The Eastern softball and Morehead State softball teams were in a hole early in the conference season.

The Panthers went 1-2 in their first Ohio Valley Conference series and have gone 7-1 since then, including two series sweeps. The Eagles started out 3-7 in the OVC, but have gone 5-0 since and are on a seven-game winning streak overall.

These two teams meet this weekend in an important three-game OVC series. The Panthers (24-16, 8-3 OVC) play a doubleheader against Morehead State (26-14, 8-7) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Williams Field. The final game is set for noon Sunday at Williams Field.

Expect a pitcher’s duel between Morehead State junior Alex Gjerve (18-7) and Eastern sophomore Amber May (17-10). Gjerve, the 2008 OVC Pitcher of the Year, boasts a 0.98 ERA, and posts a 1.63 ERA in May. Runs are to be at a premium.

“We’ll see how she does against us,” said Eastern senior pitcher Kathleen Jacoby.

The Panthers took two of three games last season and went 1-1 against Gjerve including a 2-1 win in 10 innings.

Eastern is confident facing Gjerve because they have seen good pitching most of the season.

Tennessee Tech freshman pitcher Holly Thomas gave the Panthers fits by holding them to one hit, but the Panthers still won. And Southern Illinois Edwardsville junior Erika Taylor (15-4, 1.19 ERA) held the Panthers to one run, but the Panthers pulled out another victory.

“She’s tough,” said Eastern head coach Kim Schuette. “We’ve faced her before, though. We’ll look at notes. Hopefully, our offense will keep going.”

Schuette said the key is getting base runners on every inning, and then from there the Panthers can do some damage.

“I want to get rid of this seventh-inning thing at Williams Field,” Schuette said.

But it’s not going to be easy in this conference series.

“We just go out and look for our pitches and not settle for her pitches,” said Eastern sophomore third baseman Kiley Holtz.

The Panthers have combined for 15 hits against Gjerve in 19 2/3 innings

“A good pitcher makes you want to hit something you don’t want to hit,” Schuette said.

Holtz said the key is to work the count and of course, get the pitch.

For Holtz, she said she looks for the outside pitch.

Eastern leads the all-time series against the Eagles, but Morehead State eliminated the Panthers from the OVC Tournament last season.

“These games are very important,” Jacoby said. “We’re just going to do the same as we did against (Tennessee) Tech.”

After this series, the Panthers host Illinois for a single game Tuesday, Southeast Missouri for a doubleheader Thursday and Jacksonville State for a three-game series to close out their 11-game homestand.

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

Eastern sophomore third baseman Kiley Holtz takes a swing at the ball during the game against Saint Louis Tuesday afternoon at Williams Field. Holtz and the Panthers play Morehead State Friday and Saturday at Williams Field. (Erin Matheny/The Daily Easte

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