RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - Coming off their fifth straight conference series win in a tough defensive battle against Oklahoma Baptist this past weekend, the Arkansas Tech softball team faces high-level competition as they host #4 Rogers State for an important mid-week non-conference doubleheader. First pitch for tomorrow's doubleheader against the Hillcats is slated for 3 p.m. at Chartwell's Womens Sports Complex. The second game of the afternoon will begin around 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first game.Â
SCOUTING THE HILLCATS
Entering Tuesday afternoon, the nationally ranked Hillcats are 26-2 and have a perfect 6-0 record among conference play in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. Rogers State is coming off a doubleheader sweep over conference opponent Missouri Southern this past Saturday. In the rest of their conference play so far, the Hillcats have picked up a pair of doubleheader sweeps against Northeastern State and Pittsburg State.
As a team, the Hillcats are hitting .306 so far this season (220-for-720) with 167 total runs scored, 54 doubles, nine triples and 21 homeruns. Coming into the doubleheader, the Hillcats have six players in their lineup with at least 45 at-bats hitting .320 or better and are led by Elexis Watson with a .375 average (24-for-64).
In terms of power numbers, the Hillcats have eight players who have hit at least one homerun on the year and are led by Watson who has blasted six. Behind Watson is Bridgett Morales, Chelsea Spain and Jaylan Gibson who have all hit three homers each on the season, while Abbey Rogers and Makayla Bowman have recorded two bombs on the year for Rogers State. Rounding out the list of homerun hitters for the Hillcats is Kimberli Presnell and Callie Yellin with both notching one on the year. The RBI leader for Rogers State is Gibson with 19, followed by Bowman who has 17. Closing out the list is Spain and Rogers, each with 16.
In the circle, the Hillcats have a team ERA of 1.92 and have struckout 190 hitters in 186.1 total innings.
Five total pitchers have made at least one appearance so far this season for the Hillcats. Andrea Morales is the leading starter for the team with 15 on the year, while M'Kayla Hillman has started 10 games in the circle. Morales has one save and is 15-1 with a 1.44 ERA and has struckout 128 batters in 97.1 innings. She has also held opposing bats to a .176 average at the plate this season. Hillman is 8-1 with a 2.09 ERA and has struckout 39 in 63.2 innings pitched. She leads the Hillcats in saves with two on the year.
TECH TIDBITS
The Golden Suns enter tomorrow's non-conference mid-week doubleheader against the Hillcats with a 20-13 overall record and an 11-6 record among Great American Conference opponents. Tech is coming off a hard fought defensive 2-1 series win against Oklahoma Baptist where they held the Bison scoreless in two games and allowed them to score just two total runs on the weekend as a whole. The Golden Suns are 10-4 in their last 14 games and have won five straight conference series against Southern Arkansas, Harding, Arkansas-Monticello, Southern Nazarene and Oklahoma Baptist.
Offensively, the Golden Suns are hitting .289 as a team (248-for-858) with 193 runs scored, 48 doubles, three triples and 43 homeruns. Entering tomorrow afternoon, the Golden Suns have four batters with at least 80 at-bats hitting .320 or better and are led by
Tymber Riley's .441 average (45-for-102).
Caitlyn Wells comes in right alongside Riley also hitting .441 on the season (41-for-93).
In terms of power numbers, the Golden Suns boast 12 players who have notched at least one homer on the year. Leading the charge in homeruns is Riley who has crushed nine so far this season. Wells follows right behind Riley with eight busted homers.Â
Makenzie Goins comes in behind the leading pair with seven blasted bombs and
Shelby Chavers has whacked six. Rounding out the list of homerun leaders for the Golden Suns is
Holly Crutchfield who has delivered five and
Savannah Snow who has two on the season. Leading Tech in RBI's at the moment is the pair of Riley and Goins who have both collected 32 on the year. Wells has managed to come up with 30, while Chavers, Crutchfield and
Brooke Prewitt have 15 RBI's each to close out the list.
In the circle, the Golden Suns have a 2.48 team ERA and have struckout 197 batters in 214.2 total innings.
Eight total pitchers have made at least one appearance in the circle for Arkansas Tech so far this season.
Shannon Lasey leads the team in starts with 14.
Bailey Buffington has 11 starts, while
Maddy Prough has started seven games. Lasey is 7-5 when starting in the circle and holds a 2.42 ERA. The sophomore pitcher has also recorded 60 strikeouts in 60.2 innings pitched and has held opposing bats to just a .196 average at the plate. Buffington is 7-4 with a 2.19 ERA, the highest among the Tech starters. The sophomore has collected 60 strikeouts in 64.0 innings of work and is holding opposing bats at the plate to just a .187 average. Prough is 5-4 with a 2.88 ERA and has struckout 41 in 48.2 innings. Like the other two starters, Prough holds hitters to a low average of .230 at the plate.
In relief,
Kaila Cartwright leads the Golden Suns with 17 total appearances, which incudes a start and boasts a 1.33 ERA. Cartwright has managed to log 29 strikeouts in 31.2 innings of work and is tied with Lasey for the most saves on the Golden Suns with two each. Prough accounts for the rest of the saves for Arkansas Tech with one on the year.
