Although the Eastern baseball team won six of eight games during its Spring Break Tournament, the Panthers might go 0-for-2 in home openers.

“We can’t get a break,” Eastern baseball coach Jim Schmitz said.

The Panthers were originally going to open their home slate with a game on March 8 against Quincy, which was rained out.

Eastern was to get another shot at opening the home season today, but with snow and rain in the forecast, it’s unlikely the Panthers will be able to play against Division III Blackburn College.

With the likely off-day coming, the Panthers had a chance to take in the positives from a strong showing in Bradenton, Fla.

In the eight-game trip, the Panthers averaged 7.2 runs per game. In the first seven games of the season, Eastern (7-8) averaged 2.2 runs per game.

A lot of the credit could go to the hot-hitting streaks of freshman centerfielder Brett Nommensen and junior first baseman Erik Huber. The two combined for 28 hits in 64 at-bats in Florida.

Schmitz deflects most of the credit to hitting coach Sean Lyons and for Schmitz’s ability to stay out of the other coach’s business.

“We made a decision after the Kansas State trip that I was going to let my assistants do their job and I was going to keep my nose out of (their duties),” Schmitz said. “It seems to be working.”

Schmitz also said that Eastern hitters are starting to go with the pitch rather than try to pull a pitch for a home run.

“Earlier in the season,” Schmitz said, “there were too many situations where we tried to pull every pitch we saw. Now, we’re starting to go with the pitch and the numbers show it.”

The Panthers also got plenty of help from their youthful pitching staff, namely freshman Jake Wade and sophomore Mike Manns.

Wade didn’t allow a run in 8.3 innings in Florida, while Manns pitched a career-high five innings (one run allowed) in the victory over Vermont.

Schmitz said the plan will be to continue to start Manns and use Wade in relief.

“Our pitchers are starting to find their roles,” Schmitz said. “We feel good about all of them.”

If today’s game against Blackburn is snowed/rained out, the Panthers will have only one non-conference game left – Wednesday at Northern Illinois.

“Missing games is never a good thing,” Schmitz said. “With the continuity we built on the trip, we want to stay as sharp as possible.”

Schmitz said the goal for the Spring Break trip was for the Panthers to come together and develop as a team.

“I felt we came together during the trip,” Schmitz said. “There’s no question that winning helps.”