ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's softball team played its first 17 games away from Rolla, but will get to play on its home field for the first time in the 2023 season Wednesday when it hosts perennial national power Augustana in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at the S&T Softball Field.

The Miners completed their extended weekend at the GLVC/MIAA Crossover Monday with a 6-2 loss to Missouri Southern, a setback that dropped the Miners to 8-9 on the season heading into Wednesday's game.  S&T lost four of its five games in the event, with the only win being a shutout over Northwest Missouri State on Sunday.

S&T is led in the offensive department by Emma Vaughn (Pevely, Mo./Herculaneum) with a .389 batting average and Elizabeth Viox (Glen Carbon, Ill./Edwardsville) with a .365 mark.  Hannah Antzoulatos (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) has a team-high 12 runs batted in, while Vaughn, Bryn Wooldridge (Salisbury, Mo./Salisbury) and Rachel Smith (Monroe City, Mo./Monroe City R-1) all have driven in seven runs.  Of the Miners with at least 30 at-bats thus far on the season, six have a batting average of at least .300.

In the circle, Mayce Barber (Excelsior Springs, Mo./Excelsior Springs) recorded the complete game shutout against Northwest and has a 1.95 earned run average on the year, while Wooldridge has a 2.89 ERA and owns a 4-4 record in a team-high 43 2/3 innings.  Julia Kanoy (Hamilton, Mo./Penney) leads the staff with 47 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings of work.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT: The Vikings come into Wednesday's games at 6-6 as they are in the midst of a lengthy trip through the state of Missouri.  Augustana played four games over the weekend at the Drury Invitational in Springfield and after splitting four games in that event, swept a doubleheader Monday at Southwest Baptist after scoring three runs in the seventh inning to capture the nightcap.

Gracey Brink leads Augustana with a .444 average, three home runs and 15 runs batted in, while Liz Dierks is batting .371 on the year.  The Vikings have a 5.07 team earned run average, with Hailey Houston leading the way with a 3.08 mark.

Augustana captured the NCAA Division II championship in 2019 and has won at least 40 games in each of the last five complete seasons dating back to 2017, including a 50-10 mark during the 2022 season.