Rolla, Mo. - The Missouri S&T Lady Miner softball squad heads to Joplin, Mo., for a pair of doubleheaders at Missouri Southern this weekend. The Lady Miners will take on Northeastern State in a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 12 p.m. at Lea Kungle Field, and then will take on Missouri Southern on Saturday afternoon also at 12 p.m.
S&T (0-4) looks to get into the win column for the first time this year on Friday when it takes on the RiverHawks. After a slow start offensively last weekend, the Lady Miners bats got going against Northwest Missouri State scoring 13 runs on 15 hits last Saturday night. Unfortunately it wasn't enough as the Bearcats scored five runs in the seventh taking advantage of four errors by S&T to take the contest 15-13.
Savannah Fedorchak (Oakville, Mo./Oakville) is leads the team with a .375 batting average with two doubles and three runs batted in. She drove in two runs in the loss against Missouri Western last Saturday and added another RBI in the game against Northwest Missouri.
Kyra Slemp (Roeland Park, Kan./Shawnee Mission East) is hitting .333 with two RBIs and four runs scored while
Kelly Heckemeyer (St. Elizabeth, Mo./St. Elizabeth) drove in four runs against the Bearcats.
Pitching was a problem for the Lady Miners last weekend allowing 40 runs, 32 earned, in 26 innings of work. They walked 27 hitters and struck out just 15 while allowing opponents to .374 against them.
Northeastern State enters Friday's contest with a record of 5-3, but dropped its last two contests in Bentonville, Ark., last weekend. The RiverHawks dropped a 2-1 decision to Truman State and then fell to Harding 4-3.
NSU is hitting .289 as a team with 10 doubles, seven home runs and two triples on the season. It's averaging 4.8 runs per game while allowing 2.9 runs per contest. Kelsey Harmon leads the way for the offense hitting .450 with five doubles, while Ryan Martin leads the team with three home runs and 13 runs batted in.
In the circle, Kayce Woolridge is 3-1 with a 1.05 earned run average allowing just four earned runs in 26.2 innings of work. She's struck out 24 hitters while walking just four. Opponents are hitting just .194 against her. Taryn Gray is 1-1 with a 3.13 ERA in 15.2 innings of work.
Missouri Southern enters Saturday's contest with a record of 5-6 after splitting a doubleheader at Rogers State on Wednesday. The Lions took the first game 13-10, but dropped the nightcap 8-6 in Claremore, Okla.
Offensively, MSSU is led by Abi Corbett with a .341 average and is 8-for-8 in stolen bases. Sarah Williams leads the squad in home runs with four and runs batted in (11) but is hitting just .235. Myranda Stewart and Angel Badalamenti have each driven in seven runs.
The Lions pitching staff has struggled in the early going with a team ERA of 4.24. They've allowed 47 runs in 77.2 innings of work with 63 strikeouts against 56 walks. Taurean Guzman is 2-1 with a 3.94 ERA in 16 innings pitched, while Kali' Hudson is 2-2 with a 3.95 ERA in 28.1 innings.
