Eastern prepares to face its second Ohio Valley Conference opponent of the season in a three-game series in a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. and game three Sunday at 1 p.m. against Murray State at Coaches’ Stadium.

The Racers (10-15, 1-1) split with Eastern Kentucky University last weekend and are coming off a loss against Louisville on Tuesday.

Murray State is 0-8 on the road this season, while Eastern is 8-3 at home.

Eastern (13-16, 1-2) is coming off a three-game winning streak beating non-conference teams Northern Illinois University and Olivet-Nazarene and claiming one from conference foe Morehead State.

Head coach Jim Schmitz said senior pitchers Damon White and Matt Tyson will start in the doubleheader Saturday. The starter for Sunday will be junior pitcher Jared Marshall.

“White and Marshall had really good starts last weekend and that is what you need going into the weekend,” Schmitz said.

“Tyson has had a flaw in his mechanics and we worked it out Thursday, so he is really excited about jumping on the mound, he is one of the biggest competitors and he is back to just letting it fly,” he said.

In 2002, Eastern went 2-1 against Murray State in the regular season. Eastern also defeated Murray State in the OVC tournament semifinals. Senior pitcher Nathan Stone picked up the win, pitching 1 1/3 innings with two strikeouts.

“When we played them (Murray), I came in and we were down and we needed to put some zeros up on the board in defense,” Stone said. “At our last at bat we won the game and we all rushed the field.”

Stone said now the OVC season has started every game is important.

Senior catcher and co-captain Bret Pignatiello seems optimistic about the upcoming games against Murray.

“I think we have showed signs of life, previously in the season we have had our downs and ups,” Pignatiello said. “We played well in the last three games and I think we are taking a turn for the better.”

Junior infielder and co-captain Nolan Cork said the pitching is strong and that its making a difference.

“We are coming into the weekend with strong pitching. White is doing really well and junior pitcher Jared Marshall did good in his last round,” Cork said.

“Our hitting has improved and everyone is going in really excited, we are all pushing for taking three out of three games against Murray State.”

Schmitz said the mood for the team has been very positive.

“The mood with practices are good, everyone is getting a little closer and pulling for each other and we feel good about going into this weekend,” Schmitz said.

“The mood seems really good and we are getting off to the start that we thought we would.”