ROLLA, Mo. – After opening the season with wins in three of its first four contests, Missouri S&T's softball team will head to Arkansas for a five-game weekend as it will take part in the Alvy Early Invitational in Bentonville, Ark. The Miner's 3-0 start at Branson was the program's first since 2006, tying the program's longest start of season win streak.

The Miners will play the five games over a three-day span starting on Friday, when it faces Washburn at 11 a.m. and St. Mary's in a 1:30 p.m. contest.  On Saturday, S&T will take on Arkansas-Monticello – a team it defeated in extra innings in its season opener – at 11 a.m., followed by a matchup against another team from the Great American Conference, East Central, at 1:30 p.m. 

The Miners will play just once on Sunday, as it takes on Southern Arkansas at 11 a.m.

S&T won its first three games in the Branson Leadoff Classic that concluded on Tuesday – the first time in two decades it opened with three straight wins -- which included the eight-inning win over Arkansas-Monticello and a win over 11^th-ranked Central Oklahoma.  Trista Grobe (DeSoto, MO/DeSoto) hit .462 over the four games and infielder Claire Lopez (Olathe, KS/Olathe Northwest) had six hits in 14 at-bats for a .429 mark, while Kaylee LaChappell (Oswego, IL/Oswego) – who along with Morgan Williams (Midland, MI/Midland) hit .364 in those games – drove in five runs that included game-winning sacrifice flies in the wins over UAM and UCO.

Keira Jones (Richmond Hill, GA/Richmond Hill) drove in four runs over the first four games and hit one of S&T's three home runs in Branson, while the others came off the bats of Taylor Nelson (Hailey, ID/Phillips Exeter Academy) and AJ Agers (DeSoto, MO/St. Pius X).  Agers also picked up two wins in the circle for the Miners and recorded an earned run average of 1.58 in her three outings with 10 strikeouts in her 13 1/3 innings of work.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS:

Washburn (Friday, 11 a.m.) – The Ichabods went 4-1 in their opening weekend of play at the Lone Star Classic in Mansfield, Texas, including two run-rule wins to close the event.  Kate Ediger was 10-of-16 at the plate for Washburn in the five games and Delaney Anderson drove in seven runs on the offensive side, while Kierra Goos and Sadie Walker each got two wins in the circle.

St. Mary's (Friday, 1:30 p.m.) – The Rattlers played in the Division II First Pitch Invitational and won their first four games before losing to Saint Martin's to close the event.  Four different pitchers earned wins for St. Mary's, with Emily Ayala throwing 8 2/3 innings to lead the staff.  At the plate, Iliana Martinez batted .500 in the five games and Raegan Tennill drove in a team-leading six runs.

Arkansas-Monticello (Saturday, 11 a.m.) – UAM's 10-9 loss to S&T was its only setback in its four games in Branson, where Aubree Goodnight batted .625 and five different players drove in at least three runs.  Jaydn Barger, who did not pitch against the Miners, had a 2.47 ERA and two wins over the weekend over 11 1/3 innings in the circle.

East Central (Saturday, 1:30 p.m.) – The Tigers played in the Lone Star Classic along with Washburn and after three losses pulled out a 7-6 win over Drury to close its weekend.  Kennedy Lord hit .364 in ECU's four games and drove in four runs, while also hitting the team's only home run over the weekend.  Amera Garner made two of the four starts in the circle and got the win on Saturday.

Southern Arkansas (Sunday, 11 a.m.) – The Muleriders, the pre-season favorites in the Great American Conference and a team that received votes in the NFCA's pre-season poll, won all five of its games at the Lone Star Classic that included an 11-4 win over ninth-ranked Augustana.  SAU, led at the plate by America Rubio with a .556 average, also went 3-0 in one-run decisions in the event.