The Eastern softball team defeated the Tennessee Tech Eagles in a pair of Ohio Valley Conference games by a score of 7-2 and 3-1. The Panthers now have an overall record of 21-17. The Panthers have also won their last seven conference games, putting their record at 12-6 in OVC play.

The original plan was to play two games on Saturday, and finish the series off on Sunday, but after an inordinate amount of rain on Saturday, both games were called off and moved to Sunday.

In the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader action, the Panthers defeated Tennessee Tech by a final score of 7-2.

After Eastern’s extra inning loss to the University of Illinois, head coach Kim Schuette said she was very pleased with her defenses effort after a few lackluster performances.

“I was really happy with our defense,” Schuette said. “Our defense was solid all game. It helps when Maday is striking people out, but we made all the routine plays.”

In the win against Tennessee Tech, the Panthers played exactly how they did against the Fighting Illini, but with a much better performance at the plate.

The Panthers used a huge five run second inning scoring spurt to put Tennessee Tech out of reach the rest of the game.

Catcher Abby Wood led off the inning with a walk, putting a runner on base with no outs. Wood was then moved up to second base on a sacrifice bunt by junior Ally Seplak. Center fielder Hayley Pieper drew a walk to put runners on first and second with one out, which was followed up by a walk to third baseman Asheligh Westover to load the bases. Sophomore Kaylie Pruett would then slap a single to left field that drove in Wood and kept the bases loaded.

Freshman shortstop Bailey O’Dell stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. She grounded into a fielder’s choice to the second baseman that Tennessee Tech was not able to convert into an out. This resulted in Pieper scoring. The Golden Eagles would then throw the ball around, making an error that would also result in Westover scoring. The Panthers would score two more runs in the inning after Melise Brown drove in a run and Carly Willert hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield.

Eastern would go on to score two more runs in the game en route to their sixth straight conference victory.

Stephanie Maday made the start for Eastern on the mound. She pitched the complete seven innings, allowing only two runs on six hits and two walks. She also struck out five Eagles on the day.

In the second game of the day, Eastern defeated Tennessee Tech by a final score of 3-1 with clutch hitting and great pitching.

Sophomore Hanna Mennenga made the start on the mound for Eastern. Mennenga pitched 5.2 innings while only allowing one run on two hits. Maday, who was the winning pitcher in the previous game, came into to close the door on the Eagles for the day.

The Eagles scored the first run of the game on an infield single in the second inning. That is all they would score for the game. Eastern didn’t take long to counter the run with a couple runs of their own in the bottom of the third inning. First baseman Reynae Hutchinson hit a deep sacrifice fly that plated freshman shortstop Bailey O’Dell. Abby Wood then contributed the game-winning hit when she singled in Melise Brown. Eastern would go on to score its final run in the bottom of the fifth inning when Ashleigh Westover doubled in Ally Seplak.

The Panthers next game will be this Wednesday at Williams Field against Southeastern Missouri with the first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m. It will be the final game of the three game series against Southeast Missouri. Eastern won the previous two contests by a score of 3-2 and 5-3.

Erik Jensen can be reached at 581-7942 or eajensen@eiu.edu.