Before the start of the Eastern baseball season in late February, Panthers head coach Jimmy Schmitz said the team had a lot of questions heading into the opening tournament. After all, the Panthers lost seniors Bret Pignatiello, Kirk Walters, Aaron Shelbourne and Danny Jordan, who just happened to be four of the team’s six most productive hitters. And with 13 freshmen on the Eastern 32-man roster, expecting the youthful Panthers to all gel together right away and help the team immediately was probably out of the question.

But Eastern has weathered the storm with 14 consecutive loses, and after a sweep of Ohio Valley Conference foe Murray State last weekend, the Panthers currently sit in a three-way tie for third-place in the conference behind Jacksonville State and Austin Peay. With half the season still remaining, lets play a little question and answer of our own and try to predict just where Eastern will stand come season’s end.

Q-Eastern found a new ace while senior Jared Marshall was recovering from offseason surgery?

A-Yes, Eastern did and his name is Kirk Miller. Nobody shined brighter in Marshall’s absence than the sophomore Southpaw who has a 2-3 record with an ERA in the upper fours. Heading into the season, I figured fellow sophomore Mike Budde would take the torch from Marshall and lead the Panthers but season ending Tommy John surgery has prevented that from occurring. Not only is Miller’s ERA minuscule when compared to his teammates but his two wins came in conference play which is proof he is a “big game” pitcher which every team loves to have.

Q-Freshman Ryan Campbell is the answer at third base?

A-Right now both yes and no. Nobody gives the Eastern fans more ‘ohhs and awws’ (with the exception of the Panther Bat Girls) than Campbell. At the plate, he can take any pitcher deep at any time and proved that with a school record tying three home run performance against Chicago State last week. In the field, he’ll make a fantastic play one minute and short hop a throw the next minute. He’s not the next Ron Santo out on the diamond but he isn’t fazed by playing a demanding position like the ‘hot corner.’ Most importantly, he has a ton of confidence as a freshman, and while Campbell’s 13 errors stick out like a sore thumb, the truth is miscues are going to happen at third base. If the season depended on a ground ball to third base, I’d rather have last year’s third sacker Jeff Cammann fielding the play, but I wouldn’t stunt Campbell’s “growth” by replacing him with Cammann.

Q-Pete Stone should remain in the designated hitter spot?

A-No. The DH spot has failed the Panthers all season long as Mike Gavin and Paul Dean struggled out of the gate hitting below the Mendoza Line, but Stone is not the solution at this position. When he’s on top of his game, Stone may have the best bat in the lineup but his fielding in isn’t bad either. With center field defensively a shaky spot for Eastern, I think you need to have Stone’s glove in the field. As for the DH spot, I’d keep pitcher Erik Huber in this slot unless he takes the mound. In my opinion, one of Schmitz’s best moves this year was to let Huber swing the bat as the Belleville native responded with a .455 batting average and five RBIs in just 22 plate appearances.

Q-Eastern can win the OVC?

A-No. I don’t think the Panthers will win the regular season OVC crown but come tournament time anything is possible. Austin Peay at 6-0 in the conference and 19-7 overall look to very tough to pass. So does Eastern Kentucky who have the best overall record (19-4) and are tied with the Panthers in OVC play at 4-2. Eastern Illinois pulled off a huge road sweep of Murray State last weekend, but the Thoroughbreds/Racers (whatever they want to call themselves today) aren’t the OVC’s version of the 1906 Cubs. However, if the Panther bats continue to stay hot and Marshall recovers completely, I do believe Eastern can surprise a few teams in the tournament and a trip to the NCAA Regionals isn’t out of the question.