Rolla, Mo. – The Missouri S&T Lady Miner softball squad opens Great Lakes Valley Conference play this weekend traveling to Bellarmine and Southern Indiana for a pair of doubleheaders. The games were originally scheduled for Saturday and Sunday but due to the weather forecast Sunday's doubleheader at Bellarmine has been moved to Friday and will start at 2 p.m. (Eastern Time). Saturday's doubleheader against Southern Indiana has been pushed back to a 3 p.m. start time.
S&T (4-11) is coming off a 6-3 come from behind victory over Harding on Monday. The Lady Miners gave up a run in the top of the first but countered with one in the bottom of the first. They took the lead in the home half of the third on a two-run homer by
Savannah Fedorchak (Oakville, Mo./Oakville) and added to it with a three-run double from
Hannah Franceschini (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) in the fourth. The Bison added a pair of runs in the sixth but it wouldn't be enough.
Offensively the Lady Miners are hitting .270 as a team, but over the past seven games have hit even better than that with an average of .283 and have registered 13 extra-base hits compared to four extra-base hits in the first eight games.
Kyra Slemp (Roeland Park, Kan./Shawnee Mission East) leads the team with a .372 batting average while
Monica Weiss (St. Louis, Mo./Marquette ) is hitting .371 and Fedorchak is at a .321 clip. Franceschini leads the club with 10 runs batted, Fedorchak has driven in nine runs and
Kelly Heckemeyer (St. Elizabeth, Mo./St. Elizabeth) has six RBIs.
After some struggles in the circle to start the season the pitching staff has pitched better as well holding opponents to a .293 average compared to a .374 one at the start of the season.
Kati Viets (Sweet Springs, Mo./Sweet Springs) has gone 2-2 with a 2.15 earned run average with three complete games in her last four starts.
Ashley Hill (Centralia, Mo./Centralia) is 1-0 with a 3.23 ERA in her last four appearances while
Courtney Jackson (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South) is 1-1 with a 2.80 ERA in her last two starts.
Bellarmine is currently 10-12 on the season and has lost four of its last five heading into Friday's GLVC opener. The Knights were swept at home in a doubleheader against Lincoln Memorial on Sunday afternoon. They dropped the opener 2-0 and the nightcap 6-3. Bellarmine has been in a bunch of close games going 2-4 in one-run ball games and had a nine inning loss to Georgia College.
Ally Foster and Kelly Ely lead the Knights offense with a .377 batting average. Foster also leads the team in home runs with six and is second on the team with 13 runs batted in. Marlee Tavis has driven in a team-high 15 RBIs and is second on the club with five home runs.
Foster has also put up impressive numbers in the circle going 10-5 and has an ERA of 1.62. She's made 17 appearances with 12 starts and has thrown 10 complete games this year. She's thrown 100 innings and is averaging 7.77 strikeouts per seven innings pitched.
Southern Indiana is 11-7 on the season heading into its final two games in Clermont, Fla., on Wednesday. The Screaming Eagles are currently 4-4 on their 10-game trip down south after dropping a pair of one run contests to Grand Valley in 10 innings and Saginaw Valley in eight innings on Tuesday.
Haley Hodges leads the USI attack hitting .382 with six home runs and has driven in 22 runs while Lexi Reese is hitting .321 with 12 RBIs. Haylee Smith leads the Screaming Eagle pitching staff with a 1.88 ERA but is 2-4 on the young season while Sarah Owens is 3-1 with three complete games and a 3.61 earned run average.
