CHARLESTON, Ill. (WCIA) – Eastern Illinois baseball is tied for first place in the Ohio Valley Conference with SIUE.

SIUE visits Charleston for a three game series this weekend, May 8-10.

The Panthers and Cougars are both 15-6 in conference play, with Little Rock just a game back at 14-7.

The weekend series at EIU’s Coaches Field is likely to have heavy implications on the regular season conference title, with just one additional OVC series remaining for each squad after this weekend’s duel.

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“I mean, this is what we’ve practice all year, is just whether we’ve won or we’ve lost to be ready for the next one,” Panthers’ head coach Jason Anderson said of big games down the stretch and postseason play coming up. “Play the best baseball we can be and then see what happens. Hopefully come out on the right side, but I think we’re as ready as we can get.”

It will be the first time this season the Panthers and Cougars play each other.

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Players and coaches alike were highly complimentary of the recent crowds at their games, hoping for another full and noisy group of Eastern Illinois fans at this weekend’s games.

The series begins at 6 p.m. on Friday. After this heavyweight bout, EIU closes conference play by hosting Western Illinois (8-13 in conference play), while the Cougars will battle UT Martin (9-12 in conference play) in their final series of the regular season.

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