ROLLA, MO- The Miner softball team put themselves in a good position help them get closer to a postseason spot in the GLVC. Despite their two losses to Indianapolis on Sunday, they swept Lewis on Monday afternoon and look to continue that momentum into this weekend when they travel to Illinois Springfield and McKendree.

Three S&T players are leading the offensive charge; Courtney Jackson (Parkville, MO/Park Hill South) is posting a team leading .357 batting average with 40 hits. Just behind her is Olivia Young (Millstadt, IL/Belleville Township) and Abby Klein (Kansas City, MO/Staley) who are hitting .337 and .309, respectively, and have a combined 61 hits.

In the pitcher's circle, Avery English (Carterville, IL/Carterville) has a team low 2.69 ERA with a 4-4 record to go with it. Olivia Walter (Catawissa, MO/Cor Jesu Academy) is not far behind her with a 4.76 ERA and a team best 46 strikeouts. Kate Baxter (New Bloomfield, MO/New Bloomfield) has been the other go-to for the Miners this season and picked up her first save this past weekend against Lewis University.

Missouri S&T heads into the weekend 10-22 overall and 4-6 in GLVC play. They currently sit in 10^th place in the conference.

Illinois Springfield comes into Saturday's match-up 18-14 overall and 7-3 in conference play. They are currently tied for 2^nd place in the league with Drury. They are coming off a series split with the Tritons of Missouri-St. Louis where Calla Wickenhauser's grand slam in the bottom of the 2^nd inning helped to life the Prairie Stars over UMSL 9-1 in five innings.

The Prairie Stars are led by Bree Derhake and her .337 batting average and 32 hits. She and Morgan Edwards lead the team with three and five homeruns, respectively.

Pitching wise, Jaycee Craver has been the go-to for Illinois Springfield; she holds a team low 3.01 ERA with a 10-9 record and 10 complete games pitched. She leads the team with 74 strikeouts and is holding teams to a .254 average against her.

As a team, the Prairie Stars are hitting just over .300 while their pitchers are holding their opponents to just .281.

McKendree will face the Miners on Sunday afternoon after taking on the Panthers of Drury University on Saturday. Though the Bearcats are 15-19 overall, they have not had the best luck in conference play, going 0-8 to start the season.

The Bearcats are coming off a doubleheader loss to UMSL that ended in heartbreak in the final game. After McKendree got up 2-0 in the 5^th inning, the Bearcats thought they were going to record their first conference win. But, the offense of the Tritons came back late in the game. After a two-run homerun from UMSL tied the game in the 7^th inning, they would end the game on an RBI-single to take the 3-2 win in extra innings.

Caitlyn Lowry currently leads the team with her .371 batting average and 36 hits. She, along with four other Bearcats hitters, are all averaging above .300. As a team, McKendree's batters are 5^th in the conference in total runs scored, 3^rd in total homeunrs, 4^th most in strikeouts, 4^th in stolen bases.

In the pitching circle, Miranda Gajewski and Kylee Silliman have split most of the time. Gajewski currently leads the teams with a 4.20 ERA with a 7-7 record to go with it. Silliman, who has gone 65.1 innings, holds a 5.37 ERA and a 4-5 record.