Eastern’s softball team was in action this past weekend, participating in the Mississippi State Classic in Starksville, Miss., against Mississippi State, Louisiana Tech and Samford.

Eastern finished the tournament with a 1-3 record, but showed signs of improvement throughout the weekend. Eastern head coach Kim Schuette was proud of her team’s progression.

“No one wants to go 1-3 for the weekend, but as we reminded the team, it is all about the process and not the product,” Schuette said. “We played a very good and very confident Mississippi State team on Saturday who was, on that day, better than us.  In the second game against LaTech we actually started to hit the ball, but it was right at people.”

In Saturday’s action against Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech, the Panthers struggled to get anything going at the plate. They fought hard, but ended up losing to MSU (8-0) and Louisiana Tech (2-0).

Their biggest struggle was getting runners on base. For the day, the Panthers were only able to get five runners on base. A big part of the problem may have been bad luck, as no Panther players were walked in either game.

On Sunday, the Panthers had a rematch against Louisiana Tech followed by their third game of the year against Samford. Fortunately for Eastern, they were able to adjust in the batters box and swing the bat very well.

The Panthers lost to Louisiana Tech 8-6 in a game that went down to the wire. Eastern actually outhit Louisiana Tech by a total of 13-11.  

In Eastern’s final tournament game, they beat Samford in an extra inning thriller, 5-4.

“To fight back and tie the game in the seventh, go extra innings and beat a team for the third time in a week with pure guts and hustle, that says something,” Schuette said.

Freshman shortstop Bailey O’Dell led Eastern throughout the weekend with a blistering .462 batting average.  She also hit two homeruns and drove in three RBIs.

“O’Dell is doing well for us, and we think more people are going to start sparking soon as well,” Schuette said. “O’Dell is tough right now and is going up there with confidence and the will to play ball. Confidence is so big in this game.”

Abby Wood also had a very efficient tournament, hitting for a .333 average in 12 at bats. Melise Brown chipped in with a good effort at the plate, hitting .250 in Starksville with a pair of doubles, a couple RBIs, and a run scored.

Eastern’s pitching staff, consisting of Stephanie Maday, Hanna Mennenga and Reynae Hutchinson, was also able to get a good amount of work and experience in. 

“We were OK on the mound this weekend,” Schuette said. “There are things we are going to do better soon but the main thing is to not get spooked. It is one pitch at a time and one batter at a time out there.” 

Maday went 1-2 this weekend with a 4.80 ERA. She pitched 11.2 innings and allowed 10 runs (8 earned) on 15 hits and six walks. She also struck out 12 batters.

Reynae Hutchinson, who got her first start of the season, was very efficient. She went 0-1, but only had a 2.42 ERA in 8.2 innings pitched. She allowed five runs (three earned) on 11 hits and two walks, while recording three strikeouts.

Hanna Mennenga pitched 5.1 innings and allowed seven runs (six earned). She also had four strikeouts.

Even though the Panthers are only 5-6 to start the season and have struggled at the plate, they still have a lot to look forward to. Experience usually pays off in the long run, and Coach Schuette thinks it will this time as well.

“It’s not easy to play this game when you aren’t hitting like you had hoped, but this past weekend we started to hit,” Schuette said. “Now we are starting to play better so there is a lot more to going 1-3 on a weekend than what our current record is.”

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