Which team is going to show up today?

As the Eastern baseball season progresses, that’s a reasonable question to ask before the start of every game. The Panthers can be so maddeningly inconsistent, it’s like there are two different teams we’ve witnessed.

That proved true yet again with Eastern’s weekend series loss to Jacksonville State. The Panthers dropped 19 runs on the Gamecocks during Saturday’s lone game in 19-2 victory but then were held scoreless in Sunday’s doubleheader losses (2-0, 6-0).

Saturday, the Panthers were patient at the plate. Eastern’s hitters waited for their pitch, and if it wasn’t there, they didn’t swing. A walk is as good as a hit. And that pitch wasn’t there often.

Three Gamecocks’ pitchers combined to walk 12 Eastern batters. Freshman reliever John David Smelser even threw 10 straight balls in the bottom of the second inning.

I’m talking just horrible pitches. They were too far outside, at someone’s head or in the dirt and past the catcher.

The Panthers waited these lousy JSU pitchers out and got on base. Chances were they scored. Eastern batted around in the bottom of the second inning, and junior right fielder Ryan Lindquist walked twice on four straight balls each time. He scored twice.

Sunday’s doubleheader wasn’t the same in any way, shape or form.

To be fair, JSU put better pitchers on the mound. And they performed. Sophomore Ben Tootle pitched 7 1/3 innings in the first game of the doubleheader and gave up two hits while striking out seven.

Tootle was throwing heat. He topped out at 95 mph and was hitting 93 mph on a consistent basis late into the game. And Eastern couldn’t touch him. The only hits were a grounder to right field by Lindquist and an infield single from junior center fielder Brett Nommensen, who had to slide headfirst into first base and was not called out.

“All of us, we kept trying to pull the ball, and we’re supposed to go the other way,” said Eastern junior left fielder Curt Restko. “You’re not going to be able to pull a 95 mph fastball.”

True.

Eastern head coach Jim Schmitz said he was disappointed in the offensive production during Sunday’s doubleheader. Reasonable feelings when your team is shut out and can only squeak out six hits in two games.

“No excuses, and I really mean it,” Schmitz said. “We’re not hitting good pitchers. Coming away with two zeros was very disappointing, to say the least. We’re hitting average pitching; we just don’t hit good pitching. We’ve got to do a better job of handling the better pitchers.”

That will be key for the Panthers during the week. They play at Missouri and at Bradley this week and travel to second-place Samford next weekend for another Ohio Valley Conference series.

Eastern can beat these teams. The Panthers have shown they can hit the ball and score runs. Eastern’s pitching remains electric from starters to relievers with a 3.83 team ERA and 252 strikeouts.

But which team will show up? The team that has proven these things? Or the team that can’t seem to find a way to win?

Scott Richey can be reached at 581-7944 or at srrichey@eiu.edu.