The Eastern baseball team has found its stride offensively and will try to keep it going against some tougher Ohio Valley Conference competition.

The Panthers host Morehead State for another three-game series starting Friday at 3 p.m., and it comes at a solid time considering Eastern is fresh off back-to-back double-digit run games.

Eastern notched its second win in a row with a 15-6 win over Robert Morris Tuesday, and now junior Tyler Jones will try to keep that going for the Panthers as he takes the ball in game one.

While the scoring has been a pleasant surprise in the past two games, it is the pitching that has kept the Panthers in games.

Jones has played a big role in that as he will head into this matchup with a 4-3 record and a 3.12 ERA.

He is coming off his roughest start of the season though after giving up six runs in 6.2 innings pitched against Eastern Kentucky last weekend.

Sophomore Alex Stevenson will follow in game two on the mound and he has been up and down throughout the season.

Stevenson comes in with a 6.17 ERA and 2-6 record with the most recent outing coming in a loss.

The sophomore pitched 4.1 innings against Eastern Kentucky last weekend while allowing four runs on six hits.

The Panthers’ offense will be the story in this one as they have struggled against OVC opponents as of late.

The team mustered just five runs combined in the Eastern Kentucky series.

But Eastern has taken a turn in the last two with 29 runs combined, and the home run ball has been the biggest reason for that.

Guys like senior Dougie Parks and senior Hunter Morris have brought some power to the line up with home runs in those games.

Morris especially had the big bat against Robert Morris as he knocked out a grand slam, and he leads the team with 42 RBIs on the year.

Senior Joseph Duncan has done his thing on the base paths, and he just became the all-time leading Panther in steals with his 52nd coming on Tuesday.

Redshirt junior Josh Turnock will head into the weekend with some momentum as he has batted .346 this season.

That Eastern lineup will go up against two right-handed pitchers this weekend, and then Morehead State puts a lefty on the mound in game two.

All three of the Morehead State pitchers come into the series with ERAs above 4.00 though.

This marks the beginning of six straight OVC games for the Panthers as another three-game set will follow against Tennessee-Martin on the road starting May 4.

First pitch Friday against Morehead State is at 3 p.m. with games two and three following on Saturday and Sunday as the Panthers try to improve on their 15-25 record.

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