Softball Heads to Bowling Green for Midweek Matchup

NASHVILLE, Tenn.-- Belmont University Softball is set to head to Bowling Green, Ky. for a midweek tilt against the Western Kentucky Lady Toppers. 

First pitch is set to go out at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed live on Hilltopper Sports Satellite Network along with a play by play radio broadcast on the Bruin Sports Network. 

What's Bruin

• The Bruins took the series from the Salukis with Emily Cockrill's walk-off homerun in a 4-3 victory 
• Belmont defeated Southern Illinois in the second matchup of the weekend 8-5 where Kristen Green posted two home runs both for two RBI
• The Bruins fell to the Salukis in the first game of the series 5-2
• Nicole Hughes and Brenna Blume also got into the home run action adding one to their name over the week
• Belmont fell to the Racers 3-2 in a nine inning matchup, Maya Johnson posted 9 strikeouts, Emma Summers added two
• Kathryn Flowers went 3-6 on the weekend with a double and three RBI
• In the 4-1 win over the Redbirds Maya Johnson earned her 100th strikeout of the season
• Johnson reached this accolade in just 15 appearances in the circle in 69 innings
• Johnson was named Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the week after her debut on Tuesday, February 14 
• The Bruins earned the sixth spot in the preseason poll announced by the Missouri Valley Conference office January 31 
• Belmont finished 33-17 last season finding themselves in the Championship matchup against Murray State

Bruin Numbers 

• Green heads the Bruins with a .364 batting average and a .558 slugging percentage 
• Green and Emily Cockrill post 28 hits on the season 
• Cockrill tallies seven doubles, Green and Hughes record six 
• Kaley Varner and Green lead the Bruins in home runs with three
• Johnson holds the twelfth spot in the nation in strikeouts while leading the MVC in strikeouts (130) and victories (8) 
• The Bruins rank second in the MVC in stolen bases with 14 

Scouting Report

• Western Kentucky holds a 20-9 record on the season with a 5-1 record in the Conference USA
• The Lady Toppers are on four game win streak with a weekend sweep over North Texas
• Western Kentucky holds six consistent starters who have started in each of their 29 games
• Katie Gardner holds 9 of their wins with a 3.66 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 20 appearances
• Faith Hegh and Brylee Hage hold the top batting averages each with 35 hits combining for 42 RBI 
• Hegh posts 13 doubles on the season 

New Era

• Belmont is entering their first year in the MVC after over a decade in the Ohio Valley Conference
• Belmont joins UIC and Murray State as MVC newcomers. 
• The Bruins have been voted sixth in the MVC preseason poll, receiving one first place vote and 67 voting points from the league coaches
• Valparaiso was picked as the preseason favorite
• Belmont will compete against Indiana State, Murray State, Southern Illinois, UIC, Illinois State, Missouri State, Valparaiso, Evansville, Drake, and Northern Iowa in the MVC

Follow Belmont Softball on social media - @BelmontSoftball on Twitter and @belmontsoftball on Instagram - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.