The 2012 Eastern softball team will travel to Atlanta this weekend to kick off its season, where it will compete in the Georgia State tournament.

Eastern head coach Kim Schuette is very excited about the prospects of the tournament, but knows it will be quite challenging.

“It will be a tough tournament as both Georgia State and UT-Chattanooga won their conferences and went to the NCAA tournament with historic seasons,” Schuette said. “And IUPUI played this weekend and has done some good things as of late.”

On Saturday, the Panthers begin tournament play against the IUPUI Jaguars at 2:30 p.m. So far this season, the Jaguars are 3-1. IUPUI finished last season with an overall record of 15-32 and a 9-14 record in the Summit League.

Schuette said sophomore ace Stephanie Maday would likely get the start on the mound against IUPUI.

The Panthers play their second game of the day at 4:45 p.m. against the tournament host Georgia State, who, like the Jaguars, have begun the 2012 season with a record of 3-1.

Georgia State returns for a potentially monster year after going 36-25 last season. They finished with a 15-5 record in the Colonial Athletic Association last season, which was good enough for a second place league finish.

Schuette said Eastern sophomore Hannah Mennenga, first year transfer from Heartland Community College, would likely take the mound against Georgia State.

On Sunday, the Panthers have their second doubleheader in as many days. At 10 a.m., they take on the Chattanooga Mucs. The Mucs have started the 2012 season with a 3-2 record.

Last season, Chattanooga went 44-14 with a conference record of 20-3, which was good enough to win the Southern Conference title. They advanced all the way to the Tuscaloosa Regional before losing in the championship game.

The Panthers will then play another team that has yet to be decided later in the day.

Eastern does not have a home game until March 21, but this does not bother Schuette too much.

“The way I see it, we’re getting to go in the warmer temperatures,” Schuette said. “We’re getting ready to see what we have and prepare ourselves for the conference.”

The expectations are high and the season is long, but this weekend should be a good barometer of what to expect from the Panther softball team this season.

Erik Jensen can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].