After suffering their first loss of the season Tuesday to No. 7 Louisiana, the Eastern softball team bounced back Wednesday, picking up win against Southern University and Louisiana-Monroe.
The Panthers are now 6-1 this season and have the most wins in the OVC.
For the first game Wednesday, Eastern played Southern for the third time this season, and for the third time this season, the Panthers won with relative ease.
Eastern scored in double digits for the second time against Southern, winning the game 10-2.
The Panthers scored 6 runs in the fourth inning, a rally that was started by a solo home run by redshirt-senior Mia Davis. Abi Stahlhut and Aniya Holt each recorded RBI singles before Megan Burton hit a 3-run home run to blow the game open.
Redshirt-sophomore Hannah Cravens hit a solo home run in the fifth inning, her fifth home run of the season already.
Pitching for the Panthers was freshman Olivia Price. She pitched a complete game, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits in 7 innings.
The second game of the day against Louisiana-Monroe was also the closest game of the season for the Panthers.
Behind a strong performance from Davis at the plate and redshirt-senior Jade Montgomery on the mound, the Panthers were able to hold on for a 5-4 win.
After giving up a run in the bottom of the first inning, Eastern got on the board with 3 runs in the third inning.
Cravens drove in the first Panther run when she pulled a double into the gap, scoring redshirt-sophomore Katie Nicholson.
Redshirt-senior Haley Mitchell also had an RBI single in the inning and Davis recorded an RBI double.
Davis also provided some insurance runs for the Panthers with a 2-run single in the top of the fifth.
Those runs ended up being important, ensuring the Panthers retained the lead after allowing Louisiana-Monroe to score 2 runs in the sixth inning.
Montgomery picked the win for Eastern.
She gave up 11 hits, but was able to limit the damage, allowing 3 earned runs and 4 runs total in the game while striking out four batters.
The Panthers will continue their stretch of games in the south to begin the season this weekend.
They will be playing in the Green and Gold Classic in Birmingham, Alabama, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Adam Tumino can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]
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