Sycamores snap Eastern’s 5 game win streak
The Eastern softball team lost a hard fought game to Indiana State Tuesday in Terre Haute, Ind. Indiana State was able to use pitching as well as capitalize on some Eastern fielding miscues to lead the Sycamores to a 3-0 victory.
The Panthers entered the game against Indiana State on their biggest hot streak of the season. They had a 20-15 overall record, having won their last five games and seven of their last eight. Indiana State came into the game with a 13-22 record, and a 1-11 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Sophomore pitcher Hanna Mennenga got the start for Eastern on the mound. Mennega, who was just named the College Sports Madness Softball Ohio Valley Player of the Week, came into the game with a 9-4 record and a dazzling 2.86 ERA.
She pitched five innings, allowing only three hits while recording three strikeouts. She ended up allowing three runs to score, although only one was earned. The unearned runs were scored after Indiana State capitalized on a couple of Eastern errors.
Indiana State’s Lindsey Beisser entered the game with a 6-13 record on the mound, but an ERA of only 2.02. She ended up pitching a complete game shutout and leading her team to victory while only allowing four hits. She struck out eight Eastern hitters and allowed only two walks.
Eastern’s sophomore second baseman Carly Willert continued to raise her batting average in the losing effort. Willert, who entered the game with a .333 batting average, went two-for-three in the loss.
Shortstop Bailey O’Dell and outfielder Ally Seplak were the only other Panthers to record hits in the contest. O’Dell was one-for-four while Seplak was one-for-three.
Eastern had multiple chances to put runs on the scoreboard, but were unable to convert on any of their opportunities. For the game, they left a total of seven runners on the base paths.
Eastern doesn’t have much time to harp on the loss, as it has the University of Illinois coming to Williams Field on Thursday for a in-state rivalry slated to start at 5 p.m.
The Panther softball team takes each game one by one. Earlier in the week, Eastern head coach Kim Schuette spoke to that.
“We are taking one day at a time and they (the team) are enjoying the game, each other and each opportunity,” Schuette said.
Erik Jensen can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected].
