Junior pitcher Kristen Becker had a pair of near identical performances Saturday and Sunday, but the softball squad had differing results in her starts.

Eastern came out on top of a 12-inning battle Saturday against Tennessee-Martin. But the Panthers had the opposite outcome Sunday as the Panthers dropped the third game of the three-game home series 5-3.

Becker outlasted Martin freshman pitcher Nicole Davis as the Panthers took the first game of the doubleheader 2-1.

The Skyhawks could muster only one run off 10 hits on Becker.

“(Becker) has been the one that has been there for us all season,” Eastern head coach Lloydene Searle said. “She did her part.”

Becker also created the offense for the Panthers by driving in the winning run on a double scoring freshman Jessica Irps in the bottom of the 12th inning.

“I love when a pitcher can win her own game,” Searle said. “That’s a credit to her as an all around player.”

The Panthers (10-15, 2-6) started the second game where they left off with three runs in the second inning against Skyhawk junior ace Kendra Kosco off an RBI single from junior OF Carrie Ninness.

The Skyhawks (17-20, 6-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference) came back with three runs of their own in the top of the fourth inning off Panther sophomore pitcher Trish Sanders. Martin added another run in the sixth and three more in the seventh to take game two.

Junior utility player Stephanie Paris led the Skyhawks with two doubles and four RBI. Sanders (2-6) took the loss for the Panthers while Kosco (10-5) managed to calm down after a shaky start to take the win.

After going the distance in Game 1, Becker got the nod for Game 3 on Sunday. The Skyhawk bats came out hot as they knocked in two runs in the first inning off Becker.

Eastern responded quickly from freshman infielder Jill Blackburn’s RBI double in the second inning tying the score at two.

Martin took the lead back in the fifth on three unearned runs to put the score at 5-2. The Panthers tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh, but came up short as the game ended with a score of 5-3.

Searle said she was happy her team did not give up after falling behind in the fifth inning.

“That was the first thing I complimented them on after the game,” Searle said. “One or two more hits and we would have been back in the game.”

Despite striking out 11 Skyhawk batters, Becker (6-7) took the loss.

Kosco, the Ohio Valley Conference strikeout leader, notched her 10th win of the season with six strikeouts.

Eastern plays in a doubleheader at 3 p.m. Tuesday against conference foe Southeast Missouri State.