The Eastern softball team (11-10) won the final two games of the four-game Miami University Tournament on Sunday to climb back above .500 on the season.

The Panthers lost the first two games of the tournament on Saturday, falling to Green Bay and Miami-Ohio before beating each of those teams on Sunday.

In the opening game against Green Bay on Saturday, the Panthers scored their most runs in any game over the weekend, but also allowed the most in a 9-6 loss.

Green Bay jumped on Eastern pitcher Jade Montgomery in the first inning, scoring six runs in the opening frame. Four of the runs came with two outs, two courtesy of a Samantha Soley homerun.

The Phoenix added one more run in the second inning before the Panthers mounted a comeback attempt.

Eastern tallied four runs in the fifth inning, capped by a Haley Mitchell bases-clearing double to cut the deficit to three runs. Green Bay responded with two runs in the sixth and the Panthers could only answer with two in the seventh.

The Panthers grabbed the lead in the next game against Miami-Ohio on a Mitchell single in the first inning. The RedHawks scored five runs in the second, and neither team scored another run for the remainder of the game.

Sunday was a different day for the Panthers, beginning in the morning with a 5-1 victory against Green Bay. The Phoenix scored first in the second inning, but Eastern responded with three runs in the third.

The runs came on hits from Hannah Cravens, Kendyl McKeough and Mitchell. Kayla Bear hit a two-run home run in the fourth to end the scoring.

Montgomery responded to her rough outing in the first matchup against the Phoenix by pitching a complete game, allowing only five hits, one run while striking out four and not walking a batter.

The final game of the weekend against the RedHawks also saw the Panthers score five runs, beating Miami-Ohio 5-2.

Mia Davis got the scoring started with a first inning triple, plating Cravens. Davis scored when Mitchell reached on an error.

Cravens and Davis fueled the Panther offense again in the fourth. Cravens doubled, scoring Bear, and then scored herself on a Davis two-run home run.

Cravens’ performance on the mound was also a major factor in the Panthers’ win, as she went five innings and allowed just two runs on two hits and two walks.

The Panthers will play in Florida on March 13, 14, 15 and 17 before coming home for the first time this season March 21 against Southeast Missouri to begin conference play.

Adam Tumino can be reached at 581-2812 or ajtumino@eiu.edu.