MONDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 8, Lehigh 2
Robert Morris 1,
Eastern Illinois 0
EASTERN ILLINOIS 8, LEHIGH 2; ROBERT MORRIS 1, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Eastern Illinois softball split second day action at the Florida Rebel Spring Games on Monday (March 11), as the Panthers downed Lehigh, 8-2, before dropping a tough contest to Robert Morris, 1-0.
At the halfway point of the four-day spring break trip, EIU moves to an even 7-7 on the early spring season.
Sophomore Hannah Cole paced all Panthers with a 4-for-7 Monday performance, behind 10 total bases, five RBI and an impressive 1.429 slug %.
Senior Melise Brown and junior Reynae Hutchinson followed with .500 batting averages.
Junior thrower Hanna Mennenga followed her fine Sunday action, which included her first career no-hitter, by going 1-1 on Monday. She earned the first game win over Lehigh, before being tagged for the loss to Robert Morris in just one inning of work.
For the day, Mennenga would limit the opposing bats to a very low .087 batting average and only one earned run behind 15 total strikeouts to now own a 5-2 overall mark in the circle.
In the first game rout of Lehigh, Cole finished with a nearly perfect 3-for-4 day at the plate, which included an RBI single in the first and consecutive two-run bombs in both the third and sixth frames.
Brown also earned a 3-for-4 performance in the game as she paced the Panthers by scoring three times while also ripping a double and earned a pair of stolen bases.
Sophomore Bailey O'Dell and Hutchinson both connected on respective two and one run singles to account for the other three RBIs. Junior Kayla Pruett and newcomer Janette Isaac each collected a stolen base.
Mennenga earned the first game win in the circle coming one strikeout shy of tying her previous career high of 14 set earlier this spring, as she fanned 13 Hawks and walked just two. She allowed just one earned run off a Lehigh solo home run.
The Panthers out-hit Lehigh, 10-1, in the contest and finished with seven stranded runners as compared to five for the Hawks.
The second game of the day turned into a serious pitching duel, as the Panthers and Colonials of Robert Morris would combine for 28 strikeouts.
Neither team was able to score a run until the top of the seventh as an RMU bloop shot to right field plated a Colonial runner from third base, who had advanced earlier due to a Panther miscue.
Junior Stephanie Maday pitched six excellent innings in the nightcap, punching out 12 RMU batters. Although she surrendered six hits, she was able to get out of a couple of sticky situations, including throwing consecutive Ks to leave RMU with a bases loaded in the top of the fourth, as well as stranding two runners twice.
RMU would end up leaving 10 total runners on base, compared to four for the Panthers.
Junior Carly Willert, Cole and Hutchinson all earned base hits in the loss for Eastern.