Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern softball program is back home this weekend as they will host Nebraska-Kearney tomorrow and Fort Hays State on Saturday.
Southern begins with Nebraska-Kearney tomorrow at 3:00 and 5:00pm approximately and will serve as the Pink Game as well, on Saturday the Lions will face off with Fort Hays at 1:00 and 3:00pm approximately to close the weekend. All games will be played at the Pat Lipira Softball Complex and will feature live stats and a stream as well.
The Lions (16-15, 4-4 MIAA) as a team are second in Division II for triples hit so far with 21 and is third in triples per game at 0.68, 11th in double plays turned with 14 and is 21st in double plays turned per game at 0.45. Among MIAA ranks the Lions are ranked fifth or better in twelve different categories.
Individually the Lions are led by
Yazmin Vargas with a .367 batting average with 33 hits, 29 runs scored while swiping 14 bases so far.
Ashlynn Williams is hitting .360 with 32 hits with seven doubles, four triples and three home runs while having a team-high 30 RBIs and 167 putouts.
Josie Tofpi is hitting .354 with five triples and two home runs while having 18 RBIs and has a team-high 59 assists.
Kara Amos is batting .344 with 31 hits, 13 of which have been doubles to lead the team. Leigthon Withers rounds out the above .300 batting average with a .337 average with a eight doubles and a team-high four home runs while having 26 RBIs.
Kristen Wade (.268) and
Adrianna Young (.253) have played in each game with Wade providing eight RBIs and 39 assists this season and Young scoring 16 times with three triples and has 16 RBIs while swiping six bases.
In the circle for Southern
Bailey Lacy has a 2.89 ERA in 19 appearances with 80 innings of work while striking out a team-high 69 and opposing batters hit .286.
Kara Amos has a 3.08 ERA in 86.1 innings with 57 strikeouts and limits opposing batters to a .262 average.
Avery Tallman has appeared in 13 games this season with 30.2 innings of work with 19 strikeouts and issued out only three walks.
Nebraska-Kearney (16-12, 6-0 MIAA) was picked to finish 12th in the MIAA coaches preseason poll and has been the surprise of the early portion of MIAA play. The Lopers are coming into the matchup on an 11 game winning streak having last lost on March 5thagainst Evangel in the Drury Softball Classic.
Leading the charge individually is Carlee Liesch with a .407 batting average with 35 hits and has a team-high five steals, Sydney Thomason is hitting .371 with 36 hits along with four home runs and a team-high 27 RBIs and has provided 40 assists. Hailey Schaneman has a .347 batting average with 25 hits with four home runs and has 20 RBIs as well while having a .448 on base percentage. Katie Gosker is batting .303 with seven home runs to lead the team but has struck out 26 times and leads the team with 127 putouts.
In the circle for UNK, Kelsey Goodban should figure to get a start and this season is 8-4 with a 2.45 ERA in 65.2 innings with 74 strikeouts and limits opposing batters to a .239 average. Madison Rosenthal should also get a start as well and is 3-5 with a 4.58 ERA in 16 games with 44.1 innings of work with 36 strikeouts and has issued 24 walks while opposing batters are hitting .286.Stacy Bott has been a reliable option from the bullpen this season with a 3.12 ERA in 16 games with 33.2 innings of work while allowing opposing batters to a .217 batting average.
Fort Hays State (14-17-1, 0-4 MIAA) was picked to finish eighth in the MIAA coaches preseason poll and is coming off the programs first ever tie in their last game against Northwestern Oklahoma on Tuesday in Alva.
The Tigers are lead individually by Sarah Tiffany with a .367 batting average with 29 hits with seven being doubles, Loren Beggs is hitting .326 with 28 hits and 17 runs scored while picking up 17 RBIs. Lindsey Kelly is hitting .321 with 25 hits, scoring 18 runs and has swiped 14 bases this season. Jessica Espinoza is at a .315 average with 28 hits and 22 runs scored while drawing a team-high 17 walks. Defensively Sara Breckbill has 182 putouts to lead the team while Madison Pierce has 134 to rank second. Regan Curry is the team leader with 44 assists and has 45 putouts as well.
In the circle Savanah Egger is 5-7 with a 2.86 ERA in 20 appearances with 15 being starts and has 10 complete games for 93 innings where she has struck out 89 batters and limits them to a .261 average. Morgan Schmidt is 4-3 with a 6.06 ERA in 15 appearances and could figure to be a starter with seven starts this season for 47.1 innings with 54 strikeouts as well. Bailey Carlson and Erika Flynn have both appeared in 10 games and started five this season with Carlson holding opposing batters to a .268 average while Flynn has opposing batters hitting .360 against her.
