WEEKEND INFORMATION
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ARKANSAS TECH
GOLDEN SUNS
Record: 3-2 (0-0 GAC) |
TRUMAN STATE
BULLDOGS
2023 Record: 17-37 (7-17 GLVC) |
MISSOURI WESTERN
GRIFFONS
2023 Record: 37-20 (14-12 MIAA) |
Saturday, February 10 | 11 a.m.
Bentonville, Ark. (Field 8) | Bentonville, Ark.
Saturday, February 10 | 1:30 p.m.
Bentonville, Ark. (Field 6) | Bentonville, Ark.
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FIRST-PITCH
The Arkansas Tech softball team is ready to take their annual early-season trip to Bentonville in Northwest Arkansas where they will take part in the Alvy Early Memorial Classic.
Originally scheduled to play four games over the course of the weekend, the Golden Suns will now just play their two games on Saturday after Sunday's slate has been canceled due to expected high chances of rainfall.
With the slight adjustment, the Golden Suns' second weekend of the season will see them take on Truman State and Missouri Western on Saturday. Truman State's game is scheduled for an 11 a.m. start and will be played at Memorial Park #8. The Missouri Western game will take place shortly thereafter at Memorial Park #6 and has a scheduled first-pitch time of 1:30 p.m.
Both Truman State and Missouri Western are playing their first games of the season this weekend.
TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
The Golden Suns are coming off a successful opening weekend at the D2 First Pitch Invitational in Conroe, Texas. In their opening weekend, the Golden Suns went 3-2 and were competitive in all five games played. They opened everything with an impressive 10-2 win in five innings against Texas Woman's on Friday night. They followed that with a 7-2 win over Saint Martin's on Saturday and closed out the weekend on a high note with a 5-2 win against No. 17-ranked Wingate.
Through that opening weekend of play, the Golden Suns are hitting .286 as a team (38-for-133) with 31 runs scored, nine doubles, two triples and a home run.
Dani Lindsey currently leads the team in batting average at .600 (9-for-15). She also leads the team in runs scored (6), doubles (3), triples (2) and RBIs (6).
In the circle, the Golden Suns have a team ERA of 3.72 and have struck out 23 batters in 32.0 innings of work.
Bradi Basler,
Alexis Findley and
Aiden Dayberry made starts over Tech's opening weekend with
Jaycee McKee and
Ella Thornley appearing in relief.
Basler made the most starts with three and was the winning pitcher in all three, helping to vault her to GAC Pitcher of the Week honors. Across her three starts,
Basler posted a 2.21 ERA and struck out 17 in 19.0 innings of work.
Leading the Golden Suns is
Jordon Jones. In her second season as head coach of the Golden Suns,
Jones is looking to build off her first year in which Tech posted a 28-24 overall record and were 17-15 in the Great American Conference.
SCOUTING TRUMAN STATE
Truman State will be playing their first games of the season this weekend and will have played a pair of games prior to taking on Tech on Saturday. Last season, the Bulldogs went 17-37 overall and were 7-17 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). This season, the Bulldogs are picked to finish 11
th in the 14-team GLVC.
The Bulldogs will be leaning on the return experience of
Breianna Klein and
Cameryn Patterson.
Klein was a dual-threat last year with a .324 batting average with three home runs and 21 runs batted in while also pitching over 138 innings with 81 strikeouts and a 5.06 earned run average.
Patterson started 50 games last year and batted .292 and had the team lead in doubles with 11 with 26 runs batted in.
The Bulldogs are led by
Ron Ferrill, who in his second season as head coach at Truman State and his 15
th overall. With previous head coaching stints at Robert Morris (Ill.) and St. Ambrose,
Ferrill has a career record of 399-293-1.
SCOUTING MISSOURI WESTERN
Missouri Western will also be playing their first games of the season this weekend and will have played nationally-ranked UT Tyler before playing Tech on Saturday afternoon. The Griffons went 37-20 overall and were 14-12 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) during the regular season. Ahead of this season, Missouri Western is picked to finish fifth in the MIAA according to the league's preseason coaches poll.
The Griffons have a good amount of experience returning both in their lineup and in the circle. Offensively, the Griffons have eight players returning who had at least 100 at-bats last season.
Mackenzie DeVine had the highest batting average among returners at .353 (55-for-156).
DeVine is also the top power hitter returning as she hit eight doubles, three triples, nine home runs and drove in 39.
In the circle, the Griffons have two of their three pitchers back from last season.
Harley Pruetting is the returning starter having started 24 games last season. Overall,
Pruetting would also appear in eight more games in relief and posted a 17-11 overall record with four shutouts. She also had a 2.14 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 150.2 innings of work.
Natalie Kissinger is the other returning pitcher and was used predominantly in relief as she made 22 total appearances with 18 coming in relief. In her time in the circle,
Kissinger went 2-3 with 26 strikeouts in 43.2 innings while posting a 3.85 ERA.
The Griffons are led by
Joe Yegge, who in his third season as head coach at Missouri Western. In his time at MWSU,
Yegge is 67-42.
