Kiley Holtz was not ready for her first at-bat.

Holtz, Eastern’s sophomore third baseman, struck out in the bottom of the first inning.

After that, Holtz saw the ball clearly and capped off her adjustment with a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning that proved to be the difference as the Eastern softball team defeated Indiana State 3-0 Wednesday at Williams Field.

Holtz finished 2-for-3 in the Panthers’ home opener.

“I was thinking base hit – up the middle,” Holtz said of the home-run pitch, which was the first pitch of the at-bat.

Her shot to left field was also her fourth home run of the season. She leads the team in home runs as the Panthers snapped a two-game losing streak.

Holtz had not capitalized in the first inning when the Panthers had the bases loaded.

“I didn’t have my head on the ball,” she said.

But Holtz was able to bring her teammates for her 13th, 14th and 15th RBI of the season.

She leads the Panthers (10-7) in RBIs.

Holtz was able to complement Eastern sophomore pitcher Amber May’s performance.

May allowed only one hit as she struck out seven and walked only two Sycamores (4-8).

May was throwing a no-hitter until the fifth inning.

Indiana State junior left fielder Amber Paz landed a bloop hit just outside of freshman first baseman Amanda Bilina’s reach between first base and the pitcher’s mound.

May (7-4) said although the call was questionable, she liked the win. May was also glad she reached her goal of getting seven strikeouts a game. She said hitting the corners really helped on a cold day.

“She was getting ahead of the hitters,” said Eastern head coach Kim Schuette.

May said one the biggest reasons she did so well was that she was having fun. May also said being at home helped.

Holtz said she knew May could hold the final three batters down after the Panthers took the lead.

Schuette said the team had been playing too tight and not as a unit, and she said that had changed within the past week and was exemplified Wednesday.

“We took it one pitch at a time,” Schuette said.

Eastern red-shirt junior Angela Danca helped the Panthers with a three-for-three performance.

Indiana State senior pitcher Darcy Wood (3-4) held the Panthers to six hits. She walked only one and struck out eight.

Despite the 35-degree day, the Panthers will play more games at home. They open up Ohio Valley Conference play on Friday and Saturday. They play a doubleheader against Tennessee State at 4 p.m. Friday at Williams. They close out the series against TSU at noon on Saturday.

Kevin Murphy can be reached at 581-7944 or at kjmurphy@eiu.edu.

Eastern sophomore pitcher Ambery May winds up during Wednesday afternoon’s home opener against Indiana State at Williams Field. (Erin Matheny/The Daily Eastern News)

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