The Eastern softball team swept Tennessee State and improved its winning streak to 14 games with two eight-run mercy-rule wins of 10-0 and 13-0 on Saturday, and a 10-3 win on Sunday.

Eastern hit seven home runs in less than ten innings of play on Saturday. Despite the cold weather, the Panther bats were hot on Saturday as junior Hailee Hanna, sophomore Melise Brown and freshman Reynae Hutchinson each jacked two home runs on the afternoon.

Hanna hit the team’s second grand slam of the season, leading all players with six RBIs. Brown finished 6-for-6 at the plate with five RBIs, while also adding a double and a stolen base.

Senior pitcher Amber May earned a shutout in the first game, as she struck out six and had one walk, while allowing seven TSU hits.

May also hit a home run of her own, earning her first career home run with a three-run blast as they picked up the first game victory in the bottom of the fifth inning.

In the second game, freshman Stephanie Maday threw the five-inning no-hitter, as she is now 8-1 after retiring eight TSU batters via strikes and allowing no walks. Maday struck out half of the batters she faced as the Tigers only had 16 players at bat.

Head coach Kim Schuette has said several times this team was not a .500 team and so far these Panthers have proven her right.

“The players have been doing well believing in what we are doing, what the coaches are telling them to do and believing in the line up we have on the field” Schuette said. “Right now different people are stepping up at different times and that is making us tough to beat.”

For the season, the Panthers continue to own the No. 1 pitching ERA in the OVC with a 0.90 mark, while the duo of May and Maday have four shutouts apiece this season.

Schuette said it takes a good team to win games.

“It’s the pitching staff, the catchers, the defense, the offense, the players in the line up and the pinch hitters/runners that come in and do their job every game,” Schuette said. “We hope for that to continue.”

On Sunday, the Panthers won 10-3 completing the series sweep making them 19-5 overall as they remain perfect in not only the OVC at 6-0, but also their school-record at 14 straight games. The Tigers, meanwhile, fell to 7-27 (1-10).

Senior Kiley Holtz led the team in hitting as she went 3-4 with two RBI s. May picked up another win improving her record 8-3 on the season.

The Panthers return to action March 30 on the road against SIU-Edwardsville.

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

Stephanie Maday, a freshman pitcher, winds up on the final pitch of her 5-inning no-hitter in the nightcap of Saturday’s double-header against Tennessee State. The win brought Maday to 9-1 on the season and extended the Panthers’ winning streak to 13 game

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