NASHVILLE, Tenn.— Belmont Softball returns to the friendly confines of E.S. Rose Park to close its second longest home stand of the season this weekend. The Bruins open OVC play, hosting Eastern Illinois and SIUE.
Eastern Illinois comes to Nashville with a 20-8 mark before the start of Ohio Valley Conference play, having won five of its last six outings. The Panthers are led at the plate by Haley Mitchell, who is batting .450 with 36 hits, nine doubles, eight homeruns and 34 RBI.
Inside the circle, EIU has a pair of pitchers doing the heavy lifting. Jessica Wireman sports a 2.00 ERA with 100 strikeouts over 87.1 innings with five saves and an 8-4 record while Michelle Rogers has thrown 74.1 innings, recorded 48 strikeouts with a 10-3 record.
EIU leads the all-time series 7-1 but Belmont eked out its first program win over the Panthers one year ago in Charleston.
SIUE comes to Music City looking to snap a three-game skid as league play begins. The Cougars stand at 9-9 overall. SIUE is led at the plate by Bailey Concatto, who is batting .447 with 21 hits, one double, one homerun and three RBI. Zoe Schafer is right behind her, batting .438 with 21 hits, four doubles, one triple and six homeruns.
Inside the circle, Emily Ingles leads the pitching corps, tossing 70.1 innings with 60 strikeouts, three shutouts and a 5-5 record.
SIUE leads the all-time series, 9-3. The teams split in Edwardsville one year ago.
Belmont has eight batters hitting over .300, led by senior Jess Andree (Darien, Ill.), who sports a .357 batting average with 25 hits, one double, one triple and five home runs. Classmate Lexi Rouse (Macon, Ga.) is close behind, batting .354 with seven homeruns, 23 hits, seven doubles and a triple. Sophomore Bailey Sims (Flowery Branch, Ga.) is right behind them both, batting .346 with 28 hits, four doubles, one triple and nine RBI.
Inside the circle, sophomore Brooklin Lee (Burns, Tenn.) remains the Bruins' ace, tossing 88.2 innings, recording a whopping 108 strikeouts to the tune of a 1.18 ERA and a 10-1 record. Rouse sports a 6-1 record and a 1.26 ERA after tossing 39.0 innings with 16 strikeouts.
Several players have distinguished themselves in national statistical categories, including Sims, who is the ninth hardest to strike out among all NCAA Division I players. Also sporting impressive rankings are Lee, who is No. 2 in shutouts and 28th in strikeouts and junior Hayley Baker (Rockwall, Texas) who is 17th in sacrifice flies.
Saturday's first pitch of the doubleheader with the Panthers is slated for Noon and the Sunday doubleheader with the Cougars is set to begin at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available and the games can be seen live on the OVC Digital Network.
