Richmond, Ky. - A doubleheader sweep of third-place Morehead State on Saturday, coupled with losses by Eastern Illinois and Samford, clinched a spot for the Eastern Kentucky baseball team in next week's O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. EKU (23-28, 14-11 OVC) used solid pitching performances and big days from seniors Derrick Bussell and Will Whisenant to take 10-3 and 7-5 victories over the Eagles.

Eastern will close out the regular season at 1 p.m. tomorrow afternoon against Morehead State (27-26, 14-11 OVC), a game which will be Senior Day for the EKU's class of 2005.

EKU 10, Morehead State 3
The Colonels answered an early 3-2 deficit by scoring eight unanswered runs en route to a 10-3 victory in the series opener. Bussell scored four runs and went 3-for-4 at the plate, falling a double shy of the cycle, and was one of a trio of Colonels to post three-hit efforts in the win.

Senior McKenzie Willoughby (7-3) went 7.0 innings for Eastern and held the Eagles scoreless over his final four frames. Willoughby took the mound at the start of the eighth with EKU leading 7-3, but was pulled in favor of senior Andy Polzin after the first two batters reached base (fielding error and a walk). Polzin came on with two on and no out and responded by retiring the next three hitters in order. Polzin then worked a scoreless ninth and picked up his second save of the season after fanning four over the final 2.0 frames.

EKU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Whisenant plated Bussell and junior Brett Bolger with a two-run single. Morehead answered right back in the top of the second compliments of a two-run homer from Bryan Ingram (his 16th of the year). Senior outfielder Bryan Stevenson prevented further damage in the inning by throwing out Zac Carr at the plate from right. Ingram picked up his third RBI of the game the following inning off a run-scoring single to give the Eagles a 3-2 lead.

Eastern took the lead for good in the bottom half of the third, as a two-out single by Stevenson sparked a two-run inning. Stevenson had a stellar all-around game, going 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored, two RBI and a season-high three stolen bases. After a walk by Whisenant, junior Chris O'Dell scored Stevenson with a RBI double to tie the game at 3-all. Whisenant came around to score moments later off a Morehead error.

Bussell made it a 5-3 contest in the fourth with an RBI triple (his team-leading fourth of the year). He scored on the next at-bat thanks to a sacrifice fly by Bolger. Bussell struck again in the sixth with a solo homer to right-centerfield, his second of the season, to put EKU on top 7-3.

The Colonels tacked on three insurance runs in the eighth after Bussell and Bolger got the team going with back-to-back singles. Stevenson pushed across both runners with a two-run single, then scored off a RBI base-knock from O'Dell to cap off Eastern's scoring.

Bussell, Stevenson and Bolger each tallied three hits in the win, while four different Colonels enjoyed multi-RBI efforts. Eastern racked up a season-high seven steals in the win, lead by three from Stevenson. Shane Lucci (3-6) took the loss for the Eagles after surrendering 10 runs (nine earned) over 7.2 innings of work.

EKU 7, Morehead State 5
Freshman Shane Zegarac (3-6) calmed down after a rocky second inning to retire 13 of the next 14 batters he faced, while Whisenant capped off the Colonels' comeback with a three-run homer in the fifth. Senior Richard Boothe came on in the bottom of the seventh with EKU up 7-3 and closed out the game for his fourth save, despite a late rally by the Eagles.

Morehead went on top 3-0 in the top of the second thanks in part to an EKU fielding error and a two-run single by Travis Rima. Eastern cut its deficit to a run in the bottom half of the inning when freshman Joe Oliver plated O'Dell and senior Adam Visnic with a base knock.

Down 3-2 in the third, Bolger was thrown out at the plate by centerfielder Kevin Bryant after trying to score from second off a single by Stevenson. The Colonels would not be denied, however, as Whisenant tied the game at 3-all with an RBI double.

Tied at 3-all, starter Lance Johnson (5-4) issued a leadoff walk to Bussell to begin the fifth, then surrendered a run-scoring double to Bolger, which put Eastern on top 4-3. Stevenson went on to reach base off a dropped fly ball in right, which proved costly as Whisenant followed with a three-run homer (bringing his team-leading total to seven).

Zegarac continued cruising up into the seventh, when he walked Rima to leadoff the frame. Boothe came on to close out the game, but surrendered consecutive-singles to Pete Troyer and Bo Stohler, the last of which made it a 7-4 contest. Eastern recorded the first out of the inning off a fielder's choice, but an ensuing walk by Lance Seasor loaded the bags for the Eagles. Morehead pulled within two off a RBI groundout by Donald Cheney, but Boothe forced Ingram into a game-ending groundout to second to get the save.

Zegarac picked up the win for EKU by holding Morehead to four runs (two earned) and just four hits over 6.0 innings of work. Johnston went the distance for the Eagles, allowing nine hits and seven runs over 6.0 frames. Bryant accounted for three of the team's six hits in the loss, while Whisenant fueled Eastern's victory with four RBI.