Parallels can be drawn between spring practice and the annual spring scrimmage for football and fall baseball and it’s weeklong scrimmage.

This year, a little added importance seems to be placed on the Panther coaching staff during the fall world series for Eastern, since this year’s team will have to replace a couple of positions and are welcoming in a new member to the staff, too.

The Panthers have welcomed back former player and three-time all-OVC player Sean Lyons as an assistant coach.

While Lyons has been involved with the team as the assistant coach for only the past five weeks, he feels that he already has become quite familiar with the personnel they will be putting on the field for the weeklong scrimmage.

“With the type of guys we have here, decisions will always be hard because they have been so competitive,” Lyons said. “But I feel that I’ve had ample time to learn the players and their tendencies on the field to recognize how well they are playing.”

This year’s team is forcing itself to take this time seriously because the coaching staff wants to get as good of a look as possible at the possible candidates who will be replacing some of the departed players from a year ago.

Up the middle is a large concern for Eastern this season, considering their cornerstones at second base and shortstop, Chris Uhle and Kyle Haines, respectively, have moved on after graduation.

“The main objective of this entire week is it to have a chance to make the final decisions about contested positions,” Lyons said. “With time, the guys who are at new positions will play themselves either into or out of a starting role.”

So far, Schmitz and Lyons have been pleased with the competitive spirit these open-ended positions have caused.

“Right now we have been watching Blake Meyer, a second basemen from John A. Logan Junior College, for the second base position,” Schmitz said. “He has been playing outstanding, both offensively and defensively for us.

“As for shortstop, Adam Varrassi has been consistent on both defensively and has added some offensive punch for us.”

Whatever may result from the competitions for starting spots, the coaching staff has been pleased with the intensity that fall ball has brought to the team this year.

“We talk about having to be competitive from within all the time, even if we don’t have the competition at some positions we would like,” Schmitz said. “Right now we also have to look at cutting a few more players too because we are 10 over the limit for the roster right now, so players are still playing for a spot on this team.”