Eastern head baseball coach Jim Schmitz could win his 500th career game this weekend against Tennessee Tech.

Schmitz, the winningest coach in Eastern’s history (335-321 in 13 years), won No. 499 when the Panthers beat Chicago State on Wednesday.

Schmitz said it has been great to be able to do what he’s wanted to do for so many years.

“I love college baseball,” said Schmitz, who was the head coach at Wilmington College, a Division III school in Ohio, from 1984-86, and at Cincinnati from 1987-90. “You learn about young men and what they can do. There have been a lot of fun wins along the way and a lot of losses.”

Schmitz played down the possibility of his 500th victory and said this weekend’s three-game series against Tennessee Tech takes precedent.

The Panthers (5-10) begin Ohio Valley Conference play against the Golden Eagles (13-7), with a doubleheader at noon on Saturday, with the series finale at noon on Sunday.

Schmitz said the goal is to win two of the three games every series in OVC play.

“If we win two of three,” Schmitz said, “then we have 18 wins right there. We only have one goal this season, and that is to win this thing. If we focus on the quality of play, everything else will take care of itself.”

Schmitz said the non-conference games this season have helped his team out. Several freshmen have contributed early, and they know they can do well when called upon in conference games, Schmitz said.

Two of those freshmen are Eastern pitchers.

Lefty Tyler Kehrer leads Eastern pitchers with a 2-0 record and 3.20 ERA, and Richie Derbak, a second basemen and pitcher, is 1-1 with two saves and a 2.57 ERA. He is also hitting .308 with 8 runs batted in.

Veterans have also contributed for the Panthers. Senior first baseman Erik Huber leads the Panthers with a .371 average, 4 home runs and 16 RBIs.

Huber said he is excited to start OVC play at home this weekend after opening the year with 14 straight away games. He said the intensity goes up once conference play starts.

“Every team, whether in 3rd place or 7th place, comes out and plays on weekends,” Huber said.

Senior outfielder Mark Chagnon said he hopes Eastern can reverse the trend of opening OVC play with Tennessee Tech and struggling.

Last season, the Panthers lost two of their three games against Tech in Eastern’s OVC opening series.

He said spring break was good preparation for conference play because you get extra at-bats in a short amount of time.

Tech relies on veterans in its starting lineup with four seniors and four juniors getting the majority of the starts. Junior infielder Tom Nelson leads the Golden Eagles with a .394 average, and senior outfielder Josh Goodwin leads the team with 3 home runs along with a .385 average. Junior right-hander Jake Edwards leads all Tech pitchers with a 3-1 record and a 2.70 ERA.