COLUMBIA, MO – The Louisiana State University of Alexandria opens the NAIA Softball Opening Round as the top-seed in the Fayette, Missouri bracket, hosted by Central Methodist University.
GAME INFORMATION
Monday, May 12
5:00 PM
vs (Either) #4 Campbellsville or #5 Tennessee Southern
Fayette, Mo.
LIVE STATS |
WATCH
QUOTING COACH PARTRIDGE
"The word I always use in these interviews is excited," said LSUA Head Coach Trent Partridge. "We get to come out after a long two-day road trip. It's postseason softball, anything can happen. We have Campbellsville and Tennessee Southern in that first game, we saw Campbellsville during the regular season and we know they are an extremely dangerous lineup. One thing you continually hear me say is we have a dog in the circle in
Haley Primrose. It doesn't matter who we face, we like our chances."
THE GENERALS
LSUA (46-7) brought home 12 All-Red River Athletic Conference honors at the end of the regular season.
Julia Kwakernaak was named the RRAC Player of the Year.
Kaetlyn Dunbar was named Newcomer of the Year, while
Madi Baker earned Defensive Player of the Year. The trio all earned First Team All-RRAC honors alongside
Haley Fontenot,
Kilee Moody,
Jillian Howell, and
Haley Primrose. Trent Partridge was also named RRAC Coach of the Year.
The Generals enter the NAIA Opening Round as one of the NAIA's top offenses. The group is slashing .386/.444/.602 on the season. Kwakernaak is currently hitting .503 with 13 home runs and 62 runs batted in. She has stolen 24 bases in 24 chances. Moody (.433), Fontenot (.419), and Baker (.413) are all hitting above .400.
In the circle,
Haley Primrose (24-5) has stifled opponents over 180.2 innings to a tune of a .222 batting average against. The senior from Jasper, Texas has struck out 170 hitters and posted an ERA of 2.09 with a WHIP of 1.15. LSUA has a team ERA of 2.42 and a WHIP of 1.29 with Alyssa Solieau (17-1) and
Kirsten Martinez (4-1) both holding opponents to an average below .280. The pair have struck out 71.
Freshmen Soileau and
Kamille Lightfoot have set LSUA Freshman records for wins and home runs. Soileau has recorded a freshman best 17 wins, while Lightfoot has hit six big flies.
SCOUTING #4 CAMPBELLSVILLE
The Tigers are 27-16 on the season and were eliminated from the Mid-South Conference tournament by Lindsey Wilson.
They are hitting .363 as a team, led by Jessie Daniels (.454), Korey Harris (.424), and Emily Reynolds (.411). Daniels leads the Tigers in average, home runs (23), and runs batted in (62).
In the circle, Emma Markham (5-5), Leah Holland (8-3), and Ellie Coley (5-5) have all recorded 10 or more starts. Markham has the lowest ERA of the trio at 3.38 over 68.1 innings and a team-high 61 strikeouts. Coley has logged the most innings at 85.1. Opponents are hitting. 303 against the staff.
LSUA faced Campbellsville during the regular season and recorded a 7-0 victory over the Tigers.
SCOUTING #5 TENNESSEE SOUTHERN
The Firehawks enter the week with a record of 30-19. They fell in the Southern States Athletic Conference Championship final to William Carey, 8-0.
Ella Singletary (.356), Haley McDaniel (.350), and Lauren Pettie (.348) lead the FIrehawks' offense. Tennessee Southern has posted an average of .318 as a team. They have hit just five home runs but have scored 272 runs. Mikayla McCain has a team-high 39 runs batted in and is hitting .338. McCain has three of the Firehawks' five home runs.
In the circle, Singletary and Stella Gilbreath have handled the majority of the pitching duties. Singletary (14-8) has tossed 143.2 innings and recorded 128 strikeouts. Gilbreath (9-11) has logged 113.1 innings with 39 strikeouts.
SCOUTING #2 CENTRAL METHODIST
The host Eagles are 38-9 on the season and fell to Mount Mercy in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship.
CMU is hitting .352 as a team with 36 home runs and 345 runs scored. Madison Roberts (.420) and Elizabeth Palumbo (.400) lead the Eagles' offense. Palumbo has a team-high in both home runs (10) and runs batted in (46).
Haley Cotter (16-4) has logged 118.2 innings in the circle for Central Methodist. She has recorded 57 strikeouts and has posted an ERA of 1.53 with a WHIP of 1.18. As a team, the Eagles have an ERA of 2.37 and a WHIP of 1.30.
SCOUTING #3 BRITISH COLUMBIA
The Thunderbirds (26-18) earned an at-large bid for the first time in school history.
They are hitting .297 as a team with 13 home runs and 196 runs scored. Shae Sever leads the Thunderbirds with an average of .383. Keona Nordquist and Marin Jorgenson are both hitting .366. Sever leads UBC with six home runs and 28 runs batted in.
In the circle, UBC has an ERA of 2.55 on the season. The staff has combined for 255 strikeouts. Sever (15-9) and Carleen Murray (10-7) have split pitching duties on the year. Over 129.2 innings, Sever has posted an ERA of 2.27 with 115 strikeouts. She has a WHIP of 1.20 and an opposing average against of .230. Murray has logged 119.2 innings with an ERA of 2.52 and a WHIP of 1.10. Hitters have an average of .210 against Murray.
FAN INFORMATION
All games at the NAIA Opening Round, hosted by Central Methodist University, will be live streamed
HERE. Live Stats for the Opening Round can be found
HERE.
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