Could things actually be looking a little brighter over at Coaches Stadium after the Panthers victory over Western Illinois at the sun soaked venue Tuesday afternoon?

The Panthers are finally experiencing an upswing in the season after five straight victories and seven wins in their last 10 games.

Perhaps coming at the right time, the Panthers may be looking forward to doing some things in conference play as the comeback against Western had to influence the confidence throughout the ball club in a positive way.

The way the Panthers were able to win the game against the Leathernecks had to be one thing Eastern can look at as what they are starting to improve on.

In earlier games when Eastern traveled down south and played teams that were nationally ranked and had plenty of game experience and the Panthers were just starting their season off, a slow start was almost to be expected.

But now the Panthers seem to have hit their stride during the time that their coach cares the most about. As the Ohio Valley Conference season starts, Eastern manager Jimmy Schmitz would like to see his team play at its highest level, and the Panthers seem to be reaching that level right now.

Center fielder Marcus Jackson came through for the Panthers against the Leathernecks with a two-run single that iced the game for Eastern. Jackson, who has been hampered with a leg injury lately, has continued his hot hitting regardless of the injury and is an instrumental member to the Panthers.

Another player for Eastern who has begun to really make an impact is freshman third baseman Ryan Campbell. Campbell has been named Co-OVC player of the week for last week, and from his numbers was deserving. During that span, the Panthers played one game against Chicago State and three against Murray State that Eastern was able to win.

In those games, Campbell hit a scorching .478 with 12 RBI for the Panthers and took pitches out of Coaches Stadium three times.

All of this production from only two players from his team has to make Schmitz happier than he was at the beginning of the year when the Panthers struggled to stay in the game against competition from the south.

But, as of right now, Schmitz and his staff are getting a better idea of what his team is truly made up of as the OVC season starts to really become important.

A chance for this young Panther team to prove themselves will come later this week when Jacksonville State will roll into town for a three game set.

True tests will be numerous as the middle of the season strikes and Eastern will have to answer the call.

Something tells me they are ready for just about anything after five straight wins.