The Eastern baseball team is set to take a midweek break from the beginning of a tough slate ahead.

The Panthers head to Indiana State Tuesday afternoon for one final road game in what has been an extensive trip away from home to begin the 2017 campaign.

Eastern has not fared too well in those games, heading into this matchup with just two wins in 18 tries on the year.

Hosting the Panthers is a hot Sycamores team that has strung off three straight wins, but Eastern has its own sort of momentum.

Eastern is fresh off a series loss to Jacksonville State this past weekend, but did muster enough to earn a win in game one before dropping the remaining two.

Despite the tough series, the Panthers saw some much-needed signs of life after dropping their eight previous games.

Leading the Panthers in that series continued to be Joe Duncan who leads the team in batting average, and that improved as he comes off a three-hit ballgame.

Matt Albert has also been impressive at the plate, but that is all in credit to his power strike as of late.

Albert hit two solo shots in the series against the Gamecocks to earn his second multi-home run game this season.

His power from the plate has led him to leading the team in home runs and is also good for sixth in the entire Ohio Valley Conference with five home runs this season.

Brendon Allen will try to back the starting lineup for Eastern with an impressive start on the mound, which will be his fifth start and sixth overall appearance on the young campaign.

The Senior pitcher has not been able to last more than four innings in a start this season, as his longest outing came against Central Arkansas in 4.2 innings.

Allen was dealt the task of facing a powerhouse Division I team in Alabama a week ago, and he was only able to last two innings after getting a quick hook from giving up one run.

Hunter Clark could be an expected man out of the bullpen as he ranks second in the conference with 10 appearances already.

Following this matchup, the Panthers resume their conference slate, but will do so with the advantage of doing so on their home field.

Eastern will face Murray State in a three-game series beginning Friday as they search for their second conference win of the season.

The Panthers will also try to improve in the OVC ranks as they are outside of the top 10 in batting average and slugging percentage offensively.

Maher Kawash can be reached at 581-2812 or mwkawash@eiu.edu