Eastern’s softball team took two of three games from Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State this past weekend.

Eastern won two games on Saturday, beating Murray State in the first game with a final score of 5-4, and winning the second game in easy fashion with a final score of 8-2. They lost the final game of the series on Sunday by a score of 3-0.

The Panthers improved their overall record to 15-15, and 5-6 in the OVC in part to great hitting and strong pitching.

For the weekend, Eastern outhit Murray State by a total of 27-16, which resulted in the Panthers outscoring the Racers by a total of 13-9.

Eastern was led at the plate by junior second baseman Carly Willert. Willert was 6-for-10 against Murray State. She had two doubles, three RBIs and a run scored in the three game series.

Freshman Bailey O’Dell was effective once again in the series against Murray State. O’Dell attained six hits in 12 at bats, and had a four-for-four game in a victory over Murray state.  She scored four runs from the lead off spot and drove in two Panther players.

Junior Melise Brown was also efficient at the plate, garnering four hits in twelve at bats to go along with two runs scored and two RBIs.

Eastern’s pitching has been a constant for the team all season, and continued to dominate in its three game series victory over Murray State.

In 14 innings of work, sophomore pitcher Stephanie Maday allowed no earned runs while striking out 12 Racer batters and walking six. She went 0-1 in the win-loss column due to errors.

Eastern head coach Kim Schuette is very confident that errors won’t be a problem for too long. She really hopes that her infield recognizes how good they are.

“We have to move on and know how good of a player you really are, and look yourself in the mirror and find your confidence,” Schuette said.

Sophomore Heartland College transfer Hanna Mennenga picked up two wins for the Panthers in seven innings of work while allowing three earned runs and seven hits.

Eastern’s 5-6 conference record puts them in sixth place out of 11 teams in the conference race. Tennessee-Martin currently leads the OVC with a 12-2 conference record after five straight victories. Jacksonville State, who has lost four straight games, remains in second place with a 9-5 conference record.

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