EVANSVILLE, Ind. – With victories in the last two weekend Missouri Valley Conference series, the University of Evansville softball team looks to build on the momentum with a 3-game road series at Murray State. Games will take place Friday through Sunday in Murray, Ky. ESPN3 and ESPN+ will have coverage of the three games.
Looking at the Match-up
- This weekend will mark the first time the Purple Aces and Racers will meet up as members of the MVC
- It will mark the first meeting between the squads since 2016 when they split a doubleheader in Murray; in 2015, the Racers took both ends of a doubleheader at Cooper Stadium
- Evansville took part in MSU's non-conference Racer Classic in 2018 and 2022 but did not face the Racers in either season
Last Time Out
- Mikayla Jolly tossed five shutout innings while Alexa Davis hit a 2-run double in the sixth inning to seal a 2-0 win at Indiana State on Tuesday
- Jolly earned her fourth victory of 2023 while Erin Kleffman added two scoreless frames to earn her first save of the season
- With two outs in the top of the 6th, Davis drove in the only two runs of the game to give UE its first Valley road win of the season
Making a Statement
- Sydney Weatherford played a pivotal role in UE's series win over Southern Illinois last weekend
- The sophomore earned two victories as she pitched a total of 10 innings and allowed three runs, two being earned
- With a season ERA of 2.68, Weatherford is 10th in the MVC; in conference games, she has recorded an ERA of just 1.24
- Over her last 40 1/3 innings of work, Weatherford has allowed just seven earned runs while lowering her season ERA to 2.68
- After allowing five runs in 2/3 inning against Indiana on March 11, her ERA rose to 5.33; in total, Weatherford gave up 17 earned runs in her first 22 1/3 innings of 2023
Leading the League
- In the weekend series versus Southern Illinois, Megan Brenton racked up two more saves to improve her conference-leading total to five
- Her ERA of 1.11 continues to pace the conference while her opponent batting average of .188 is 5th in the league
- Brenton registered the save in both wins over the Salukis, combining to toss four shutout frames while giving up two hits and one walk while striking out four batters
- In 50 2/3 innings of work in 2023, Brenton has allowed 12 runs, just eight of which have been earned
- Brenton has fanned 50 batters while walking 33
Taking Control
- One of Evansville's biggest wins of 2023 saw Jess Willsey take over with her performance at the plate
- In game two against Southern Illinois, Willsey was a perfect 3-3 with four RBI in a 4-0 win for the Aces; the win came less than a day after SIU opened the series with a 17-1 victory
- Her season batting average of .274 has risen greatly over the last three weeks as she is batting .359 (14-39) since March 19
- Willsey is tied for 7th n the MVC with two triples and is tied for 8th with five homers
- Her RBI single against Belmont on April 2 proved to be the game-winner and on April 4 at Indiana State, she hit a solo home run in the 9th inning that temporarily gave UE the lead
- Willsey has five home runs on the season, which leads the UE squad
