Bowling Green, Ky. - The Lady Toppers (27-27, 7-15 SBC) return to the WKU Softball Complex Saturday to host Sun Belt Conference rival Middle Tennessee (18-29, 8-14 SBC) in the final home games of the 2011 season.
The first game is scheduled for 1 p.m., with the second game to begin at 3 p.m. The Lady Toppers are one win away from clinching a spot in the Sun Belt Conference tournament, to be hosted in Lafayette, La., May 11-14.
The Lady Toppers will celebrate senior day Saturday for the seniors final games at the WKU Softball Complex. Saturday is also Alumni Day at the WKU Softball Complex and Education Day. All students grades K-8 will receive a complimentary ticket to the game. Lady Topper softball alumni will receive a complimentary ticket to each game as well.
The WKU softball team will be hosting a drop-off location this Saturday for victims of the devastating tornadoes that went through Alabama last week. A drop-off location will be available Saturday at the WKU Softball Complex. Donations will be taken up at the front gate of the WKU Softball Complex. Those items will be delivered to the American Red Cross of Alabama and distributed to the towns in Alabama that are in need. A monetary donation bucket will also be available at the game.
WELCOME HOME: The Lady Toppers will host their 19th home game this season in the final Sun Belt Conference doubleheader of the 2011 season, Saturday. WKU has a record of 11-7 this season at the WKU Softball Complex overall and 6-3 against SBC opponents at the home. Historically, the Lady Toppers have gone 160-108-1 at the WKU Softball Complex and 39-30 under head coach Tyra Perry. In the month of May the Lady Toppers have gone 16-18 at home and under Perry 2-0.
LAST OUTING: The Lady Toppers fell short to Sun Belt Conference rival Middle Tennessee Wednesday evening 3-2 in the series opener. In the game, the Lady Toppers tallied two runs off five hits with one home run. WKU was out-hit by MTSU 9-5, leaving four runners stranded. The Blue Raiders left 10 runners stranded. Sophomore Ciara Garcia went two-for-three at the plate with two runs and one RBI. Garcia tallied a solo home run to tie the game, for her fourth home run of the season. Freshman Kelsie Mattox, freshman Amanda Thomas and junior Amanda Walden all tallied one hit. Sophomore Mallorie Sulaski pitched the seven innings allowing three runs off nine hits, striking out one. The win for MTSU clinched them a spot in the SBC tournament. Lady Toppers are one win away from clinching a spot in the tournament. WKU battled Murray State Thursday in a non-conference doubleheader, splitting the games. The Lady Toppers dropped game one 7-0, defeating the Racers in game two 8-2. Sophomore Katrina Metoyer hit a triple to tie the WKU's team all-time single season triple record at 14. Freshman Amanda Thomas hit her seventh home run of the season, now sharing the lead in home runs with freshman Kelsie Mattox.
SCOUTING MTSU: The Blue Raiders return seven starters to their 2011 squad. The team returns two pitchers and 13 letterwinners while welcoming six newcomers to the team. Middle Tennessee finished their 2010 season with an overall record of 22-32 going 7-17 in the Sun Belt Conference for eighth place. This season the Blue Raiders have recorded an overall record of 18-29 with a SBC record of 8-14. Middle Tennessee is 1-14 at away games this season and 0-9 in away SBC games. As a team MTSU is posting a .258 batting average overall and a .251 in SBC games. The Blue Raiders are being out-hit by SBC opponents 182-138. Leading MTSU in hitting is senior Corrie Abel with a .376 batting average with 19 runs off 53 hits with 14 doubles and four home runs. The Blue Raider pitching staff has a combined 4.93 ERA overall and 4.44 in SBC games. Leading the pitchers is freshman Jordy Fisherback with a 4.43 ERA and a record of 7-8 in 104.1 innings striking out 71 batters with an opponent batting average of .304. Janele Robinson pitched game one against the Lady Toppers, she holds a 4.13 ERA in conference games with 26 strikeouts and a record of 4-6.
WKU-MTSU REWIND: The Lady Toppers have faced the Blue Raiders 41 times in program history with an overall record of 19-22. WKU is 11-11 at the WKU Softball Complex against MTSU. The two teams have met four times in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, with a 2-2 record in the tournament against MTSU. Last season the Lady Toppers defeated the Blue Raiders at the WKU Softball Complex 3-1.
SUN BELT ACTION: Saturday's contest will be the 23rd Sun Belt Conference game for the Lady Toppers this season and the 10th on the road. WKU is 7-15 in SBC action this season and 6-3 in SBC games at the WKU Softball Complex. Under head coach Tyra Perry the Lady Toppers are 34-46 in SBC play and 22-19 in SBC home games.
LEADERS OF THE PACK: Sophomore catcher, Karavin Dew, is tied for first in the Sun Belt Conference in triples with five on the season. Dew also shares the lead on WKU's all-time season triples record. Dew leads the team in hitting this season with a .370 batting average with 18 runs off 40 hits for 15 RBI. Sophomore Katrina Metoyer is second with a .333 batting average with 24 runs off 49 hits and 19 RBI. Freshman short stop Amanda Thomas is third on the team with a .312 batting average. Thomas shares the lead in hits and home runs with 49 hits and seven home runs. Thomas also leads the Sun Belt Conference in assists with 157 assists. Freshman second base Kelsie Mattox has a .310 batting average leading the team in runs with 33, RBI with 32 and shares the lead in home runs with seven. Mattox tallied a grand slam at the WKU Softball Complex in the 7-2 victory over SIUE March 8. Sophomore Mallorie Sulaski leads pitchers with a 2.54 ERA pitching 146.0 innings, striking out 68 batters. Sulaski is 11-10 in the circle on the season while posting a .252 batting average.
GARCIA NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: Lady Topper softball player Ciara Garcia has been named to the Capital One Academic All-District IV Second Team, the College Sports Information Directors of America (Cosida) and Capital One announced today. To be eligible for the honor, a student-athlete must be a starter or an important reserve with at least a 3.30 grade point average. The honor is to recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performance on the field and in the classroom. The award is Garcia's first Academic All-District honor, a sophomore exercise science major at WKU. Garcia, a leader on and off the field, has started in 52 games this season. She has recorded 45 hits, 21 RBI and scored 20 runs, for a batting average of .287 and a .433 slugging percentage. A utility player for the Lady Toppers, Garcia has tallied 63 put outs and nine assists for a .947 fielding percentage.
SUN BELT CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT: The Lady Toppers are one win away from clinching a spot in the 2011 Sun Belt Conference softball tournament, hosted in Lafayette, La., May 11-14. If the Lady Toppers take the final two games from MTSU they would receive the seventh seed in the tournament, if they take one game from the Blue Raiders they would take the eight seed. For more information on the SBC tournament and ticketing, go to www.sunbeltsports.org.
LIVE STATS: To follow the Lady Toppers go to www.WKUsports.com and click on the live stats link on the schedule page.
WEBSTREAMING: The final webstreamed game this season will be the 1 p.m. game Saturday against Middle Tennessee Saturday. Play-by-play will be provided by Jeremy Brown. Fans can sign up for webstreaming content by going to www.WKUsports.com.
