CONWAY, Ark. – The softball Bears stay at home this weekend, hosting its second ASUN series at Farris Field against Stetson. With the series being played Friday and Saturday, the Bears and Hatters will play a doubleheader on Friday starting at 4 p.m., with an 11 a.m. start on Saturday to close the series.
Central Arkansas (10-21) enters the week after picking up two wins against Austin Peay over the weekend. The road wins earned the Bears their first ASUN wins of the season, and came in large part to the top of the order.
Kylie Griffin,
Renee Christian and
Tremere Harris combined for 17 hits at a .500 clip against the Govs, combining for seven runs scored and five stolen bases.
The trio has been among the top batters for the Bears the entire season, with Griffin's .400 average leading the team. Her batting average is fourth in the ASUN, and her team-leading 38 hits rank third.
Morgan Nelson leads the league in RBI, bringing home 28 batters so far this season.
The Bears and Hatters have never played each other, marking the first time in program history that the two will face off. Stetson marks the second of three ASUN teams that Central Arkansas will play in a series for the first time this year (Austin Peay, Queens).
Stetson rolls into town with a 12-20 record overall, with a 3-3 start in the ASUN. Last weekend, the Hatters downed Bellarmine, winning two of three games in DeLand, Florida. After dropping the first game 3-2, Stetson took games two and three by a combined 16 runs. The Hatters hit .418 in the series against the Knights, claiming their first ASUN series of the year.
Leading the team at the plate is Madelyn Synoracki, hitting .326 on the season. She is one of three players hitting over .300 for the hatters, and ranks second on the team with 29 hits and 15 runs scored. Kami Eppley leads the way with 31 hits and 19 RBI, and Addison Foster has a team-best 20 stolen bases. The Hatters have a collective 68 swipes this season, with ten players stealing at least one base.
In the circle, Hannah Marien has a team-best 2.56 ERA, with 62 strikeouts and a 6-9 record. She has 12 complete games this season, and is responsible for all three of the team's shutouts. The Hatters primarily use Marien and Lauren Hobbs at pitcher, with the duo combining for 183.0 of the team's 214.1 innings. Hobbs holds a 4.46 ERA with 40 strikeouts and a 5-7 record.
First pitch against the Hatters is set for 4 p.m. on Friday, with the second half of the doubleheader to follow immediately after. Game time on Saturday is set for 11 a.m. Both games of the doubleheader will be on ESPN+, with Saturday's game being streamed on the Bear Nation Network. Live stats will be available for all three games.
