BOWLING GREEN, Ky.—The Western Kentucky University softball team (28-13, 12-3 SBC) will look to keep its eight-game win streak alive, as the Lady Toppers travel to Troy (20-23, 7-7 SBC) for a Sun Belt Conference matchup.
The series begins on Saturday, April 20 with a noon doubleheader before finishing on Sunday, April 21 with a noon first pitch.
For those not able to make it to the Troy game in person, outlets for viewing the game will be available at TroyTrojans.com. Twitter updates will be @WKU_GameDay for the weekend’s contests.
Last Time Out
The WKU softball team swept its midweek contests, taking a 4-0 win against Belmont on Tuesday and notching two wins at Lipscomb by scores of 8-2 and 7-1. In the trio of games, junior Olivia Watkins hit .700 with seven hits and four runs. Sophomore Shawna Sadler and senior Ciara Garcia had four hits each while sophomore Preslie Cruce posted three runs. In the circle, junior Emily Rousseau took a pair of wins, as she went 14 innings with five hits, two runs and two walks given up while striking out seven in each game. Senior Mallorie Sulaski tabbed the other win, giving up three hits and a run in six innings of work against the Lady Bisons.
Quick Notes
- Troy holds the series advantage against WKU 8-18. The Lady Toppers took two in the regular-season meeting last year in Bowling Green, but Troy had previously won the last four, including a series sweep in Troy in 2011. WKU is 2-10 all-time in away games versus the Trojans.
- The Lady Toppers carry the momentum of an eight-game win streak heading to Troy this weekend. It marks the seventh time in program history that a WKU has won eight straight while two of those streaks went on to be nine-game win streaks. Nine straight is the longest in school history, as WKU made those feats from April 10-21, 2007, and March 13-24, 2010. During its current spree, WKU is outscoring opponents 72-9 while not allowing more than three runs. The team has shutout opponents four times.
- In WKU’s first 24 games of the season, the Lady Toppers had a home run in 10 contests. In the last 17 games, WKU has had a home run in 12 games. WKU posted 17 home runs in the first 24 games while the team has notched 21 in the last 17. During the recent run, seven different Lady Toppers have hit balls out of the park, including sophomore Sammi McGraw with her first career home run and senior Karavin Dew grabbing her first of the season. Sophomore Preslie Cruce has six during that time frame while junior Amanda Thomas had five. In its last eight games against conference opponents, WKU has hit at least one home run, dating back to game two versus North Texas.
- Junior Olivia Watkins is putting up big numbers at the plate for WKU. In the last six games, Watkins finished five of those with two or more hits while three of the contests saw her go for a perfect batting average. Watkins is hitting a team-high .722 in the last six games with 13 hits, including four doubles and one triple. The Florence,
- Ala., native is one of the fastest players on the team, using her speed to record three bunt singles during that time frame as well as tabbing at least one in five of the games and a stolen base in the last five.
By the Numbers
- 2— WKU is two wins away from No. 30 in the 2013 season. It would mark the tenth time in program history for at least 30 wins in a season.
- 4— Junior Kelsie Mattox has hit four home runs against Troy in her career, as she had two her freshman season and two last year.
- 17— Sophomore Preslie Cruce is on a 17-game streak of reaching base safely. The longest of her career is 20, as she reached in the first 20 games last season.
On Deck
WKU travels to No. 11 Missouri for a midweek doubleheader against the Tigers beginning at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24 before heading to Miami for a three-game league series versus FIU next weekend.
