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CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Junior thrower Amber May followed up her impressive Saturday play by earning her third straight win in the circle as the Eastern Illinois softball squad captured a crucial three-game Ohio Valley Conference weekend sweep of visiting Tennessee Tech in a 6-3 win on Sunday.

Having now won seven straight, the Panthers improve to 13-11 on the year and a perfect 5-0 mark in the OVC.  TTU, meanwhile, fell to 12-18 overall and 2-3 in conference.

Despite the threat of heavy rain for most of the day, the game was only delayed 15 minutes as the Panther ground crew did a superb job of getting Williams Field ready for the game.

“Our coaches and grounds crew worked really hard, and many hours, to be able to play today and our players, I know, sure appreciate it,” said fifth year head coach Kim Schuette.

The 5-0 start to the OVC slate is a new best start for a Schuette coached EIU squad.  The top league start by a Panther unit came back in 2000 via a 10-0 run in the league. The Panthers have now won five straight over the Golden Eagles, which includes a two-game series sweep on the road last year.

“We had some good team effort all weekend,” Schuette said. “It wasn't one player, it wasn't one offensive or defensive player, so that's good.”

"We had patience at the plate today,” said Schuette. “It was tough for both pitchers to throw strikes in the first three innings, so it was good for our offense to sit back and wait. So the walks were important. Plus our base runners never gave up and just ran the ball out, which was especially important on a day like today when anything can happen.”

Amber May finished with a six strike-out game in the circle, and was able to get the Panthers out of a couple of crucial situations as she stranded eight Tech runners despite having thrown for most of the weekend and allowed the first TTU run off a walk on Sunday.

“Amber is a good pitcher and my job is to make sure she stays a good pitcher and not worry about a missed strike, maybe,” said Schuette. “She threw some balls and the walk that brought in the run was a questionable ball or strike, but she is too good of a player to let something like that control her. So she realized that and had a nice weekend.” 

The TTU batters knocked a large number of foul balls off of May in the game, which resulted in numerous lengthy battles at the plate.

“It is really tough to beat a team three times in the conference,” Schuette continued, “especially for one pitcher to throw nearly three full games, and let alone to beat a good team like Tech.  To win the second day game three is all about putting the ball into play which was obviously Tech's game plan,” Schuette said. “They hit a million foul balls to Coleman (Hall, across the street from Williams Field), but those are strikes for Amber and as long as she keeps mixing it up, she does a nice job.”

The right handed thrower finished the weekend by notching single game pitch numbers in the triple-digits, which could have precipitated a pitcher changes. But coach Schuette says, “you have to go with your horse when the game is on the line. I know Natalie (Wunderlich) would have been fine, but Amber has had a great weekend, so at that point you have to give her a shot.”

Senior outfielder Angie Danca led the Panthers on day two behind her 2-for-4 plate appearance, Danca's fellow outfielder, Jen Saucier, earned two RBIs, while senior shortstop Megan Nelson accounted for the other RBI, as six different players touched home plate in the win.

TTU got on board first in the opening frame as May brought home a Golden Eagle runner off a two-out bases-loaded walk. However the Panther defensive backed her up by getting the next out.

The Panthers got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second, scoring three runs off zero hits, as EIU had their own bases-loaded situation with one out. Eastern then took advantage of a TTU miscue, as Saucier's fielders' choice scored both Andi Morgan and Nelson due to a throwing error by the Tech third baseman as she attempted to throw out the lead Panther runner at home.

Eastern added another run off a fielders' choice by freshman Ally Seplak which plated Wood.

The home squad then added one more run in the their half of the third as Nelson notched her one-run RBI scoring Jackson, who got on base via a single and moved to second thanks to a wild pitch by the Tech pitcher.

Tech would counter with two runs of their own in the fourth, coming within one point of EIU as the Golden Eagle second baseman got on base due to a rare outfield error by the Panthers, which scored two TTU baserunners.

The Panthers added insurance runs in the sixth as Denee' Menzione earned a walk and then Danca would connect for a double. Melinda Jackson nailed a high shot to the right field where the TTU defender started to bobble the catch in fair territory before dropping it for the second error by the Golden Eagles in the game. That miscue would plate Danca and Menzione.

In the weekend series, Melise Brown led all hitters with a 3-for-6 job at the plate, which included her second career double. Kiley Holtz went 3-for-7 and walked three times, followed by a 4-for-10 performance from Angie Danca, as she also nailed her second double of the year and picked up the lone EIU stolen base. That moves her season base theft mark to four-of-five.

Megan Nelson finished with three hits over the weekend and both Jackson and Saucier connected on two hits, with Saucier earning two RBIs.

In the circle, May's weekend strikeout total of 20 came in 18.1 innings of work, while freshman Natalie Wunderlich pitched for 2.2 frames.

The Panthers out-hit (.275 to .187 via a 19-14 hit tally), out-ran (11-5 run advantage), and turned two double plays to just one for TTU.

Eastern will now take to the road in conference action facing nearby rival Southeast Missouri in a doubleheader this coming Wednesday afternoon, followed by a three-game series at Morehead State on Friday-Saturday.

… for more info, contact Bart Rettberg