Eastern takes 1 of 2 games against Missouri State
The Eastern Illinois Panthers split a doubleheader in non-conference action against the Missouri State Cougars at Williams Field in Charleston.
Due to inclement weather, the game time was moved up 30 minutes to 3:30 p.m., to give both games the best chance of being completed.
The first game of the day was well played sans a few sloppy moments that ended in an 8-3 victory in favor of Missouri State.
Game one was a close affair heading into the sixth inning with the Panthers trailing 3-2, until Missouri State exploded to put a five spot on the scoreboard in the top of the inning. Missouri State got its production in the form of doubles.
Panthers’ pitcher Hanna Mennenga retired the first batter she faced in the sixth with a fly out to leftfield. The rest of the inning wouldn’t be quite so easy, though. Missouri State hit three straight doubles that resulted in two runs scored for the Bears. They went on to score three more runs in the inning to put the game out of reach.
All season long, Eastern head coach Kim Schuette has made it a point to her team to get on the scoreboard early. Her point is backed up by the stats. In 11 of Eastern’s 12 losses this season the other team scored the first run.
In the second game of the day, the Panthers were able to revenge their loss in game one with a 5-4 victory.
OVC pitcher of the week Stephanie Maday made the start on the mound for Eastern and improved her overall record to 8-6. She went the full seven innings, striking out six Bears while allowing only five hits.
Junior Ally Seplak had a great game at the plate and ended up leading Eastern to victory. Seplak went 2-for-3 with two big RBI’s. Sophomore second baseman Carly Willert and her third baseman classmate Ashleigh Westover both went 2-for-3 at the plate as well.
Junior Melise Brown continued her hot streak with the bat as she went 2-for-4 with a RBI. She also stole her fifth base of the year.
Not surprisingly, Bailey O’Dell was once again a plus for the Panthers in the leadoff spot. She went 2-for-3 with an RBI in the victory.
The Panthers’ record is now 12-12 for the season. They will be back in action on Tuesday at Williams Field against Butler, where they will play a doubleheader with the first game kicking off at 4 p.m.
Erik Jensen can
be reached at 581-7942
