It’s safe to say this week has been a very good week for the Eastern softball team and it hasn’t even played an inning against an opponent since finishing up game two of the weekend doubleheader Sunday.

Nonetheless, it has been a good, easygoing week. Unlike pretty much every other week this season, the Panthers don’t have any mid-week games scheduled.

Usually, Eastern would be traveling Wednesday or Thursday to play a team like Indiana State, Butler or Saint Louis, but not this week.

This week, Eastern is resting. The season has been one long marathon and finally the team is available to get a drink of water.

One of the major benefits to this mid-week break is the Panthers have been able to rest their star junior pitcher Amber May.

This season, May has pitched 179 1/3 innings, which isn’t bad if you compare it to last season’s total of 250 2/3 innings.

However, the reason May hasn’t pitched as much is because she has had two solid back-ups behind her in Eastern’s rotation.

Those back-ups, freshmen Natalie Wunderlich and Hailie Ray, pitched well when Eastern had an in-team scrimmage Tuesday during practice at Williams Field, according to head coach Kim Schuette.

So, that’s one benefit to having the week free of any opponents or travel plans. Also, the Panthers have been able to solely focus on their weekend foe, Tennessee State.

Even though Tennessee State is one the Ohio Valley Conference’s worst teams this season, that won’t cause Eastern to lose focus on trying to sweep the Tigers.

This weekend is as important as any for the Panthers, who are fourth place in the OVC and have an opportunity to gain ground on No. 3 Jacksonville State.

Without a mid-week opponent, the Panthers have been given more than just one or two days to study up and prepare for the weekend series.

That is a reason why Schuette likes to schedule mid-week games early in the season and then let the season be weekend-to-weekend towards the end.

It’s a great idea, and you should expect it to pay off this weekend.

With probably every student on campus cramming to finish final projects and begin studying for finals, the softball team can take a breath and understand that because they have had the week off. They will be more than prepared for their weekend opponent.

There are only two more opponents Eastern has to play, the Tigers and Murray State, so it’s gut-check time for the Panthers. I think the Panthers know it, so that’s a good thing.

Alex McNamee can be reached at 581-7944 or admcnamee@eiu.edu

Students sit on the Doudna steps as people walk by on the sidewalk Thursday afternoon. With temperatures in the high 70s throughout the week, more students have taken to the outdoors to enjoy the nice weather. (Amir Prellberg / The Daily Eastern News)

(more…)