The Eastern softball team’s 2015 schedule has been released, featuring five tournaments before the Panthers begin Ohio Valley Conference play at Austin Peay in March under the direction of second-year coach Angie Nicholson.

The Panthers begin their regular season playing 28 straight games on the road. Last season Eastern started the year playing 25 consecutive games away from Williams Field. The team’s extended play away from home stretched to 29 games, as the Panthers’ first conference series at home was cancelled last season. Nicholson’s first time coaching a game at Williams Field did not come until March 27, 2014, 30 games into the season.

For the upcoming year, Eastern is scheduled to have its first home game on March 28, 2015, when the Panthers play a double-header against Murray State.

The Panthers will host six OVC series and have a total of 16 home games at Williams Field.

Eastern starts the year playing four programs that played in an NCAA Regional last year.

“We are really looking forward to playing with, and among, the elite programs this year, to see where we stand and help us prepare for Ohio Valley Conference competition,” Nicholson said in a press release.

The Panthers start the season on Feb. 6, when they play in a single-game classic against Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La. Then, in the next two days the Panthers will play a pair of double headers against Louisiana-Lafayette and Incarnate Word in the Louisiana-Lafayette Classic.

The Ragin’ Cajuns, who are hosting the tournament in Lafayette, La., reached the 2014 College World Series.

Eastern’s road trip through the South continues on Feb. 13, when Nicholson takes her team to the Auburn Tiger Invitational. The Panthers are scheduled to play five games in three days. Aside from play Auburn on Feb. 14, Eastern will also play Winthrop, Mercer, Georgia State and Ball State in Auburn, Ala.

Auburn also reached regionals last season. Nicholson said the Panthers have one of the most stringent non-conference schedules that Eastern has ever had.

“Playing top programs in the SEC at their place is going to be an environment these players have never experienced, but need to,” she said. “If we really want to focus on postseason and making it to the tournament, this has to be the type of competition and setting we need to play in.”

In Nicholson’s first season with Eastern, the Panthers entered the OVC Tournament as the No. 3 seed. After beating Tennessee-Martin in the first round, Eastern lost to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. Unfortunately for the Panthers the tournament format changed because of rain that cancelled games, making it single elimination in the winners’ bracket, which ended the season for Eastern.

The Panthers play in two more tournaments before conference play starts on March 14, 2015, at Austin Peay. Eastern will play in the Western Kentucky Hilltopper Spring Fling, Feb. 20-22. After a two-week break the Panthers will participate in the Indiana Classic, where they will play the hosting school Indiana and Saint Louis in Bloomington, Ind.

“This will be the toughest schedule ever put together for this program,” Nicholson said.

Eastern’s OVC home series are against Murray State, Tennessee Tech, Jacksonville State, Tennessee State, Belmont and Edwardsville.

Last year the Panthers finished the season with a 38-17 overall record and 17-7 in the OVC. The conference tournament begins on May 6, 2015, and will be hosted by the regular season champions.

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or asoto2@eiu.edu.