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Weekend Series Stats (PDF)

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Eastern Illinois softball used timely hitting and outstanding pitching to earn an Ohio Valley Conference sweep at Morehead State on Saturday afternoon.  Panthers improve to 10-10 overall with wins of 5-0 and 3-1 to move to 2-3 in league play.

Junior outfielder Melise Brown led all Panthers with a 4-for-7 day at the plate for a .571 bat mark, which included nailing her team-leading sixth double of the season.  She also touched home once and secured two stolen bases.

Pitching-wise, sophomore Stephanie Maday had a fine outing earning a pair of victories in the circle behind ten innings of work where she retired 14 total batters via strikes.

Maday earned her eighth career shutout as she earned a pair of key strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh to help preserve the first game win as the Eagles threatened with a one-out bases-loaded situation.

Senior Hayley Pieper hit .375 in the doubleheader, which featured her second career triple that eventually led to a run.

Sophomore Reynae Hutchinson blasted a homerun and secured a two-RBI day, while freshman Bailey O'Dell also had a pair of RBI shots on Saturday thanks to a triple and double.

Morgan Biel and Ashley Anderton also accounted for an RBI as eight different Panthers earned at least one hit in the twinbill sweep.

Team-wise, both teams were pretty even in leaving runners on base, with the Panthers stranding 17 while Morehead State (7-13/1-4) had 16 base runners fail to score.  EIU led the Eagles in hitting (.288 to .184), total hits (15 to nine), total bases (24 to 11), and stolen bases (four to one).  Yet EIU did finish with a three to two advantage in errors in the second game.

The Panthers got on the board right off the bat in the first contest as O'Dell's triple led to Hutchinson earning a one-out sac fly RBI.

EIU then added four more scores in the sixth frame as Hutchinson drilled a solo shot over the leftfield fence.  Pieper then scampered home on the squeeze play after nailing her own triple. Then with bases loaded, O'Dell ripped a two-RBI double off the left center fence.

Maday had a stellar first game performance, striking out 10 MSU batters which was two shy of her career high.  In addition she threw zero walks while fanning six hits.

Brown and Pruett both secured stolen bases in the opening victory, while defensively neither squad committed an error.

Meanwhile, after four scoreless innings by both squads, the host Eagles got on the board first in the second game nightcap off an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth.

But the Panthers immediately countered in their half of the sixth as Owens scampered home to score off a Morehead State miscue.  Biel would follow up with a one-out an RBI single to bring home Wood.

Eastern would earn a security run in the top of the seventh as Pieper reached on an Eagle throwing error to plate Brown.

Maday came in to replace starter Hanna Mennenga in the fourth and added four additional strikeouts, while she allowed one hit and three walks.

Carly Willert added an EIU stolen base and sac bunt in the second game, while Ashleigh Westover was also key in advancing runners with two sac bunts of her own.

The Panthers and Eagles will finish up the three-game series with a noon single game on Sunday (March 18).  Yet no matter the result, EIU has already earned the regular-season series over Morehead State with the Saturday sweep.

… for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID