SERIES INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH GOLDEN SUNS 25-17 (14-9 GAC)	EAST CENTRAL TIGERS 18-20 (11-13 GAC)
Friday, April 14 | 4 p.m. Chartwells Women's Sports Complex | Russellville, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO Saturday, April 15 | Noon | DH Chartwells Women's Sports Complex | Russellville, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech softball team will play their final regular season home GAC series this weekend as they host East Central for a three game showdown. This upcoming weekend will also mark senior weekend for the Golden Suns. Series action is set to being on Friday with first pitch set for 4 p.m. from the Chartwells Complex for the single game. Then, the weekend series will wrap on Saturday with doubleheader action with a first pitch time of noon on Saturday.

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Tech Tidbits
The Golden Suns enter this weekends Great American Conference series with a 25-17 overall record and a 14-9 record against GAC opponents. 

Last season, the Golden Suns opened their GAC slate against the Tigers and lost the season series on the road to East Central 1-2. That series was the only GAC series the Golden Suns dropped all season. 

Offensively, the Golden Suns are hitting .267 at the plate this season as a team (289-for-1081) with 177 runs scored, 48 doubles, 11 triples and 20 total homeruns. Entering the weekend conference series, the Golden Suns own two players hitting .300 or better on the year with at least 100 at-bats. Leading the Golden Suns at the plate is Makenzie Goins who owns the team best .320 batting average (40-for-125). Following right behind Goins is Jessica Williams who is averaging .308 at the plate this season (33-for-107).

In terms of power numbers, the Golden Suns boast five total players who have notched at least one total homerun on the 2023 season so far. Leading the charge in homeruns this season for the Golden Suns is Makenzie Addis with eight long bombs. Behind Addis in total homeruns on the season is Goins with five, while Brooke Prewitt and Williams have three homers each. Rounding out the list of homerun hitters for Tech is Shelby Chavers who has hit one. Leading the team in RBI's is Addis with 35. Goins is next with 18, while both Williams and Prewitt have 17 and Chavers has 14. 

In the circle, the Golden Suns have a team ERA of 2.73 and have struckout 170 hitters in 276.2 total innings pitched.

Four total pitchers have made at least once appearance in the circle so far this season for Arkansas Tech. Bailey Buffington leads the team in starts with 24, while Bradi Basler has 16 starts on the year. 

Buffington is 14-7 in the circle this year with a team best 1.78 ERA. She has pitched 13 complete games so far this year and has eight total shutouts. Six of the shutouts were by herself, while two have been through a combined effort. The senior has recorded a team-high 78 strikeouts in 129.2 innings of work and currently holds opposing batters to a .250 average at the plate.

Basler is 8-7 in the circle this season with a 3.96 ERA. She has pitched seven complete games with two shutouts and has 61 strikeouts in 88.1 innings of work. 

In relief, Kaila Cartwright leads the Golden Suns with 21 total appearances, that includes one start, and Lexy Taylor has made five total appearances with one start. 

Cartwright was apart of both combined shutout efforts alongside Buffington and also helped to throw a combined no hitter in one of those games as well. The senior has struckout 27 total batters in 48.2 total innings pitched and has a 2.73 ERA on the season thus far as well as one save on the year.

Taylor has posted a 4.20 ERA so far this season and has struckout four opposing hitters in 10.0 innings of work. 

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Scouting the Tigers
Entering this weekends GAC series, the Tigers own an 18-20 overall record and currently have an 11-13 record against GAC opponents.

ECU has picked up GAC series wins against Southern Nazarene, Southwestern Oklahoma State, Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State so far this season. 

Statistically this season, the Tigers are hitting .274 overall at the plate as a team (266-for-972) with 155 runs scored, 52 doubles, three triples and 17 homeruns. Coming into the weekend, the Tigers have four players averaging .300 or better at the plate on at least 90 at-bats. Leading the hitters is Gabi Quintanilla with a .343 batting average (37-for-108). Behind Quintanilla is Megan Lesko with a .339 average at the plate this season (39-for-115). 

In terms of power hitters, Lesko leads the team in homeruns with four on the season. Behind Lesko is the pair of Quintanilla and Rachelle Mengwasser with three homers each. Closing out the list of homerun hitters for East Central is Jayna Reid, Miranda Garza, Zoe Acosta, Cara Duncan, Rikki Hadley, Kaleigh Ham and Cheyenne Adair all with one on the season. In terms of RBI's, Lesko also leads the Tigers with 26, while Quintanilla follows behind with 21 RBI's. 

In the circle, the Tigers have a team ERA of 3.32 and have 180 strikeouts in 246.1 total innings. 

Five total pitchers have made at least one appearance in the circle this season for East Central. Taryn O'Brien leads the team in starts with 14, while Taia Harris has started 13 games in the circle. O'Brien is 7-8 on the year with a 3.36 ERA and has 41 strikeouts in 73.0 innings pitched. She has also thrown five complete games on the year for the Tigers. Harris is 3-4 with a 2.76 ERA and has recorded a team-high 78 strikeouts in 73.2 innings. In terms of complete games, Harris has thrown five alongside two shutouts and three saves.

In relief, Lauren HerrNeckar has 15 total appearances on one start. She is 2-3 on the year with a 2.23 ERA and has struckout 21 hitters in 31.1 total innings. Opposing bats are hitting .256 when HerrNeckar is in the circle.