The Eastern softball team will look to regroup after a rough weekend Wednesday as they play host to the University of Illinois.

Panther head coach Lloydene Searle knows a victory will take a lot more than what the team displayed last weekend.

“In our last game, we scored three runs on just three hits,” Searle said. “We will need to swing the bats (more) freely and restore some confidence back into our hitting game.”

Searle believes going back to details in practice will soon prove well for the Panthers.

“As coaches, we will continue to put our team through basic physical as well as mental drills in preparation for Wednesday and the upcoming weekend,” Searle said. “We have shown in prior games that we can hit the ball well; now it’s a matter of us getting over the hump, and bringing it to the game.”

If the Panthers plan on stealing a couple from a very stingy Fighting Illini team, big efforts will be needed out of freshman right fielder, and leading hitter Cassandra North (.278 avg, .352 slg percentage) and junior third baseman Kari Hagerty (.254 avg, .254 slg percentage).

Senior pitcher Kristen Becker (2.99 ERA) is likely to start, but because of an injury to junior pitcher Trish Sanders, many pitchers, including Hagerty ,could see action as well.

The Panthers will need one of their better pitching outings as they prepare to face one of the best batting teams in the Big Ten. Shortstop Rachelle Coriddi (.382, .416 slg percentage) leads the talented Illini order, along with catcher Janna Sartini (.344, .541 slg percentage).

While Searle knows a tough task awaiting her team Wednesday, she sees this game as good preparation for the upcoming Ohio Valley Conference season.

“We are looking for confidence, and playing well against U of I will definitely help us,” Searle said. “The OVC is anyone’s ball game, and we would like to be confident going into this weekend, and facing Tennessee-Martin.”

The Panthers are currently 0-3 in OVC play, while Tennessee-Martin is 4-2. The two teams meet April 5 and 6 at Martin, Tenn., as conference play resumes.

While the Panthers go into the rest of this week and into the weekend with high hopes, and will need big efforts out of many players. Searle knows practice alone isn’t always the answer for success.

“Practice doesn’t make perfect,” Searle said. “Perfect practice makes perfect, and that is what we will need for the rest of this week.”