ON DECK
The Southwest Minnesota State softball team (0-4) begins its three-day trek to the Rebel Spring Games held in Winter Haven and Auburndale, Fla., but will play a pair of non-conference doubleheader pit stops along the way. SMSU will play Missouri-St. Louis on Thursday, March 6, at 3 p.m., before meeting up with North Alabama the following day at 2 p.m. The Mustangs are set to arrive in Florida on Saturday morning and will begin a 12-game slate at the Rebel Spring Games on Sunday, March 9.
SCOUTING MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS
The Tritons are ranked No. 8 in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II poll with their 5-1 overall record. UMSL went 5-1 in its season-opening tournament -- the Arkansas-Monticello 8-state Classic held February 14-16, with its lone loss coming versus No. 1 Central Oklahoma 4-0. UMSL went 41-13 last season overall, including a 26-4 conference record. The 41 wins were the program's second most in a single season. The Tritons finished the regular season second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, but took home the program's first-ever tournament title on an eighth inning two-out walk-off home run by Katie Wood. Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Brian Levin, the Tritons return eight starters in the field along with their top two pitchers, including All-American Hannah Perryman – the 2013 GLVC Pitcher of the Year. As a freshman, she led NCAA Division II in strikeouts with 352, while her 12.2 strikeouts per seven innings also topped the national rankings. Perryman finished the year 24-6 with a 1.55 ERA.
SCOUTING NORTH ALABAMA
The Lions are currently 16-5 overall, and have begun the conference season already as they hold a 7-2 record thus far. UNA rides a four-game winning streak coming into the doubleheader with SMSU and are 8-2 at home. As a team, UNA is hitting .283, slugging .410 and has an on-base percentage of .354. Offensively, the Lions are led by Chloe Wolf, who is hitting .360 with 18 hits, a team-leading four home runs, 16 RBIs and 14 free passes in 50 at-bats. In the circle UNA has been dominate as the pitching staff has combined for a 1.83 ERA with 15 complete games and 120 strikeouts in 149 innings pitched. Hillary Carpenter has pitched well in the outset of the season as her 1.16 ERA in 13 appearances leads the team.
SERIES HISTORY | MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS | SMSU LEADS 1-0
Southwest Minnesota State and Missouri-St. Louis will meet for just the second and third time in the series history. The first and only other meeting between the two teams came in 1994 at the Rebel Spring Games in Orlando with SMSU take a 2-1 victory.
SERIES HISTORY | NORTH ALABAMA | SERIES TIED 0-0
Southwest Minnesota State and North Alabama will meet for the first time in series history when the two teams clash in a non-conference doubleheader on Friday.
