RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - Hot off a split doubleheader against No. 3 Rogers State on Tuesday, the Arkansas Tech softball team looks ahead to this weekend as they prepare to travel to Arkadelphia to take on the Ouachita Baptist Tigers in a three-game weekend conference series. The opening game of the series will be played on Friday with first pitch set to go at 3 p.m. from Sully Anderson Field. This weekend's series will conclude with doubleheader action on Saturday with first pitch slated for noon.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Entering the weekend, Ouachita Baptist is 10-20 overall with a 6-11 record among conference opponents and are coming off a 2-1 home series win against Northwestern Oklahoma State. Against GAC opponents, the Tigers have picked up one other series win as they swept a doubleheader against Henderson State.
As a team, the Tigers are hitting .256 so far this season (199-for-777) with 110 runs scored, 27 doubles, four triples and six homeruns. Coming into the series, the Tigers have two hitters in their lineup with at least 50 at-bats hitting .300 or better and are led by Hope Waid with a .387 average (24-for-62).
In terms of power numbers, the Tigers have three players who have hit at least one homerun on the year and are led by Jillian Jones with three. Following Jones is Lacy Ornelas with two. Finally, closing out the list of homerun hitters for Ouachita is Reagann Harper with one. The RBI leaders for Ouachita Baptist on the season are Jones with 14, Callie Jourdan with 13 and the pair of Heather Brown and Jessalyn Ahrens with 12 each.
In the circle, the Tigers have a team ERA of 4.94 and have struckout 142 hitters in 197.0 total innings.
Four total pitchers have made at least one appearance on the season for the Tigers. Madison Miller is the leading starter for Ouachita Baptist with 14 starts, while Nikki Schneider has started 10 games in the circle. Miller is 6-7 with a 3.08 ERA and has dished out 71 strikeouts in 84.0 innings. She also has one save on the season for the Bison. Opponents are hitting .266 against Miller when she's in the circle this season. Schneider is 3-8 with a 6.34 ERA and has 40 strikeouts in 70.2 innings.
TECH TIDBITS
The Golden Suns enter this weekends three-game conference series against the Tigers at 21-14 overall with an 11-6 record among Great American Conference opponents. Tech is coming off a solid split mid-week doubleheader on Tuesday where they produced solid play and picked up the 2-1 extra-inning win in game two against one of the best teams in the country in No. 3 Rogers State. The Golden Suns are 7-3 in their last 10 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 .278 as a team this season (252-for-907) with 196Â runs scored, 48 doubles, three triples and 44Â homeruns. Entering the weekend, the Golden Suns have four batters with at least 80 at-bats hitting .300 or better and are led by
Tymber Riley's .435 average (47-for-108).
Caitlyn Wells also holds a solid average at the plate hitting .414 on the season (41-for-99).
In terms of power numbers, the Golden Suns boast 12 total players who have notched at least one homer on the year. Leading the charge in homeruns for Arkansas Tech is Riley who has launched 10 on the season.
Caitlyn Wells follows closely behind Riley with eight busted homers, while
Makenzie Goins has whacked seven and
Shelby Chavers has six. Rounding out the list of homerun leaders for the Golden Suns is
Holly Crutchfield with five and
Savannah Snow with two. Leading Tech in RBI's on the season is the pair of Goins and Riley who have collected 33 each. Closing out the list for the Golden Suns is Wells with 30 RBI's on the season.
In the circle, the Golden Suns have a 2.47 team ERA and have struckout 207 batters in 229.2 total innings.
Eight total pitchers have made at least one appearance inside the circle for Arkansas Tech so far this season.
Shannon Lasey leads the team in starts with 15.
Bailey Buffington has 12 starts, while
Maddy Prough has started seven games. Lasey is 7-5 when starting in the circle and holds a 2.36 ERA, the highest among the Tech starters. The sophomore pitcher has also recorded 63 strikeouts in 65.1 innings pitched and has held opposing bats to just a .192 average at the plate. Buffington is 7-5 with a 2.37 ERA and has collected the most strikeouts among the Golden Sun starters with 64 in 71.0 innings of work. She is also holding opposing bats at the plate to just a .199 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 18 total appearances, that includes a start and is 2-0 while boasting a 1.75 ERA. Cartwright has managed to log 32 strikeouts in 35.0 innings and is tied with Lasey as the leader in saves for the Golden Suns with two on the season. Prough accounts for the rest on the Golden Suns this season as she has picked up one save on the season.
