As a fan of Panther athletics, few days bring more excitement than the baseball team’s home opener. After four months of winter the wait is finally over for the Panther’s faithful fans.

Granted, this event may not be as sacred as the Rose Bowl or the NCAA Frozen Four, but from a sport’s purist standpoint, nothing can top the baseball squad hitting the home diamond for the first time.

Jimmy Schmitz and Co. certainly have struggled during the early part of the season with 13 straight losses on the road. This slump started right after one of the biggest Panther wins in recent memory when Eastern upset Southwest Missouri State in extra innings to open the season. Despite the 1-13 record, fans shouldn’t stay away from Coaches Stadium today when the Panthers take on Olivet Nazarene because of three positive reasons.

For starters, the Panthers record is very deceiving. I know head coach Jimmy Schmitz wouldn’t make any excuses but Eastern has played a plethora of extremely tough teams to start the year. All four of the Panthers’ series have been against teams well above the .500 mark, and two of the squads (Mississippi and Southern Mississippi) were ranked in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30. The Panthers didn’t schedule any cupcakes early on and their record clearly suffered, but in the long run, Eastern will benefit from the tough competition.

Secondly, fans need to realize Eastern is a young and inexperienced team. With 12 true freshmen, seven sophomores and a handful of junior college transfers on the Panthers 32-man roster, it will take time for this team to gel but the wins will come.

It may sound odd considering the sub par record, but Eastern has already received some solid contributions from its newcomers. None have been more impressive than pitchers Kyle Widegren and Kirk Miller along with third baseman Ryan Campbell.

In his first appearance for the Panthers, Parkland Junior College transfer Widegren kept Southwest Missouri State at bay allowing just two runs in five innings. The Greenwood Ind., native was roughed up against Mississippi and Southern Mississippi, but he won’t be facing teams of that caliber come conference time.

With Eastern’s ace Jared Marshall sidelined after offseason surgery, Miller was forced into the Panther rotation after just five career starts. However, Miller has been as successful as any pitcher can be on a 1-13 team. Miller limited Kansas State to just two hits over five innings and kept Eastern in the ballgame against Arkansas State and Southern Mississippi.

At the hot corner, the play of Campbell has allowed Eastern to best utilize the skills of former third sacker Jeff Cammann, now currently an outfielder and pitcher. With the departure of Bret Pignatiello, Kirk Walters and Danny Jordan, Campbell helps replace some of the power lacking in the lineup. Before the season started Schmitz called Campbell one of the best pure he hitters he coached as a freshman.

If hope for the future doesn’t draw fans to witness Eastern’s 100th home opener than the weather certainly should. Temperatures are expected to be in the 60s for the ballgame and hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate and let those scattered storms scatter on by Charleston.

There is little doubt in my mind Eastern will turn around their season in time for Ohio Valley Conference play, and what better way for the Panthers to do so than with a large crowd supporting them as the take the field at home for the first time.