Softball is Set to Head to Springfield Missouri to Take on the Bears

NASHVILLE, Tenn.-- Belmont University Softball is set to take on Missouri State University in Springfield Missouri for a weekend conference series beginning Friday, April 21. 

Friday's matchup will be streamed on ESPN+ and Saturday's meeting will be streamed on ESPN3. 

The Bruins hold a 23-17 record on the season while 8-8 in Missouri Valley Conference play. 

What's Bruin 

• The Bruins run ruled the Lipscomb Bisons in the Battle of the Boulevard 10-2 in six innings to start the week on a positive note
• Emily Cockrill led the Bruins on the night going 4-3 in the box with 3 RBI with the game winning hit over the Bisons
• Nicole Hughes, Brenna Blume, Kylie Cunningham, and Baie Ensio each tallied two RBI on the night
• Belmont went 1-3 last week with a 2-1 win over Indiana State in the middle of the series
• Emily Cockrill posted the game tying home run for her fourth of the season
• Nicole Hughes posted the go-ahead RBI single to defeat the Sycamores 2-1 
• Emma Summers now has 10 wins to her name with the last two against Indiana State and Lipscomb
• Against the Racers Maya Johnson posted 20 strikeouts to become the only player in Division I with two 20 strikeout games to her name, Belmont fell 1-0 in the contest in 11 innings.
• Johnson pitched a program record of 22 strikeouts against the Purple Aces in her nine innings pitched in the first game of the series to earn Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the week 
• The Bruins earned their first sweep of the year over the UIC Flames 
• Johnson was also 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 

• The Bruins rank first in the MVC in the strikeout-to-walk ratio, ninth in the nation (4.24) 
• Johnson holds the top spot in the MVC in strikeouts per seven innings (11.2) 
• Kristen Green heads the Bruins offensively in batting average (.342) 
• Emily Cockrill leads the Bruins in hits (44), total bases (65), doubles (9) for a .331 batting average
• Blume leads the Bruins in home runs with five and RBI at 24
• Ensio, Hughes, and Blume have started in each game for Belmont

Scouting Report 

• The Missouri State Bears hold a 24-16 record on the season while 14-3 in MVC play
• The Bears have swept four Missouri Valley schools including Drake, Evansville, Valparaiso, and UIC
• Missouri State holds a perfect 11-0 home record this season
• Olivia Krehbiel leads the Bears offensively with a .321 batting average with 23 runs, 36 hits, 24, RBI, 11 doubles, and two home runs on the season 
• Closely following Krehbiel, McKenzie Vaughan posts a .314 average with eight home runs and 22 RBI 
• Gracie Johnston has seen the most time in the circle for the Bears with 11-6 record in 22 appearances
• Johnston posts a 2.98 ERA in 89.1 innings with 55 strikeouts

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.