Stringing wins together has been an issue for Eastern’s baseball team, but Jason Anderson said the team needs to start being more consistent for the remainder of the season.

Eastern’s head coach said the team has the opportunities to be more consistent, and now it is a matter of doing so.

“We need to get hot if we want a good spot in the (conference) tournament and reach that 30-win mark,” he said. “We have a favorable schedule and a shot to do some great things this season.”

Eastern currently inhabits the seventh spot in the OVC rankings, which would give the Panthers a spot in the postseason conference tournament.

The Panthers’ 10-9 victory over Eastern Kentucky Saturday helped Eastern stay even in conference play (9-9), after losing the first two games of the series.

But stacking wins on top of one another is something the team has done only a few times this season, and in small quantities.

The longest win streak the Panthers accumulated this season was a four-game win streak from March 19 to March 24.

Before that, from March 12 to March 15, Eastern had a three-game win streak, and total, those streaks helped combine for a 7-3 record over a 10-game stretch.

But losing streaks have hurt the Panthers more than win streaks have helped.

Eastern has suffered two five-game losing streaks this season, one that spanned the first five games of the season, while the other lasted from April 6 up to the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against Eastern Kentucky.

That second five-game losing streak was more hurtful toward Eastern’s cause, as four of the losses came against conference opponents (two against Eastern Kentucky and Belmont each).

Both of those teams are ahead of Eastern in the conference standings, so those four losses are missed chances for the Panthers to move up the OVC ranks.

Tuesday, the Panthers will take a break from their conference schedule in a lone matchup against Chicago State University.

The game is set to start at 3 p.m. at Coaches Stadium, closing out a five-game home stand for Eastern. No matter Tuesday’s result, Eastern will walk away from its home stand with a losing record (three losses out of five games).

After Tuesday’s game, Eastern will be on the road to face Morehead State in a three-game conference series, quickly returning home next Tuesday.

Chicago State is 8-21 overall this season, with a 3-16 road record.

Dillan Schorfheide can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]