The Eastern softball team won its first game in the Samford tournament over Georgia State 8-4 on Friday but failed to win its next three games in the tournament, dropping its season record to 3-6.

Eastern opened the tournament with a confidence inspiring 8-4 win over Georgia State, one which saw Eastern score six runs in the 5th inning to bury its opponent.

It was the second time this season the Panthers used a big six-run inning to pick up a win; they did it last weekend in the 3rd inning against Kennesaw State, only this time three of the runs Eastern scored in the inning were unearned.

A fielding error in the inning by Georgia State shortstop Kristin Hawkins allowed three Eastern runners to score, pushing the score 8-3.

Catcher Morgan Lamore had two RBIs for Eastern in the win, Kendyl McKeough, Hannah Cravens and Hannah Kissel each had an RBI as well.

The rest of the tournament was not as kind to Eastern as the Panthers lost their next three games 6-4 to DePaul, 9-2 in a rematch with Georgia State and 7-4 to Samford.

DePaul delivered Eastern a taste of its own medicine in the most sinister way in its 6-4 win on Friday. Eastern cruised through the first six innings of the game with a comfortable 4-0 lead, and pitcher McKenna Coffman dealing on the mound. Coffman threw six innings and gave up just one run on three hits.

Then the seventh inning came, and it would be DePaul, not Eastern, that would explode for six runs in an inning. Coffman came back out to the mound to start the seventh inning and immediately gave up two singles to start the inning. Eastern head coach Kim Schuette then brought in Valerie Thompson to replace Coffman on the mound.

Thompson gave up a single on the first batter she faced, but thanks to a pinpoint throw by right fielder Breya Cooper, no runs scored, yet.

Thompson walked the next batter and followed up the walk by plunking a batter, allowing DePaul to score its first run of the game. The following batter singled scoring another run, and Thompson’s time on the mound was over as Schuette brought in Jade Montgomery to try and hold on to Eastern’s 4-2 lead.

Montgomery struck out the first batter she saw and then walked the next one to score another DePaul run and push the score to 6-3.

DePaul’s Gabby O’Riley then doubled in three runs for DePaul and turned the game on its head. Eastern’s comfortable 4-0 lead it held to begin the inning had quickly turned into a 6-4 deficit that would remain until the end of the game.

Georgia State saw what DePaul did and decided it looked like a good plan to take down Eastern, as they too beat Eastern on Saturday 9-2 after scoring six runs in an inning.

Eastern’s Sydney Cammon was saddled with giving up three of those runs in the inning, and after that Thompson came in relief. Thompson gave up no earned runs, but Georgia State scored four unearned runs while she was on the mound.

Georgia State would go on to win the game 9-2.

Montgomery gave up all seven runs in Eastern’s final loss to Samford 7-4 on Saturday. Samford scored three runs in the 1st inning, one in the 3rd, two in the 4th, and one in the 5th, all credited to Montgomery.

Eastern plays in the Tiger Invitational next weekend in Auburn, Alabama for five games.

JJ Bullock can be reached at 581-2812 or jpbullock@eiu.edu