BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The WKU softball team travels to ULM this weekend for a three game series that will begin on Saturday. On Saturday, WKU and ULM will meet at 4 and 6 p.m. CT. Then on Sunday, the two teams will hit the field for a final game at noon. WKU is currently 25-15 this season and 5-7 in the Sun Belt while ULM is 17-17 overall and 5-7 in the SBC.
NOTING THE LADY TOPPERS
• The WKU softball team (25-15) enters the SBC weekend after picking up a 4-3 over Murray State on Tuesday night in ten innings before falling to Kentucky 9-3 on Wednesday night.
• WKU concluded their two midweek games with a .186 batting average after recording 11 hits and scoring seven runs. The Lady Toppers also posted one double, one triple and one home run in the two games. Heading into the weekend, senior Jamie Hennis is leading the way for the Lady Toppers finishing the Murray State and Kentucky games with a .500 batting average after racking up four hits, one RBI and scoring one run.
• WKU and ULM will meet for a three-game series with a doubleheader slated for Saturday at 4 and 6 p.m. CT and a single game at noon on Sunday. This will be the Lady Toppers first conference games since April 2 and 3 when the Lady Toppers swept Troy in Bowling Green. WKU has not played a road conference game since March 10-11 when they took on Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, Fla. WKU holds a 6-3 all-time record over the Warhawks. Last season, WKU swept ULM in Bowling Green defeating the Warhawks 3-0, 4-1 and 4-3.
• The Lady Toppers are currently ranked sixth in the conference in batting average and second in the SBC in pitching. In batting, Louisiana-Lafayette is leading the way in the conference with a .298 average while WKU is currently batting .251. In pitching, WKU is just behind Florida Atlantic. The Owls pitching staff has posted a 1.98 ERA this season while WKU has a 2.21 ERA. in team fielding, WKU is currently ranked first in the conference with a .970 fielding percentage.
• Mallorie Sulaski is currently ranked first in the Sun Belt Conference in batting with a .388 batting average. The freshman has racked up 31 hits in 28 games while scoring ten runs and posting 14 RBI. Joining Sulaski in the SBC individual rankings is freshman pitcher Kim Wagner. Wagner is currently second in the conference in pitching with a 1.59 ERA. This season she has given up just 39 runs and 106 hits in over 123 innings of work.
• The Lady Toppers are also shining in the nation with many WKU athletes ranked in the top 100 in the country. Freshman Mallorie Sulaski is currently ranked 45th in the nation in batting average with her average of .388. In addition, she is also ranked 30th in triples and 84th in on base percentage and 36th in saves. Kim Wagner is also ranked in several categories with a 35th place ranking in ERA, a 42nd place ranking in victories, and 38th in shutouts. Senior Lindsay Antone and freshman Ciara Garcia are also ranked in the top 100 in sacrifice flies with both players tied for 31st in the country. As a team, the Lady Toppers are ranked 29th in fielding percentage and 48th in ERA.
• For the first time in her career, freshman softball pitcher Kim Wagner has been named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced on April 5. Following her near perfect performances against Troy this weekend she becomes the third Lady Topper to be honored this season joining senior Lindsay Antone and freshman Mallorie Sulaski.Wagner finished the weekend with a 0.49 ERA after giving up just seven hits and one run in over 15 innings of work. In her three appearances, she walked just three batters and struck out eight while facing 56 batters. In game one of the series, Wagner pitched a complete game going eight innings and giving up just one run and four hits. She followed up that performance in game two recording the first save of her career going two innings and giving up zero hits. She ended the weekend on Saturday pitching 5.2 innings and allowing Troy just three hits and zero runs. With her 2-0 weekend, she is now 13-5 this season.
• Freshman Mallorie Sulaski was named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week on March 15 after defeating Florida Atlantic and Iowa. Sulaski finished the week with a .049 ERA after giving up just one earned run. She pitched 14.1 innings and struck out 14 batters. In addition at the plate, she finished with a .308 batting average with four hits, one RBI and scoring one run. This was the first Pitcher of the Week honor for Sulaski in her career and her second consecutive player of the week honor.
