CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Kentucky’s softball team could finish the season in second place in the Ohio Valley Conference and receive a first round bye in next week’s six-team league tournament, or the Colonels could finish third, fourth, or fifth. This weekend’s season-ending series at Eastern Illinois will answer many of the questions that remain entering the final weekend of the 2008 regular season campaign.

The Colonels and the Panthers will play a doubleheader in Charleston, Ill., on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. ET. The two teams will conclude the series with a single game on Sunday, starting at 1 p.m.

Eastern Kentucky is 26-19 overall and 15-9 against OVC teams. Eastern Illinois, 19-22 overall, is currently in third place with an 11-7 conference mark. The Colonels control their own destiny. Three wins will guarantee the team a No. 2 seed in next week’s OVC tournament, anything less and EKU will need help. Jacksonville State (32-14, 19-4 OVC) has already clinched the regular season crown and will host the conference tournament beginning on Thursday.

Morehead State and Tennessee-Martin are currently in fourth and fifth place, but both teams can improve their standing. Morehead State can still finish as high as second.

EKU is coming off a non-conference loss at home to Louisville on Wednesday. EIU took two out of three from Morehead State last weekend. The Panthers are 4-3 in their last seven conference games.

The Colonels carried a six-game conference winning streak into their last OVC series, last weekend at Tennessee Tech. Eastern won the first game to extend the winning streak to seven, but Tech won the final two in the series.

Eight of EKU’s nine everyday-players are hitting .293 or higher and as a team Eastern carries a conference-leading .313 batting average. Sophomore Shyenne Hussey leads the squad with a .367 batting average, six home runs and 42 RBIs. At .346, freshman Amber Lenz has the second highest batting average on the team to go along with 31 runs scored.

As a team, Eastern Kentucky leads the nation in double plays turned with 0.59 per game.