PANTHERS POUNCE ON TOURNEY TOO

Eastern Illinois came into last season's Ohio Valley Conference baseball tournament as the No. 1 seed but promptly lost its first game and couldn't quite recover, eventually losing in the finals.

This year, the Panthers left nothing to chance. After winning their second straight OVC regular-season title to again earn the tournament's top seed, EIU swept through the tourney in three games, capped by Saturday's 4-3 victory over fourth-seeded Middle Tennessee State.

More than 200 fans at Capaha Field saw the Panthers stage a late rally by scoring three seventh-inning runs as they earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

EIU improved to 32-21 while MTSU ended the season at 29-31.

"This feels very good and I'm extremely proud of the guys," said EIU coach Jim Schmitz, whose squad lost its first 11 games of the season but has gone 32-10 since then. "After being 0-11, this says a lot for our guys.

"This has been our goal all year. Last year we had six goals, but this year we just had one: to make the NCAA regional. I think that's what kept us focused all year."

The Panthers had to overcome an impressive effort by the Raiders, who were playing their fifth tournament game.

"We're a very, very disappointed team, but my team played very hard," said MTSU coach Steve Peterson. "All in all, I'm proud of our effort. We had guys step up and make big plays.

"But the best team won. Eastern Illinois proved they were the No. 1 team in league play and they defended it here."

MTSU starter Wayne Chinapen, after allowing a run in the first inning, blanked EIU until the seventh. He had retired eight straight batters and had a 3-1 lead when the Panthers finally broke through.

With one out, Brian Hantosh walked and Chris Martin drilled a home run to right field -- only his third homer of the season -- to tie the contest.

"I was just trying to hit it between first and second," said Martin. "He (Chinapen) got it up over the plate and I just barely hit it over (the fence).

"I can hardly talk right now. It's a dream come true."

Josh Landon followed with a double and David Mikes singled, with Landon stopping at third. Brett Allen replaced Chinapen on the mound and promptly tossed a wild pitch to Sean Lyons as Landon scored what proved to be the winning run.

Chinapen (2-2) took the loss despite a strong performance. He allowed five hits and was charged with all four runs in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked four.

Mike Ziroli (4-4) got the win as he gave the Panthers their third straight impressive starting performance. Ziroli allowed eight hits and three runs. He fanned two and walked two.

Jeremy Sanders, the OVC's top relief pitcher this season, earned his second save of the tournament as he closed things out by retiring all five batters he faced. Sanders, who also won a game in the tournament, was named the tourney MVP.

Josh Pride, the OVC Player of the Year, hit his league-best 22nd homer of the season in the fourth, a two-run shot that gave the Raiders a 2-1 lead.

MTSU tacked on another run in the sixth and that's the way things stood until EIU rallied in the seventh.

* EIU and MTSU dominated the 12-player all-tournament team, the Panthers and Raiders each gaining five selections. Eastern Kentucky, which wound up third in the six-team even, had the other two picks as selected by tourney officials.

Joining MVP Sanders on the squad from EIU are catcher Ryan Bridgewater, infielder Mikes, outfielder Keith Laski and pitcher Matt Gage.

On the team from MTSU are infielders Pride and Ty Curley, outfielder Justin Links and utility players Jeff Parsons and Kris Lammers.

EKU representatives on the squad are infielder Lee Chapman and outfielder Sean Murray.