Eastern softball freshman pitcher Jessica Wireman tossed a no hitter against conference rival UT-Martin in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday.

The Panthers won the game, 3-0.

Wireman’s no hitter was the first no hitter thrown by a Panther since Stephanie Maday threw one last spring in a five-inning game in her final season at Eastern.

In Wireman’s seven innings of no-hit pitching, she struck out four and walked four Skyhawk batters.

Wireman was happy with how she pitched in that game.

“It felt really good, especially considering the game and score before,” she said. “I know that they’re a good hitting team so it felt good.”

The win improved Wireman’s record to 6-10 on the year, and drops her earned run average to 4.21.

It was also her second shutout on the year.

Contributing to the Panthers’ scoring was senior Bailey O’Dell who drove in all three of the Panthers’ runs on a home run.

Juniors Haylee Beck and April Markowski were on base for O’Dell’s home run.

Beck led the inning off with a single, and Markowski was hit by a pitch right after Beck’s single.

O’Dell had been struggling as of late, so hitting the home run was a big hit for her.

“It was a big confidence booster after struggling to get that timely hit when we needed it,” she said. “It felt great. Now I can just relax and trust in my hitting again.”

She finished the game 2-for-3.

She said getting a big win like that helps the team get a more relaxed confidence going into Sunday’s games.

The Panthers dropped the first game of the day by a score of 8-4.

The Panthers got on the board first on a 3-run home run by Beck in the top of the second inning.

The Skyhawks answered with four runs in the bottom half.

Senior Samantha McClure hit a grand slam to drive in all four runs in the inning.

The Panthers tied on a Markowski single that drove in junior Katie Watson in the fourth but that would be the last time they would score.

Sophomore Renate Meckl also hit a home run in the fourth inning, and sophomore Carly Gonzales also drove in a run in the fourth.

Freshman Michelle Rogers was on the mound and took the loss for the Panthers.

She went three innings and allowed six earned runs.

The Panthers got the series win against the Skyhawks on Sunday with a 4-2 win.

Wireman shined on the mound once again as she went all seven innings, giving up only two runs. Both runs were scored in the seventh inning, and she also struck out three batters.

That win improves her record to 7-10 on the year and puts her ERA at 4.07.

Senior Hannah Cole and Markowski led the Panther offense. Cole finished the day 3-for-4 including a home run, and Markowski went 2-4 with two RBIs, and also hit a home run.

The wins this weekend improve the Panthers’ conference record to 9-8 and 14-21 on the season.

Up next for the Panthers is a non-conference game against Butler on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

Sean Hastings can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]