The Eastern softball team swept Western Carolina but was blanked by Georgia and Boston College to finish 2-3 at the 11th Annual Bulldog Invitational in Athens, Georgia over the weekend to move to 9-8 on the season.

The Panthers opened the weekend with two matchups Feb. 28, and game one against Western Carolina proved to be a strong start as Jade Montgomery allowed just two runs and posted five strikeouts with one walk to propel Eastern to the 6-2 win.

The Panthers also scored in all but two of the seven innings, racking up 15 hits in 34 at-bats to open the weekend.

The second game of the day Feb. 28 was not quite as fruitful for Eastern as the team fell to Georgia by a 4-0 margin.

Montgomery got the nod again in the circle against the No. 18 ranked Bulldogs, allowing three earned runs in 2.1 innings pitched.

Aside from a four-run third inning, the Panthers held Georgia scoreless in six of seven innings, but the Eastern offense struggled, posting just two hits in 23 at-bats.

The offensive struggles continued in game one Feb. 29 as well, going scoreless against Boston College in a 10-0 loss.

The Panthers actually recorded more hits than the Eagles in the loss by a seven to six margin, but two errors to go along with seven stranded runners did Eastern in for the loss in five innings.

In game two of the day, Montgomery returned to pitch and picked up another win, downing Western Carolina with a 4-2 final score.

Montgomery pitched a complete game with only one earned run plus three strikeouts on 89 pitches.

The one earned came from the Catamounts in the second inning as Ashlyn Long took Montgomery deep to open up the scoring, but after another run in the third, it was all Eastern as Hannah Cravens got into the scoring action with a solo home run of her own before the Panthers tacked on three more to secure the win.

The final matchup of the weekend came Sunday against Boston College, and it was reminiscent of the first meeting between the two teams as the Eagles left Eastern scoreless again in a 9-0, six-inning win.

A two-run second inning gave Boston College the lead before a seven-run explosion in the sixth inning, to go along with a strong pitching performance from CC Cook, held Eastern without a run.

The 2-3 split on the weekend featured a -19 run differential for Eastern, but the Panthers remain above the .500 mark heading into this weekend’s Miami University Tournament, featuring two matchups apiece against Miami (Ohio) and Green Bay.

Miami (Ohio) is 9-6 so far this season, and Green Bay is 3-12 so far.

In the tournament this weekend against the two teams, the Panthers will play both twice.

Eastern’s first game of the tournament is Saturday at 11:00 a.m. against Green Bay.

Oscar Rzodkiewicz can be reached at 581-2812 or orrzodkiewicz@eiu.edu.