Spring Break
Softball: Rough day for Panthers against Billikens
Kevin Murphy / Sports Editor
Issue date: 4/15/09 Section: Sports
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The Panthers squandered a five-run lead in the first game, and lost 11-10 in eight innings and were dominated 19-2 in a five-inning mercy rule loss in the second game.
In the first game, Eastern led 10-5 after five innings, but the Billikens (16-22) scored the final six runs of the game.
In the top of the seventh, the Billikens scored three runs.
Eastern sophomore pitcher Amber May (17-10) was taken out of the game after she walked one, but struck one out.
Eastern freshman pitcher Maria Sorrentino came in and walked two straight batters. May came back in for Sorrentino and gave up two runs on a hit and then a third run on a fielder's choice.
SLU scored its final run in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly.
"We thought we had the game won, which was unfortunate," said Eastern head coach Kim Schuette. "We acted like the game was over. You can't do that in softball, and you can't do that when the win is blowing out."
In the second game, the Panthers (24-16) pitching staff gave up 17 hits as SLU scored 10 runs in the first three innings.
"It was a rough day on the mound all-around," Schuette said. "I'm not sure we had much good pitching on the mound today, and it's hard to win when that happens. It looks an EIU baseball score."
Eastern senior pitcher Kathleen Jacoby (6-6) gave up 12 runs and 11 hits, nine of them earned. She walked four and struck out four in 3 2/3 innings.
The Panthers also committed three errors in the second game.
Eastern junior centerfielder Angie Danca said the team tried to get past the first game, but it didn't happen. Danca had two of the Panthers' five hits in the second game.
"There's not much to say about it," Danca said. "We did get crushed, but we got to move off of it, got to forget about it."
The Panthers' two home runs in the first game tied a single season record for team home runs (25).
The Panthers will return to action against Morehead State at Williams Field. The three-game Ohio Valley Conference series begins with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday and the final game at noon Sunday.
Morehead State is in fourth place in the OVC, and Eastern is second in the league.
"We got to work in practice," Danca said. "We'll fix (those mistakes) in practice and go play Morehead."
Kevin Murphy can be reached at 581-7944 or at kjmurphy@eiu.edu.
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