Panther Slap Hits
The Panthers open the 2020 regular season at the Samford Tournament hosted by Samford University. EIU will play two games on Friday, two on Saturday, and one on Sunday. Following the Samford Tournament, the Panthers will return home to prep for the Try University Tournament in Troy, Ala. starting Friday Feb. 15.

EIU softball returns 2019 OVC Second-Team selections Haley Mitchell and Megan Burton for the 2020 season. In addition to these two, 15 other players return for EIU. 

Five players joined the 2020 squad in the off season. Taylor Florea, McKinlee Miller, Amber Cieplinski, Andrea Sampson, and Zoey Clark.

EIU finished 5-16 in the OVC last year and 13-39 overall. Under the new direction of first year head coach Tara Archibald the Panthers look to improve from last year.


The Weekend Batting Order
Fri., February 7 • Akron
10 am • Birmingham, Ala.
Live Stats: Click Here
Series Record: EIU leads 5-3
Last Meeting: Mar 16, 2011 - W, 3-0
 
Fri., February 7 • Samford
 3 pm • Birmingham, Ala.
Live Stats: Click Here
Series Record: EIU leads 6-3
Last Meeting: Feb 16, 2019 - L, 4-7
 
Sat., February 8 • Winthrop
12:30 pm • Birmingham, Ala.
Live Stats: Click Here
Series Record: EIU leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Mar 10, 2018 - W, 3-1
 
Sat., February 8 • Samford
12 pm • Birmingham, Ala.
Live Stats: Click Here
Series Record: EIU leads 6-3
Last Meeting: Feb 16, 2019 - L, 4-7
 
Sun., February 9 • Winthrop
12:30 pm • Birmingham, Ala.
Live Stats: Click Here
Series Record: EIU leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Mar 10, 2018 - W, 3-1

Scouting the Field
• Akron finished 13-31 overall last year and 3-18 in the MAC. The Panthers lead the over-all series 5-3 with the first meeting going back to 1981. The last time EIU has played Akron was back in 2011.
 
•Samford ended the 2019 season with a 23-31 over-all record and 11-6 in the Southern Conference. Samford is predicted to finish fifth this year in the SoCon. The last time EIU played Samford was last year and lost 4-7. The Panthers lead the series 6-3
 
•Winthrop ended the 2019 season 30-25 over-all and 14-10 in the Big South Conference. The Panthers lead the series 2-0 and the last time they played EIU came away with the win. Winthrop is ranked fourth going into the 2020 season in the Big South Conference.