Junior pitcher Kristen Becker has already received recognition for being one of the top pitchers in the Ohio Valley Conference, but behind every ace is a No. 2 pitcher.

Sophomore Trish Sanders provides the Panthers with a second option on the mound and gives Eastern head coach Lloydene Searle one of the better one-two pitching combos in the OVC.

Last week, Sanders won two conference games by shutting out Southeast Missouri State 6-0 and holding Tennessee State to a 4-1 game. She had a combined 0.48 earned run average in 14 2/3 innings of work.

And the Sacred Heart Griffin High School product from Springfield gave up only one run on 10 hits while striking out 10 batters.

This was enough for Sanders to be named this week’s Top Cat athlete.

Searle feels Sanders has done an excellent job this season and has started to show what she is capable of doing. She added that Sanders’ focus and concentration has helped her to really start locating her pitches, enabling her to be more effective.

Sanders (4-6) has already accomplished one more win than she had all last season and continues to show improvement with experience.

“It’s been a real process,” Sanders said. “I have had to work hard to get on top of batters and (I’m) learning to do that throughout the game. The coaches have worked really hard on that.”

A large reason for Sanders’ recent success is her will to learn and listen to what coaches and teammates have to say.

“I think she listens and takes everything in,” Searle said.

“I cannot remember a time when I haven’t had her complete attention.”

Searle also believes that junior catcher Kristin Darnell has played a big role in developing Sanders’ skills.

“We brought Kristin Darnell aside to tell her that her No. 1 goal was to get the best out of Trish,” Searle said.

“She worked really hard to make this effective,” she said.

With both Becker and Sanders, Eastern is able to come at teams with two different pitching styles. Sanders describes Becker as more of a down and out pitcher while she is more of a rise-ball pitcher.

“My rise ball inside is my baby,” Sanders said. “That’s what I live and die by.”

Like most athletes, Sanders hates to lose. Her competitive nature and will to win is what drives her performance on the mound.

“I’m real competitive, and that’s what motivates me with everything I do,” Sanders said. “I don’t like to lose at anything.”

With the pitching staff performing well, and the hitting staff starting to become more consistent with every game, the Panthers are looking to make some noise come conference tournament time.

“Our hitting is going up and everything,” Sanders said.

“We are going to make some big waves at the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.”

Tournament play begins May 2 and will be hosted by the league’s No. 1 seed.