ROLLA, Mo. – Most softball teams go south for games early in the season, but Missouri S&T's is heading north to the Chicago suburbs this weekend as it will take part in the 5^th annual Lewis Dome Invitational in Rosemont, Ill.

The Lady Miners, who are off to their best nine-game start in 11 seasons at 6-3 on the year, will play five games in a span of three days at The Dome at the Ballpark, located near O'Hare International Airport.  The first of those games will take place Friday when S&T faces Findlay at 9 a.m.

Missouri S&T will take on Walsh at 1:30 p.m. that afternoon, then returns to action Saturday evening with two more games against Grand Valley State at 6 p.m. and Winona State right after that contest concludes.  The weekend action will conclude on Sunday when the Lady Miners face Wayne State (Mich.) at 11 a.m.

Findlay is currently 2-0 on the season with wins over Bellarmine and Lincoln Memorial back on Feb. 3, while Walsh will be opening its season against the Lady Miners Friday and Grand Valley State is 0-2 after dropping two at McKendree on Sunday.

The last two teams S&T will face are currently ranked in the NFCA Division II top 25, as Winona State is at No. 19 with its 3-1 record and Wayne State is at No. 15, even though the Warriors will not play their first game until Friday against Winona State.

Through the first nine games of the season, the Lady Miners are hitting .325 as a team, with shortstop Monica Weiss (St. Louis, Mo./Marquette) leading the way with a .536 average – the eighth-best mark in the conference – and a team-high 13 stolen bases.  Courtney Jackson (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South) is currently hitting .529 and Carley Hamman is hitting .433 on the year.

Gretchen Egly (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield Central), who is hitting .345, leads the Lady Miners with two home runs and 12 runs batted in, while Hamman and Hannah Franceschini (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) have driven in eight apiece and Olivia Young (Milstadt, Ill./Belleville Township) has knocked in seven.

Pitcher Avery English (Carterville, Ill./Carterville) has recorded five wins in the circle in seven decisions and owns a 3.29 earned run average, while Kati Viets (Sweet Springs, Mo./Sweet Springs) has a 3.00 ERA in 21 innings of work.