ROLLA, MO- The Missouri S&T softball team returns home this weekend to kick off an eight game home stand to conclude the 2019 regular season. This weekend, they will play host to the Bulldogs of Truman State on Friday afternoon and the Hawks of Quincy University on Saturday.

The Miners are coming off a tough weekend that saw Bellarmine University (19-20, 8-10 GLVC) and defending National Champions, Southern Indiana (30-14, 16-4 GLVC). While S&T was able to split with the Knights, the Screaming Eagles defense kept the Miners at bay to take both games.

Seniors Carley Hamann (Frankfort, IL/Lincoln Way North) and Hannah Franceschini (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield Central) have been the driving force for the Miners in conference play; they are both averaging over .300 at the plate and have a combined 33 hits in 18 games. Anna Burke (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) and Abby Klein (Kansas City, MO/Staley) are not far behind them with 14 and 16 hits, respectively, with Klein leading the team with eight RBI (in GLVC play).

As a team, the Miners are batting .274 for the season and have collected 288 hits. Among those hits, eight have been homeruns from Olivia Young (Millstadt, IL/Belleville Township) (1), Jacey Allen (Roanoke, TX/Byron Nelson) (3), Gretchen Egly (Joliet, IL/Plainfield Central) (3), and Olivia Walter (Catawissa, MO/Cor Jesu Academy) (1).

Avery English (Carterville, IL/Carterville) continues to lead the pitching game for S&T with a 2.22 ERA and a 7-5 record. In her 79.0 innings of work, she has recorded 47 strikeouts and just 19 walks to keep her opponents at a .266 average against her. Olivia Walter (Catawissa, MO/Cor Jesu Academy) has been the to-go for the Miners this season with 114.0 innings of work in 22 appearances. She has collected 54 strikeouts for the season.

Before they make their way to Rolla, Truman State (25-10, 11-9 GLVC) will play a non-conference doubleheader against the Jennies of the University of Central Missouri.

The Bulldogs are currently on a nine game winning streak that was extended yesterday afternoon with TSU took down McKendree University in a doubleheader match-up. The Bulldog defense held the Bearcats to just two hits in the final game and was able to pull off the 13-0 win in just five innings of work.

Christa Reisinger leads the team and the GLVC with her .595 batting average. She has accumulated 66 hits and scored 54 runs in the team's 35 games. Reisinger is also tied for 1^st on the team with 30 RBI and leads the Bulldogs with nine homeruns and 38 stolen bases.

In the pitchers circle, Alyssa Hajduk and Lauren Dale have split time for the Bulldogs; Hajduk currently holds a 2.04 ERA and a 12-3 record while Dale boasts a 2.45 ERA and a 12-6 record. Combined, the pair has 122 strikeouts for the season and are holding teams to a .190 batting average.

Quincy University (17-21, 7-13 GLVC) will come to town on Saturday after facing off against the Panthers of Drury University on Friday.

The Hawks three game winning streak was broken yesterday afternoon when they faced off against Illinois Springfield and dropped the second game of the doubleheader 4-3.

Morgan Heckman and Kay Bettendorf have been the biggest offensive threats for the Hawks this season; Heckamn leads the team with her .328 batting average and 40 hits while Bettendorf looks at a .314 average with 38 hits and four homeruns.

As for their pitching game, Sara Demuth, MacKenzie Collier, and Alex DaVaney have all contributed to the team's 17 wins; Demuth looks at a team low 2.92 ERA, a 7-4 record, and 49 strikeouts in 84.0 innings of work, Collier holds a 3.21 ERA with 42 strikeouts while DaVaney has a 3.53 ERA and a 6-9 record over 91.1 innings pitched.