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CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Even with snow still covering the east central Illinois landscape, Eastern Illinois softball will get a second chance to official open spring action, traveling to Atlanta, Ga. this weekend to compete in the four-squad Georgia State Panther Invitational.

The EIU Panthers take on East Tennessee State on Saturday (Feb. 20) afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 1:30 (CST).  That game will be followed with a 3:40 pm matchup with the host squad.  Then on Sunday (Feb. 21) morning, Eastern will face the Owls of Temple at 9 am.  Once the round-robin portion of the invite is finalized, the bottom two teams, record-wise, will play at 1:30 pm for third place, with the championship game between the top two squads to play at 3:40 pm.

Originally scheduled ot open the 2010 slate last weekend, the Panthers had four games versus Alabama State and Akron waylaid due to a rare snowstorm in Alabama.  

GSU PANTHER INVITE SCHEDULE:
.. Bob Heck Field in Atlanta, Ga. (Panthersville)

Saturday, February 20
East Tennessee State vs. Temple ... 9 am
Temple at Georgia State ... 11:15 am
EIU vs. East Tennessee State ... 1:30 pm
EIU at Georgia State ... 3:45 pm

Sunday, February 21
EIU vs. Temple ... 9 am
East Tennessee State at Georgia ... 11:15 am
No. 3 Seed vs. No. 4 Seed (TBD) ... 1:30 pm
No. 1 Seed vs. No. 2 Seed (TBD) ... 3:45 pm

QUICK LOOK AT THE WEEKEND WEATHER FORECAST
According to weather.com, the two-day forecast for the Atlanta area calls for a mostly sunny Saturday with highs in the low 60s, while Sunday calls for 60-degree temps but partly cloudy skies.

SCOUTING THE ETSU BUCCANEERS
This weekend will also be the season openers for head coach Andrea Mangrum and the rest of the ETSU squad, as their previously scheduled tourney action last weekend at North Carolina was cancelled due to the weather.  The Bucs returns six returning starters, including three pitchers, from last season's squad that finished with a 27-28 overall mark and an Atlantic Sun record of 6-14, with the Buccaneers placing ninth. Seniors Cheniece Cason and Katy Jett return their team-high batting averages of .345 and .337, behind 57 and 59 total hits, respectively. Fellow senior Trisha Massenzo connected for a 28 RBIs to lead all players, including 10 double-baggers and two homeruns. Returning pitchers include senior Marissa Hardy, who finished with an even 17-17 mark in 2009, behind a 1.93 ERA, 184 Ks, 218 innings pitched, 22 complete games, and limiting the opposition to a .227 hitting mark. Team-wise, ETSU led their opposition for hitting (.269 to .240), runs (179 to 153), RBIs (142 to 138), on-base % (.310 to .306), stolen bases (67 to 36). EIU and ETSU have just one meeting in the record books, as the Buccaneers pulled out a 2-1 win bac in 2003.

QUICK LOOK AT THE HOST PANTHERS
The host squad of Georgia State were runners-up in the Colonial Athletic Association last season thanks to a 15-5 league mark and 30-20 overall record.  GSU returns 15 letterwinners, including five position players and three hurlers. Top returners for long-time coach Bob Heck include third baseman Danielle Roddy, with a .335 avg., 53 total hits, 20 RBIs, and 28 walk, while shortstop Rachel Cunningham bring a .288 avg., 42 hits, 31 RBIs, and four dingers. First baseman Lauren Jones led all Panthers with five homeruns, 25 RBIs, and a .448 SLG%. Top returning pitcher, Alana Thomas, finished with a 2.78 ERA, 12-7 record, 11 complete games, and 37 K's. GSU had to cancel their season-opening home tournament last weekend due to the severe weather, but did open the 2010 campaign after hosting SEC foe Auburn this past week, with the Panthers able to pull out a 6-5 home victory. GSU and EIU are an even 1-1 in all-time meetings, as Eastern picked up a 2-0 win in 1993, but lost the most recent face-off via a 1-0 eight-inning defeat in 2004, with both contests previously played on neutral territory.

'WHO'SE PLAYING FOR THE OWLS?
EIU's final opponent for the weekend, the Temple Owls return 12 letterwinners, but only four starters, from last season's 15-25 squad that placed seventh in the Atlantic 10 in 2009. Under second-year head coach Joe DiPiertro, the Owls enter the tourney at 1-1 after dropping their opener to Charlotte, 7-3, but rebounding with a double-header sweep at Furman.  Temple's lone top stat performer includes senior catcher Krystle Metzler, with 13 RBIs off 17 hits. The EIU Panthers and Owls have never met on the softball field previously.

AND NOW FOR OUR OWN PANTHERS
Eastern will look to improve on last season's 25-29 overall record, which featured a hot season start, after jumping out to a 7-0 mark, including the championship of the New Mexico State Tourney.  But after enduring a multi-game slump near the end of the season, the Panthers regrouped to place sixth in the OVC with a 6-14 mark, earning them a second consecutive appearance in the end-of-season six-squad league tournament.  At the tourney, EIU pushed both of their opponents, including the host JSU squad, to the limit before dropping both games on consecutive days.

However, 13 letterwinners return for Eastern this year, including the entire outfield, and a majority of the infield as seven position players are set to take on the competition, with the addition of six newcomers to assist the squad.

FOUR ALL-OVC HONOREES RETURN
Junior infielder/catcher Kiley Holtz, junior pitcher Amber May, and sophomore catcher Hailee Hanna, each picked up their first career All-OVC kudos last spring, as Holtz was named to the Second Team, and both May and Hannah were tabbed for All-Newcomer squad selections. In addition, two-time OVC All-Tournament award winner, Megan Nelson, returns for her final year in the Panther infield.

MENZIONE SET TO ADD TO HER HOMERUN TOTALS
Senior Denee' Menzione finished the 2009 campaign with eight homeruns, tying former EIU standout Sandyn Short's 2004 total. That gives her a career total of 19 bombs, just four short of tying Short's milestone of 23 homers. Last year, the outfielder also led all Panthers with 40 RBIs behind 47 hits, a .446 slug percentage, and 32 runs scored. Her four-bag numbers were a big reason the 2009 squad was able to set a new single-season homer tally with 27 smashes.

PANTHERS KEEP ON STREAKING
Carrying over from the 2009 season, senior infielder, Megan Nelson, rides a ten-game hitting streak, which is leads all Panthers, with junior first baseman Melinda Jackson in the midst of her own six-game streak.

DANCA AT HOME IN CENTER FIELD
The third senior of 2010, Angie Danca, returns after having played in center field in every game last season. In the hitting game, Danca registered two of the three triples delivered by a Panther in 2009.

MAY MAKES NICE OVC DEBUT LAST SEASON
Amber May, who transferred to EIU last season, had an impressive first season in the throwers' circle last year. She finished with 191 strikeouts behind 250 innings pitched and a 2.01 ERA, behind a 17-19 overall mark in 30 complete games. Not only was she named to the OVC All-Newcomer squad, she also earned two league 'Pitcher of the Week' honors and was named to the All-Tourney squad at the season-opening New Mexico State Invite last year.

FOUR RETURNING STARTERS PLAYED EVERY GAME IN 2009
Danca, Holtz, Menzione, Megan Nelson were the backbone of the EIU season last year as each player started every contest in 2009, as Danca batted in the second spot in all but one game last year, while Nelson opened the batting order 40 times, and Menzione hit cleanup in 37 contests. 

AROUND THE HORN WITH POTENTIAL EIU STARTERS
P … junior Amber May; freshmen Natalie Wunderlich & Hailie Ray
C ... sophomore Hailee Hanna
1B ... junior Melinda Jackson
2B ... freshman Ally Seplak
3B ... junior Kiley Holtz
SS ... senior Megan Nelson
LF ... freshman Melise Brown
CF ... senior Angie Danca
RF ... senior Denee' Menzione
DP ... sophomore Ashley Anderton

PANTHERS PICKED SIXTH
In the 2010 preseason predicted order of finish pool, EIU has been tabbed to repeat in the sixth spot, tying Eastern Kentucky, as voted on by league head coaches.  Jacksonville State, which won the regular-season last season yet needed an at-large berth to advance to the NCAA Super Regional for the first time in league history, has been picked to repeat as champion. UT Martin, who won the 2009 conference tourney to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAAs, is ranked a close second.

Complete preseason poll is as follows: 1. Jacksonville State (Six first-place votes) - 76; 2. UT Martin (Two first-place votes) - 65; t3. Southeast Missouri (One first-place vote) - 60; t3. Tennessee Tech - 60; 5. Morehead State (One first-place vote) - 58; t6. Eastern Illinois - 36; t6. Eastern Kentucky - 36; 8. Murray State - 23; 9. Tennessee State - 22; and 10. Austin Peay - 13.

MURRAY STATE FINALLY PICKS UP SOFTBALL
Starting this season, OVC member Murray State will field the program's first-ever softball squad, joining the rest of the league field, and will visit Charleston to take the Panthers' at their own home finale weekend.