Georgia State Info  |  Live Stats

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Eastern Illinois softball has added a Thursday (March 7) doubleheader at Georgia State to the spring schedule after canceling last weekend's play at the Marshall Invite.

First pitch is set for 2 p.m. in Atlanta, Georgia, as the Panthers will continue to head south for the upcomiong Florida Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla.

The Panthers of Georgia State, meanwhile, enter the games at 12-8 overall, while sporting an even 4-4 record at home.

Live stats are available via the GSU website (link above).

PANTHER NOTES
• Through four full weeks of action, the Panthers currently to sport the OVC's top team ERA at 3.12.

• Senior outfielder Melise Brown's three triples on the season not only paces all Panthers but also leads the league… she also has team-high tallies in total bases (13) and stolen bases (3-for-4)… plus she has reached safely in all eight games thus far this season.

• Sophomore Hannah Cole ties Brown with seven hits, while sporting the top Panther batting average at .333 behind three doubles and a team-best five RBI.

• Junior Hanna Mennenga ranks third in the OVC with a 1.44 ERA, while also sitting in fifth place for opponent batting average (.200), strikeouts (36) and total wins (3).

• Classmate Stephanie Maday also has a pair of Top 10 OVC ranks, including tying for second in shutouts (1) and ninth in ERA (3.24).

• The Panthers are a perfect 4-0 on the season when scoring first, yet have lost all four games when the opposition plates an early run.

MENNENGA NAMED OVC 'PITCHER OF THE WEEK'
Junior Hannah Mennenga earned her first career Ohio Valley Conference 'Pitcher of the Week' honor last Monday (Feb. 25) following her fine play at the Louisville Cardinal Classic on Feb. 23-24.

The Gifford, Ill., native went 2-1 on the weekend to help Eastern Illinois earn runner-up honors at the Classic as she recorded 24 strikeouts, including fanning a career-high 14 in the first win over Buffalo as she came one pitch shy of her first EIU career no-hitter.

She limited the weekend opposition to a .157 batting average and three earned runs.  In her second win against Buffalo, she retired six of the eight Bull batters she faced in just over two innings of work.

SCHUETTE IN HER EIGHTH SEASON AT EIU
Head coach Kim Schuette enters his eighth season as skipper of the Panther softball.  The 2011 OVC 'Coach of the Year' owns a 200-181-1 all-time EIU mark (2006-present), while sporting a 224-209-1 all-time head coaching record which includes a season at DII Quincy in 2005.

PANTHERS PICKED TO FINISH SECOND IN OVC WEST DIVISION
The 2013 edition of EIU softball has been projected to finish second in the West Division of the Ohio Valley Conference, as voted on by the league head coaches and SIDs and announced by OVC office this past January.

The Panthers earned six first-place votes and 111 total points in the preseason ballot to sit just behind defending OVC champ UT Martin.  Out of the 12 total teams, EIU has been selected as the third best squad this coming season.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
The Panthers will next prepare for a busy eight-game schedule at the four-day Florida Rebel Spring Games down in Kissimmee on March 10-13 during the spring break.

EIU will play Lehigh twice, Creighton, Robert Morris (Penn.), Fairleigh Dickinson, Saint Peter's, Army, and North Dakota.

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