Eastern will face Tennessee State this weekend, a team in the lower half of the Ohio Valley Conference standings. That is not a comfort for the Panthers, however, who are coming off of a midweek split.

“They have nine new players,” said head coach Kim Schuette. “They are a different team from what they have been in the past and they have played a lot of close games against tough teams this season. Their record is a little bit deceiving.”

The Panthers left Charleston Thursday afternoon because of a change in the normal schedule that accommodates the team for Easter weekend.

Instead of the usual Saturday doubleheader followed by a single game on Sunday, the games are moved up one day and the series begins Friday.

Schuette said that the change in days will not affect their play. The players know that there is a lot of potential for a big weekend.

“We know that they are one of the lower teams in the conference and we need to take advantage of that,” senior pitcher Ashley Condon said.

The Panthers (25-14-1) are 7-5 in the conference as opposed to the Tigers, who are 1-12. The Tigers only win came in a 2-1 March 25 game against Samford.

Tennessee State is in ninth place in the OVC and is also coming off of a split of a doubleheader this weekend.

The Tigers split with Lipscomb University winning the first game 6-3 and losing the second game 2-0.

Eastern’s split with Bradley marked the first loss at home for the team. The game was scoreless until the seventh inning when Molly Bergeson gave the Braves a 1-0 lead.

The Panthers committed two errors and the game ended 3-0.

The Panthers redeemed themselves in the second game.

Senior Ashley Condon threw 5 1/3 innings giving up only one run when she was replaced by freshman Kathleen Jacoby who finished off the 3-1 victory.

Schuette said major focus for her players this weekend will be baserunning and putting the ball in play to take some pressure off of the defense.

“They have a few good hitters that we need to keep off of the bases,” she said.

Leena Worrell has collected 31 RBI in 38 this season, posted 15 runs and has a .355 batting average. Close behind her is teammate Nira Robbins who has a .346 batting average, 19 RBI and 21 runs under her belt this season.

Despite losing a game to the Braves, Eastern has its sights set on climbing the OVC ladder, said senior Nicole Eichelberger.

“We’ve been having some really good defense lately, hopefully our bats will come alive,” she said. “A lot of the good teams (high ranked OVC teams) are playing each other right now, so now it’s time for us to step it up.”

“We just need to get our hitting more consistent, score a couple runs and then the great defense and pitching will get the win,” said Condon.

Schuette said the team is looking forward to the weekend away and the opportunity to play.

“We might have some surprises, but the Easter bunny hasn’t come yet,” she said.