The Eastern baseball team was swept in its opening weekend of the season, dropping three straight games to Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond, La.

“I was disappointed, overall, with the weekend,” Eastern head coach Jim Schmitz said. “Pitching, defensive play, hitting, having the lead. The only word for it is disappointing.”

The Panthers appeared to be headed for a season-opening victory in the first game of the series Friday.

Junior right-hander Josh Mueller pitched five shutout innings on two hits before leaving, but sophomore right-hander Mike Martin and junior right-hander Matt Miller combined to give up six earned runs in the final 3 1/3 innings.

The Lions won the game 6-5, ending it on a bases loaded, one out single off Miller in the bottom of the ninth inning.

“Mueller pitched well for us. We’re excited to know we have him out there every Friday,” Schmitz said. “But we still have a lot of work to do.”

Junior right-hander Mike Recchia was unable to duplicate Mueller’s success in Saturday’s game.

Recchia, the ace of last season’s staff, gave up six earned runs and issued three walks over 3 1/3 innings as the Panthers lost 11-5.

The offense was non-existent Sunday as the Lions completed the sweep. Eastern was held to two runs and five hits for the game as it lost 7-2.

Along with Mueller, one of the few bright spots for the Panthers in the sweep was the performance of second baseman Daniel Rowe.

Rowe, who started the season as the team’s leadoff hitter as a true freshman, went 7-for-12 in the series and had two RBIs.

“Rowe was exciting to see,” Schmitz said. “He did some neat things for us.”

The Panthers continue their season-opening 17-game road trip this weekend as they travel to Nashville, Tenn., for a three-game series against Belmont. They play at 3 p.m. Friday, and 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.