The Eastern softball team is going to find a lot out about themselves this weekend as they will play four teams that each bring a different skill set and attack to the diamond and will test every aspect of Eastern’s roster.

The Panthers play Wright State on Saturday who struggles on both sides of the diamond, then they play Winthrop who has not been good on offense but, carry an 8-6 record thanks to a solid pitching staff.

Sunday Eastern’s offense will face one of its biggest tests of the season against Furman’s pitchers and end the day against Charleston Southern who will not be easy to fold on offense or defense.

Wright State has had the roughest go of it among maybe all the teams Eastern has played this season.

The Raiders are hitting just .207 as a team and have terribly low figures in both on base percentage (.298) and slugging (.267).

There are two players carrying a bulk of the load for Wright State, and outside of them, there really is not much else to be wary of in the lineup.

Honnah Susor is getting on base at a .509 clip and is batting .350 with eight stolen bases. Kaitlyn Skinner follows her in just about every category, batting .323 and slugging .419.

Among the rest of the players filling out the roster, none of them are batting above .250 or slugging above .326.

The pitching staff has not fared much better with a staff ERA of 5.76 and opponent batting average of .304. Those numbers plus a 53:48 walk to strikeout ratio have not had the Raiders scaring away many opponents.

As far as offensive output is concerned, Eastern’s second match on Saturday with Winthrop is not much different than Wright State.

Winthrop is batting just .216 as a team, but unlike the Raiders, make up for it with strong pitching.

The Eagles have a staff ERA of 2.58 led by junior Kiley Majette who holds an ERA of 1.37.

On Sunday Eastern will turn its attention to two teams that play better than both Winthrop and Wright State on offense and defense.

The Panthers will start day two of the tournament against 18-4 Furman.

Furman is batting .258 as a team but has hit 14 home runs.

The biggest threat from Furman on arguably both sides of the ball comes from one player, junior Emily DeMonte.

As a hitter, DeMonte is batting .344 and has seven RBIs. On the pitching mound, she is even more dangerous for the Paladins.

She holds a team-low 0.83 ERA in 50.1 innings pitched and alongside teammate Lindsey Bert who has a 1.79 ERA and 106 strikeouts to just 19 walks in 97.2 innings make for a pick-your-poison pitching combination.

Eastern will go from facing two teams that pitch well in Winthrop and Furman, to playing a team that also can hold its own on the mound but hits a ton in Charleston Southern.

Charleston Southern is 14-8 and has a team ERA of 2.89, but as good as it ERA is, it does not hold a candle to the damage the team has done with the bat.

They hold two big numbers in the sports two biggest run-producing categories, slugging (.529) and OBP (.380).

Additionally, they are batting .305 and have 29 home runs.

When it comes to facing the pitching of Furman, Winthrop and Charleston Southern, head coach Kim Schuette has a game plan.

“Look for something we like and remember to be on offense when you are on offense.

Last weekend the Panthers went 1-3 and did not have the same power they showed earlier in the season and Schuette is hoping to see her team come out and “attack” the game and show energy and enthusiasm.

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