Panther baseball has finally won a game in 2011.

Now that they have gotten over the proverbial first-win-of-the-season hump, the team needs to keep the momentum going, have another good week of practice, and look to pick up more wins this weekend at Alabama.

While playing a South Eastern Conference school will pose a daunting challenge for Eastern, if they swing the bats they way they did in four of Sunday’s first nine innings, the Panthers will have a real shot to steal a game or two from the Crimson Tide, if they don’t win all three.

Sunday’s double-header was a great example of the pivotal role defense will play during rest of this season for the Panthers.

In the first game of a double-header on Sunday, the Panthers committed zero errors and won their first game of the season.

The second game was a different story. Eastern made two errors, charging three unearned runs to freshman pitcher Luke Bushur. They went on to lose by a score of 4-1.

If Eastern is going to get their season turned around and start winning on a regular basis, they simply cannot afford to give away runs. The runs the defense gave Evansville Sunday proved to not only be the deciding factor in the game, but they swung momentum in the favor of the Purple Aces and changed the entire complexion of the contest.

While Sunday’s first game featured four separate offensive rallies for the Panthers, but the game also saw Eastern go three up, three down five times throughout the game.

The offense should be putting pressure on the opposing defense and pitcher every inning, not letting them get comfortable. When the opposing pitcher settles into a rhythm, if the opposing offense comes back and takes the lead, it becomes much harder to knock the other team out of that defensive groove.

The Panthers still have a long season ahead of them and getting their first win was a big step in the right direction. But if they are going to keep the momentum going, they have got to stay sharp and continue improving throughout the season.

Brad Kupiec can be reached at 581-7944 or bmkupiec@eiu.edu