Eastern’s softball team hopes to end a frustrating string of six losses this weekend when it opens the Ohio Valley Conference season at home against Tennessee Tech.

A seemingly endless list of injuries early this season has finally started to dissipate. Panthers (5-15) head coach Lloydene Searle expected to finally be able to put the starting lineup she has wanted to all year on the field, but the Panthers were hit with another injury, this time to junior pitcher and infielder Trish Sanders.

Sanders may be unavailable this weekend because of an ankle injury. Sanders, who has been Searle’s No. 2 starting pitcher behind senior Kristen Becker, may have a hairline fracture in her ankle. Sanders could have suffered the injury early this year and has been playing on the injured ankle the entire season.

The Panthers will not field their entire team once again this weekend if Sanders is not cleared to play. Sanders was scheduled to pitch the second game of the double header Saturday against the Golden Eagles (16-8).

The Panthers might not have won a game in their last six tries, but Searle doesn’t call it a losing streak.

“I don’t think it’s a skid because our kids are working really hard and we’re in just about every game,” Searle said. “Most of the losses were by only one run, and not all of our starters were back, but there is no doubt that we need to pull together as a team to beat this Tennessee Tech team.”

The Golden Eagles, who were picked to finish second in the OVC behind Eastern Kentucky in a preseason coaches’ poll, will be a tough team for the Panthers to open their conference season against.

The doubleheader against Tennessee Tech will also prove how tough Eastern’s pitching staff is. If Sanders doesn’t play, Searle may even plan to start Becker for both games.

“Hopefully we can come out as a team in the first game and put together a solid win, which I think we can,” Searle said. “But if Becker isn’t able to go deep into that game our pitching staff will be limited in the second game, but if she does well in the first game we’ll have a lot of options in the second game, including starting Kristen (Becker) again.”

Searle’s plans to possibly start Becker in both games shows the importance of this game as the Panthers try to shake off their bad luck from early in the season.

Against the experienced Golden Eagles, Eastern will have to count on its younger players like it has for most of the year.

“The newcomers to this team have played well,” Searle said. “Every substitute has made an impact and it’s to their credit because they have worked so hard. I just want these players to show me that they can hit .300, because I need to find some consistency somewhere.”