Softball opens up home conference play

No road trips to an Ohio Valley Conference school or potentially having its bus catch on fire for Eastern softball this weekend.

The Panthers (11-16, 1-5 OVC) host Tennessee State (22-12, 3-5) in a three-game series this weekend in Eastern’s first home OVC series.

Last year, Eastern went 10-3 in home conference games, with all three losses coming to 2006 OVC Tournament Champion Tennessee Tech.

“I always think it’s good to play on your home field,” said Eastern senior shortstop Chelsea Adams. “You practice on it and every day, and you know it’s yours.”

The Panthers are coming off a mid-week doubleheader split against St. Louis.

Eastern bats were silent in the first game against the Billikens (a 3-0 loss and only three Panther hits), but responded with a 9-3 win in the second game.

The Panthers are still only hitting .250 as a team, while opponents are hitting .284.

Eastern head coach Kim Schuette said before the SLU doubleheader the Panthers need to do a better job of seeing the ball.

“I think the most important thing with hitting is just see the ball and get your confidence back,” she said. “A lot of hitting is mentality and confidence. You have to fake it, then start believing in it.”

Saturday’s doubleheader starts at 1 p.m., with Sunday’s series finale set for noon.

Tennis teams hit the road once again

Both the Eastern men’s and women’s tennis teams will look for the same result from last weekend.

Two conference wins on the road.

Both the Panther men (11-3, 3-2 OVC) and women (8-7, 3-2) beat Austin Peay and Tennessee-Martin last weekend.

This weekend, Eastern travels to take on Tennessee Tech on Saturday, before playing Tennessee State on Sunday.

The men are on a four-match winning streak and have surpassed last season’s win total of 11.

The Panther women, who had lost three in a row before winning last weekend, will look to solidify their postseason spot this weekend.

The women are currently in fifth place in the OVC and only the top six teams make the OVC Tournament.

After this weekend, the men, currently in fourth place in the OVC, have two conference matches left, while the women have three.

Women’s tennis player garners honor

Junior Sandra Sasidharan received recognition from the Ohio Valley Conference on Thursday for her success this season.

Eastern’s No. 1 singles player is undefeated on the year (15-0) and was named the conference’s female athlete of the week Thursday.

Sasidharan, a native of Chennai, India, also leads the OVC in wins (five) at the No. 1 singles position.