Game Notes
EVANSVILE, Ind. – The University of Evansville softball team will travel to Bowling Green, Ky., to wrap up its non-conference schedule with a single game at Western Kentucky on Thursday. First pitch between the Aces and Lady Toppers is scheduled for 5:00 CST.
The Aces (15-35) are hoping to snap a three-game losing streak after coming off an 0-3 showing against Drake in last weekend’s Missouri Valley Conference series. Thursday’s game will serve as the final break in conference play before Evansville faces the task of winning all three MVC games against Indiana State next weekend in order to keep their post-season chances alive.
The Aces are batting .235 going into Thursday’s game. Freshman
Kayla Fortner continues to lead the pack as the only player hitting above .300 with a .373 average from the right-hand side. Fortner leads the team with 53 hits and 34 RBI and is tied with senior
Amy Gaertner with five home runs on the season.
Freshman
Katie Sears is moving on Evansville’s stat sheet, improving her batting average to .298 and taking a four-game hitting streak into Thursday’s contest. Sears and junior
Tamara Robey lead the Aces and are tied for eighth in the Valley with 14 stolen bases so far.
With a 3.60 staff ERA, Evansville’s pitching is led by junior
Sarah Patterson, who has posted a 3.17 ERA in 159.0 innings of work. Patterson, who owns an 8-18 record in the circle, ranks eighth in the MVC with 121 strikeouts on the season.
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Scouting the Lady Toppers
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (28-23-1, 9-12-1 Sun Belt Conference)
The Lady Toppers enter Thursday’s matchup with a 28-23-1 overall record, going 9-12-1 in the Sun Belt Conference so far this season. Western Kentucky is most recently coming off three very close losses against No. 6/7 Louisiana-Lafayette, losing 4-1, 2-1 and 4-2 to the Cajuns.
Hitting:
Western Kentucky is batting .272 as a team, led by Kelsie Mattox who owns a .314 average at the plate with 35 RBI and a .609 slugging percentage. With 13 home runs on the year, Mattox has accounted for one-third of the Toppers’ long ball total and has nearly double the amount of homers than any other batter in Western’s lineup. Amanda Thomas is hitting .220 but has totaled eight home runs and 10 doubles to collect 34 RBI on the year. The Hilltoppers are 64-for-83 in stolen base attempts, led by Olivia Watkins and Karavin Drew, who have totaled 17 and 16 stolen bases, respectively.
Pitching:
With four arms on staff, Western Kentucky has posted a 2.82 ERA this season, led by Kim Wagner who owns a 2.50 ERA in 117.2 innings pitched. Emily Rousseau leads the staff in time in the circle, collecting a 13-13 record in 159.0 innings of work. Rousseau also leads the team in batters struck out, fanning 146 batters so far this season.
