ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's softball team will look to extend its winning streak that currently stands at seven games when it completes its eight-game homestand Friday by facing Cottey College in a 2 p.m. doubleheader at the S&T Softball Field.

Friday's twinbill will kick off a five-day stretch were S&T will return to Great Lakes Valley Conference play Sunday when it takes on Drury for two contests at noon in Springfield, Mo., then will play another non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday when it hosts Lincoln at 1 p.m.

The Miners' seven-game winning streak – its longest since the 2007 season – has included five GLVC games that has S&T at 6-2 in conference play and 16-10 overall heading into play this weekend.  Pitcher Bryn Wooldridge (Salisbury, Mo./Salisbury) was the winning pitcher in four of those victories and has won her last six starts to bring a 9-3 record and 3.15 earned run average into Friday's game, while Charlye Rowland (Pearcy, Ark./Lake Hamilton) is 6-6 with wins in her last three outings and has a team-high 64 strikeouts in 72 innings of work.

S&T has upped its team batting average to .304 on the season and has five players who have received regular at-bats hitting .346 or above on the year.  Madison Passolano (Mokena, Ill./Lockport Township) is leading the way with a .421 average, while Ashley Davis (Erie, Ill./Erie) is hitting .370 and is seventh in the GLVC with a team-high nine doubles.  Hannah Antzoulatos (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) is batting .364 on the season and is one off the league lead with her three triples.

Elizabeth Viox (Glen Carbon, Ill./Edwardsville) comes into the week hitting .359 and is tied with Antzoulatos for the team lead with five stolen bases, while Shannon Flowers (Katy, Texas/Katy) owns a .346 mark at the plate and leads the Miners with four home runs and 26 runs batted in; the RBI total currently ranks fourth in the conference.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS:  Cottey College, a member of the NAIA, is 13-9 on the year coming into Friday's doubleheader and has lost its last three games on the heels of recording a 10-game winning streak.  The Comets are hitting .299 as a team and has averaged 6.5 runs per game on the season.

Karina Ramirez leads the Comets with a .420 batting average and has reached base over 50 percent of the time, while Aryana Palencia is hitting .391 and has a team-high 28 runs batted in.  Lacey Cruz has done the bulk of the pitching for Cottey with 65 2/3 innings pitched in 13 appearances; she owns a 1.81 earned run average and has struck out 73 hitters on the season.

Drury is 19-8 on the season and 5-1 in the GLVC as they have won their last six outings.  Pitcher Kristina Bettis was the NFCA's national pitcher of the week for NCAA Division II after a week that included a no-hitter in a win over Rockhurst; she is 12-1 on the year with a 1.52 earned run average and 135 strikeouts in 97 innings in the circle.

At the plate, the Panthers are paced by Gracie Thomas with a .365 average, while Megan Parsley is hitting .356 and Abby Tiemann is hitting .354.  Lauren Beier leads Drury with six home runs and 19 runs batted in.

Lincoln is also above the .500 mark on the season at 11-10, but has dropped six consecutive games after it had won 11 in succession.  The Blue Tigers' current skid began when the Miners swept a doubleheader from them in Columbia, Mo., earlier this month with wins of 6-3 and 4-2.

Leslie Callahan leads the squad with a .482 average – a mark that leads the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association -- and 23 runs batted in, while Chloe Olson is hitting .367 with 16 RBI and Alivia Rymer is batting .364 on the year.  Jordan Galliher has a 3-3 record and 1.33 earned run average while also leading the Blue Tigers with 45 strikeouts in 39 innings.