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CHARLESTON, Ill.—The Eastern Illinois baseball team exploded for 10 runs in the sixth inning on Tuesday to rally past the visiting University of Evansville Purple Aces and post a 10-4 victory at Coaches Field in Charleston, Illinois.

After the two teams traded scoreless innings through the first four innings, Evansville was able to draw first blood in the fifth inning, scoring a pair of runs on a Nate Smith two-run single to right field to grab a 2-0 lead.  The lead would not last long though, as the Panthers erupted for 10 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take control of the contest.

Eastern Illinois took advantage of five UE walks, a pair of hit batters, and an error to plate 10 runs in the frame on just five base hits.  The Panthers sent 16 men to the plate in the inning, as all but one EIU batter reached base in the frame, with seven of the nine men in the lineup driving in runs.  On the afternoon, all 10 runs and five of EIU’s nine base hits took place in the decisive sixth inning.

Evansville would tack on single runs in the eighth and ninth innings on a sacrifice fly by junior infielder Peter Tountas and an RBI ground out by freshman infielder Shawn Kuester to cap the scoring at 10-4.

Kuester led Evansville offensively, going 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI, as he extended his hitting streak to six games.  Sophomore outfielder Alex Acheson also had two hits, while Smith drove in a pair.  Centerfielder Brett Nommensen led the EIU attack by going 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI out of the lead-off spot.

With the victory, Eastern Illinois improves to 22-26 on the season.  Evansville, meanwhile, slips to 14-39.  The Purple Aces will conclude the 2008 season this weekend with a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series at Southern Illinois, beginning on Thursday at 3:00 p.m.  All three games of the series can be heard live on 91.5 F.M.-WUEV.