Winning streak ends at 10 for Panthers

JJ Bullock, Assistant Sports Editor

The Eastern softball team’s 10-game winning streak came to an end on Saturday with a 6-3 loss to Alabama-Birmingham. With that, a losing streak began for the Panthers.

Alabama-Birmingham and the Panthers were tied at 3-3 in the top of the seventh inning when senior pitcher Jessica Wireman was replaced by senior Michelle Rogers on the mound after giving up a single. Rogers promptly gave up an RBI single, and then on the next better, gave up a two-run home run.

Eastern got two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh but were unable to bring them around to score; thus, beginning a losing streak for the Panthers.

Eastern left fielder Breya Cooper was 3-of-4 with an RBI in that game. Alabama-Birmingham’s catcher Sarah Crawford went 2-of-4 with four RBIs and was responsible for the home run hit in the bottom of the seventh inning.

“We learned a lot on Saturday as a team. There is a difference between playing to win and not playing to lose,” Eastern head coach Kim Schuette said. “I’m glad we came back in the UAB game to tie it up. They got a big hit when they needed it.”

In another late-inning loss on Saturday, the Panthers fell to Maryland 3-2 in an eight-inning game.

Maryland won the game on a walk-off single hit by sophomore Amanda Brashear. The run came unearned, as earlier in the inning Kassidy Cross reached on an error. Wireman was in to pitch for the Panthers when the walk-off single happened; however, it was Rogers who was credited with the loss.

“The Maryland game taught us a lot offensively with our approach at the plate,” Schuette said. “We didn’t have a lot of chances but (Haley Mitchell) leads up the seventh (inning) with a base hit and (Mia) Davis hits it over the scoreboard to tie it up.”

“In this tournament they played international tie-breaker. It was a close one that stung a little bit to lose,” Schuette said.

On Sunday, however, Eastern ended its short losing streak at two games when it beat Indiana-Purdue University Indianapolis 8-4.

Catcher Andrea Roberts had three RBIs for the Panthers; she had a two RBI single in the fourth inning and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.

Freshman pitcher Valerie Thompson was pulled in the third inning when Indiana-Purdue University Indianapolis scored three runs in the third inning to take a 3-1 lead. She was replaced by Rogers, who pitched the final four innings giving up just one run.

Eastern scored four runs in the fourth inning to retake the lead 4-3, one that it would hold for the rest of the game.

The Panthers were shutout by Louisville 6-0 on Sunday to end the four-game tournament with a 1-3 record.

Louisville took a 5-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. Wireman gave up all five runs in the inning. Louisville catcher Madison Cousineau hit a two RBI double off Wireman in the inning.

Two of the runs given up by Wireman were unearned as there was an error by Eastern on the first batter of the game.

Eastern’s record moves to 13-6 on the season after the tournament. The team plays again next weekend in the Holy City Showdown in Charleston, SC.

Schuette said the team doesn’t worry about records or stats, they worry about games and wins.

“It’s not about 1-3, it’s about we really learned some things that will really help us in the days to come,” Schuette said.

JJ Bullock can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]