. He posted an 0-4 record and 10.80 ERA. In 28 1/3 innings he allowed 24 BBs and struck out 20. I don't know that they'll use Thurston as their closer this weekend, but as I say, he is their only returner with a save.
Eastern's pitching staff as a whole struggled a year ago. They posted a 5.54 ERA and 2.96 average against. Over the season, their staff had a WHIP of 1.71. Additionally, the opposition stole 67 bases in 87 attempts against the Panthers a year ago.
Eastern Illinois returns their top two hitters from a season ago. Caleb Howell is a left handed hitting OF from Jacksonville IL. The senior hit .420/.492/.469 a season ago, starting 55 games. His 9 steals were tops on Eastern's club. He hit 12 doubles with 0 triples and 0 HRs. He recorded a 6 hit game last year against Eastern Kentucky and hit a whopping .688 on that weekend series. We should see Howell hitting at the top and playing CF.
Brett Valach is a senior right handed hitter from Orland Park Illinois. We should see him at 3rd this weekend and he should hit either 3rd or 4th from the Panthers. Valach hit .333/.401/.503 a season ago. He added 5 HRs. He isn't a steal threat as he was only 0/1 in that category a season ago. He made the Ohio Valley Conference 2nd team each of the last two years and was named Oho Valley "Rookie of the Year" in 2012 (the seem to dislike the term "freshman" when giving out these awards).
Another power threat for Eastern is Demetre Taylor, a 4th year junior from Middleton HS in Tampa Florida. Taylor is a big (6'4, 240 lbs) left handed hitting corner OF. Last year, he hit .309/.386/.536. His 7 HRs lead the team, as did his 53 RBI. 28 of his 64 hits on the year went for extra bases. He was a perfect 6 for 6 in steals. His 44 strikeouts tied for the team lead, but his 25 walks were second on the team behind Howell.
These guys make up 3 of Eastern's top 4 hitters from 2014. They've played a lot of baseball in Charleston.
Eastern ran a decent amount last year, with limited results as they were 38/62 in stolen bases. The run game has been a thorn for us the last couple of years defensively, but we got a little better with it last year and I don't see it being much of an issue this weekend. Stricklin has had such a huge impact on our catchers and then our pitchers do a better job of holding guys on and getting to the plate quickly.
Eastern fielded .964 a season ago. They do not have any players listed on Baseball America's Top Ten draft prospects for the Ohio Valley Conference for this upcoming draft.
This is a team that wasn't great last year and while they did lose a couple of their front line guys, they also have quite a few key players returning and quite a bit of experience. I don't think they'll be scared of us or intimidated by playing in an SEC park. Friday seems to be their best chance given Johansmeier's experience, but Slazinik is probably coming in a bit under the radar and his early numbers suggest that he's capable. We've wrapped up our first weekend series with 2 losses in 4 of the past 5 seasons. Eastern isn't up the level of competition that dealt us those losses in those opening weekends, but I imagine they'll do better than 11 games under .500 this season.
For our part, I know that we are ready to play. And I know I'm ready to finally get this thing started.
