Eastern softball will look to win big at home in the Lady Bison Classic this weekend.

Saturday the team will play Butler at 12:15 p.m. and Lipscomb at 4:45 p.m.

Sunday they will play Appalachian State at 11 a.m. and an opponent to be named later at either 1:15 p.m. or 3:30 p.m.

Head coach Kim Schuette said she has faith in her team, which has shown improvement as of late.

“That is what these beginning of the year games are for: To relax, see the ball, do the things we are working on in practice and see what happens,” Schuette said. “Right now we are tough to beat and we want that to continue.”

Although the team has only played Butler in the past, they still look at every game as a new challenge and a way to improve.

Last weekend’s split should help them see what they can work on to become a better team on the field.

Junior Amanda Bilina said after going 2-2 last weekend in Alabama, the team needs to get back to just playing the simple game of softball and that there is no need to make it any more difficult. Also, she has high hopes for this team in the future.

“If we focus on that and just play the game like we know how, we should do big things this season,” she said.

Senior pitcher Amber May said if the team stays relaxed and just plays “Panther” ball, the team should be able to win the tournament at home.

“I think too many times last week we got in a situation where we tensed up too much and it became very difficult to play,” May said. “Our defense and pitching are there, our hitting is coming along, but the more we relax and see the ball, the more we are going to out-play our opponents.”

Their opponents, Butler, Lipscomb and Appalachian State, seem to be on the same skill level as each other, so Eastern has a good shot and every game should be just as thrilling as the next.

“Lipscomb’s pitcher just received the MVP pitcher award for the Magic City Classic that we just played in so it should be a good game with few runs scored,” May said. “Butler has always been a close rival with Eastern and although many have probably never heard of Appalachian State, it will be a good game.”

These games should be big confidence builders and good learning experiences for the team.

“We are hoping to continue to get good weather and play as many games as possible before we start conference play,” senior Kiley Holtz said. “We want to have our confidence and be peaking as a team when conference play starts.”

Lenny Arquilla can be reached at 581-7944 or lrarquilla@eiu.edu.

Junior Amber May throws the ball to the first baseman during the weekend series March 27, 2010 against Tennessee Tech at Williams Field. (File Photo

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