RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - Coming off a solid 2-1 away series win over Arkansas-Monticello, the Arkansas Tech softball team stays on the road as they cross over the state line to take on Southern Nazarene in a three-game conference series clash. A single game will start the series off against the Crimson Storm on Friday with first pitch set to go at 3 p.m. that afternoon. The series will wrap up on Saturday with doubleheader action as first pitch is set to go for noon for the first game, while the final game of the weekend will directly follow.
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON STORM
The Crimson Storm enter this weekend riding a 5 game win-streak at a 9-15 overall record, with a 6-4 record among conference opponents and are coming off a 3-0 sweep at home over Southwestern Oklahoma State. Among conference teams, Southern Nazarene has played Henderson State and Southeastern in a weekend series and lost both 1-2. The Crimson Storm have also faced Oklahoma Baptist in a single mid-week game where they picked up a 1-0 win.
As a team, the Crimson Storm are hitting .275 so far this season (180-for-654) with 94 runs scored, 38 doubles, two triples and 15 homeruns. Entering the series, the Crimson Storm have four players in the lineup hitting .300 or better and are led by Liana Heshiki with a .408 average (31-for-76).
In terms of power numbers, the Crimson Storm have eight players who have hit at least one homerun on the season and are led by Caitlyn Curlee with four. Following Curlee is Hallie Fellers with three, while Heshiki and Anna Icenhower have each hit two homers. Natalie Jones, Emma Swearingen, Hannah Morales and Brooklyn Sullivan round out the list of homerun hitters for Southern Nazarene with one each. Fellers and Curlee lead the team in RBI's with 15 each and Jones sits right behind them with 14 on the season.
In the circle, the Crimson Storm have a 4.69 team ERA and have struckout 115 in 161.1 total innings.
Six total pitchers have made an appearance so far this season for the Crimson Storm. Jennifer Romero-Ivarson leads in starts with 15, while Chelsea Vandiver has seven. Romero-Ivarson is 6-7 with a team-high 3.94 ERA and has 71 strikeouts in 81.2 innings pitched. Vandiver is 0-7 with a 4.93 ERA and has 24 strikeouts in 49.2 innings.
TECH TIDBITS
The Golden Suns enter this weekends conference series with a 16-11 overall record and sit at 7-4 in games against Great American Conference opponents. Tech is coming off a strong 2-1 series win on the road at Arkansas-Monticello and are 6-2 in their last eight games. Against conference opponents, the Golden Suns have picked up series wins against Arkansas-Monticello, Southern Arkansas and a doubleheader sweep over Harding, while dropping their only conference series loss 1-2 against East Central on the road.
Offensively, the Golden Suns are hitting .280 as a team this season (196-for-701) with 147 runs scored, 39 doubles, three triples and 36 homeruns. Entering the weekend, the Golden Suns have three batters with at least 70 at-bats hitting .300 or better and are led by
Tymber Riley's .430 average (37-for-86).
Caitlyn Wells also holds a solid average hitting .417 on the season (35-for-84).
In terms of power numbers, the Golden Suns boast 12 players who have notched at least one homer on the season. Leading the charge in homeruns is Riley and Wells both with seven on the season.
Makenzie Goins and
Holly Crutchfield follow with five bombs, while
Shelby Chavers and
Savannah Snow have crushed 4 and 2, respectively to close out the leaders in homeruns. Leading Tech in RBI's on the season is Wells who has collected 26, while Riley comes in right behind her at 25. Goins rounds out the list of RBI leaders with 22 on the season.
In the circle, the Golden Suns have a 2.59 team ERA and have struckout 158 hitters in 176.0 innings.
Eight total pitchers have at least one appearance within the circle so far this season for Tech.
Bailey Buffington has nine starts, while
Maddy Prough has seven.
Shannon Lasey leads the team in starts with 11. Buffington is 5-4 with a 2.26 ERA and has struckout 45 in 49.2 total innings. Prough is 5-3 with a 2.89 ERA and has recorded 39 strikeouts in 46.0 innings. Lasey is 6-4 with a 2.51 ERA and has struckout 44 batters in 47.1 innings of work. Against East Central, Lasey threw the sixth perfect game in Golden Sun program history.
In relief,
Kaila Cartwright leads the Golden Suns with 15 total appearances and boasts a 1.75 ERA. Cartwright has managed to collect 23 strikeouts in 24.0 relief innings and leads the Golden Suns this season in saves with two. Accounting for the rest of the saves for the Golden Suns this season is Lasey and Prough who have each picked up one save.
Â
