YOUNGSVILLE, La. – Eastern Illinois softball opened the 2024 season with a pair of strong pitching performances and solid pitching in the circle winning both games on Friday at the Mardi Gras Mambo.
EIU beat UT Arlington 1-0 in the opener before an early evening 6-1 win over Green Bay as EIU is off to a 2-0 start to the season.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 1, UT ARLINGTON 0
Eastern Illinois manufactured the only run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning and
Olivia Price had solid defense behind her as the Panthers beat UT Arlington, 1-0, in the season opener for EIU.
With the game scoreless in the sixth,
Kendall Grover reached on an error.  She moved around to third on a hit by
Avary Makarewicz with one out in the inning.Â
Marama Makea pinch ran for Makarewicz and was thrown out at second on a double steal attempt which allowed Grover to score from third.
Defensively the Panthers played well behind Price as she tossed a complete game shutout allowing five hits. UTA threatened in the first and fourth innings placing a runner at third with two outs, but on both occasions the Panthers worked out of the jam.
The Mavericks biggest scoring threat was in the fifth when Nikki Donahue doubled to lead off the inning. She advanced to third with one out in the inning before being thrown out at the plate on EIU's biggest defensive play of the game. Shortstop
Briana Gonzalez threw out Donahue who was one of three UTA players with doubles in the game.
EIU had three hits in the game coming off the bats of Makarewicz, Gonzalez and
Rachel Kaufman. Kaufman had a double for the Panthers lone extra base hit.
EIU is 1-0 on the season.  UTA fell to 0-2 after losing on Thursday night to nationally ranked Tennessee. Jessica Adams (0-2) took the loss for UTA in relief. Price (1-0) picked up the win.
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EASTERN ILLINOIS 6, GREEN BAY 1
Eastern Illinois had another strong pitching performance in the circle and woke up the bats early during a 6-1 win over Green Bay in their second game of the day.
EIU jumped on the board in the bottom of the first with
Kendall Grover reaching on a single and stealing second. Grover came around to score on a
Jadin Justman sacrifice fly. It would be the first of two times Grover and Justman produced a run with a hit, stolen base and sacrifice fly in the game as the effort was repeated in the fourth putting EIU 5-0 at the time.
The Panthers expanded the lead in the bottom of the second with three runs as Green Bay starter Martha Miller (0-1) suffered the loss. EIU's starting pitcher
McKenzie Oslanzi helped her own cause with an RBI double followed later in the inning by an RBI double by
Sophie Cerveny and bases loaded walk drawn by
Rachel Kaufman.
Oslanzi (1-0) was solid in the circle in her first collegiate start as the freshman went six innings allowing one run on three hits with ten strikeouts.  Kaufman closed out the game in the circle with a scoreless seventh.
Green Bay scored its lone run in the sixth as Samantha Saloun had a two-out RBI single. Paige Hanson was the lone Phoenix player with multiple hits going 2-for-3.
Grover, Kaufman and Avery Makarewicz all had two hits to lead EIU. Makarewicz drove in the final EIU run in the fifth with an RBI triple.
EIU is now 2-0. Green Bay fell to 0-3.
