The Panther softball team competed in the Scranton Scramble this past weekend in Birmingham, Ala., where they finished in second place going 2-2.

Eastern head coach Kim Schuette said she felt that her team was able to improve throughout the weekend and was proud off its effort.

“We are coming home a better team than when we left, and that’s a good sign,” Schuette said.

Eastern showed signs of progression at the plate with some good batting statistics for the weekend.

Freshman shortstop Bailey O’Dell led the team at the plate for the weekend, adding on to her strong start to the season with five hits in 12 at bats, three RBIs and one walk.

Sophomore Ashleigh Westover also had a productive weekend with the bat. She had four hits in 13 at bats to go along with two runs scored and a walk.

Junior Melise Brown demonstrated why she was an all Ohio Valley Conference performer last year with four hits in 13 at bats, to go along with three walks and two runs scored. She also had two RBIs and displayed her power with a double and her first homerun of the year.

The Panthers were led on the mound by their sophomore pitching duo of Stephanie Maday and Hanna Mennenga.

Maday started two games for the Panthers and won one of them. She pitched 12 innings, gave up eight hits, struck out 16 batters and gave up five earned runs (2.92 weekend ERA).

Mennenga also received two starts, and finished with a weekend record of 1-1. She threw 11.1 innings, gave up nine hits, struck out 13 batters and gave up three runs (1.85 weekend ERA).

Around the OVC

The OVC player of the week went to junior outfielder Leah Taylor of Tennessee-Martin. She played in the Frost Classic and had a great tournament. She hit for an average of .389 while scoring seven runs. She also had two homeruns and a blistering .889 slugging percentage. Eastern’s own Bailey O’Dell was also nominated for this award.

The OVC pitcher of the week was split up and went to sophomore Lauren deCastro of Austin Peay and freshman Leanna Pittsenbarger of Eastern Kentucky.

DeCastro threw two complete game wins for Austin Peay last week. She pitched 12 innings and gave up only six hits. It was a notable week for deCastro, because her victory at Jackson State was the first true road victory by an Austin Peay pitcher since 2009.

Pittsenbarger won three games on the mound for Eastern Kentucky last week. She pitched 21 innings and allowed a mere two runs to score. She also showed off her dominant control by walking just three batters. Eastern’s Hanna Mennenga was also nominated for this award.

Eastern will be back in action this weekend when it will face off against Mississippi State, Louisiana Tech and Samford at the Mississippi State Classic in Starkville, Miss. 

Erik Jensen can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected].