The Eastern softball team (4-3) will be taking its talents to Starkville, Miss., this weekend to compete in the Mississippi State Classic against Mississippi State, Louisiana Tech and Samford.

Eastern had a full week of practice in which it primarily focused on its offensive approach. Head coach Kim Schuette hopes to have her team ready to swing away this weekend.

“We really slowed practice down a bit these past few days and worked on our offensive approach as well as really watching the ball and staying back to attack,” Schuette said. “We did some more live hitting to hopefully benefit our hitters, pitchers and defense.”

On Saturday, the Panthers will play the Mississipi State Bulldogs at 1 p.m., followed with Louisiana Tech at 3 p.m.

The host team, Mississippi State, out of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), comes into the tournament with a 9-5 record. Brittany Bell, who will enter tournament play with a .471 batting average, leads Mississippi at the plate. She also has four home runs and 10 RBIs in the young season.

On the mound, Mississippi State is led by the dynamic duo of Kylie Vry and Stephanie Becker. Vry is 4-2 this season with a 1.37 ERA in 46 innings. She also has 45 strikeouts. Becker is 4-1 this season with a 1.58 ERA in 40 innings.

Schuette plans to start Maday in game one, and has her team focusing on one game at a time.

“We plan on starting Maday for the first game and that first inning is all we are thinking about,” Schuette said. “From then on, we have Mennenga, Hutch and

Hailie Ray. “We are still trying to figure out the best combinations for our pitching staff. The beauty of this year’s staff is having four pitchers who all bring something different to the table.”

Eastern’s second game on Saturday will come against Louisiana Tech out of the Western Athletic Conference. Louisiana Tech will enter tournament play with a 7-7 record.

Louisiana Tech is led at the plate by junior Jenna Frandrup. Frandrup enters tournament play with a batting average sitting at .455. She has started all 14 games for LTU this season and has 16 RBIs to go along with five runs scored.

Michelle Jones leads LTU on the mound with a 4-2 record. She is sporting a 2.10 ERA in 33.1 innings pitched, to go along with 16 strikeouts and 12 walks.

On Sunday, the Panthers will match up against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at 11 a.m. for the second time in as many days. They will then play Samford at 1 p.m. for the third time already in this short year.

The Samford Bulldogs enter tournament play with a 3-9 record, with two losses coming at the hands of Eastern.

Rachel Bicker is the standout hitter for Samford. She enters tournament play with a batting average of .355 to go along with seven RBIs and four runs scored.

Misha Aldridge leads Samford on the mound. Even though she has a 1-5 record for the season, her statistics have been impressive. She has a 2.21 ERA in 44.1 innings of work to go along with 19 strikeouts.

Schuette hopes that her continues to play well and improve.

“Last weekend we came home a better team than when we left,” Schuette said. “As of today, I believe we are hitting and staying back to attack the ball offensively better than we were three days ago.”

She also enjoys playing the first couple weekends in warm weather climates, although that might not be saying much, because she would enjoy the game in any climate.

“It is more fun to play in warmer temperatures, but we don’t always get that in Illinois, and that is something we have no control over,” Schuette said. “So, these first few weekends we go places where we are more likely to get games in and gain experience. Whether warm, cold, windy, cloudy or sunny, any day you get to play is a great day.”

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