SPRINGFIELD, IL --- The Prairie Stars (17-15, 3-5) will resume Great Lakes Valley Conference play this weekend, hosting Bellarmine and #10 Southern Indiana on Saturday and Sunday. Illinois Springfield is coming off of a 2-2 weekend against Quincy and Truman State and then an 8-2 non-conference win over Lindenwood on Tuesday.

SETTING THE SCENE
Illinois Springfield enters the weekend 3-2 in their last five games, splitting their home conference series with Quincy and Truman State last weekend. UIS currently ranks 12^th in the GLVC standings.

Bellarmine enters the weekend sitting 15^th in the league standings with a 14-18 overall record and 2-6 mark in GLVC play. The Knights got swept at Missouri S&T last Friday before splitting with Drury on Sunday.

#10 Southern Indiana holds a 26-6 overall record and 5-3 record in conference play. Though they are the highest ranked team in the conference, USI sits in fourth with their 5-3 GLVC record. The Screaming Eagles are 7-1 in their last eight games, and all three of their GLVC losses have come in the second game of doubleheaders and all by one run.

THE LAST TIME…
UIS is 4-7 against Bellarmine, dating back to 2011. Oddly enough, UIS has only ever hosted the Knights on one occasion, a doubleheader in 2015, in which the two teams split. Last season, UIS traveled to Louisville, KY and fell in both ends of the doubleheader, losing 8-0 and 2-1.

UIS is 2-6 all-time against USI, but have dropped the last four meetings. Much like Bellarmine, UIS has only hosted USI for two games, falling 6-4 and 5-0 to the 16^th ranked Screaming Eagles in 2015. UIS last beat Southern Indiana in 2014.

HOW THE STARS STACK UP
UIS raised their team batting average from .255 to .268 over the past week and are now ranked T-14 in the league. However, Southern Indiana is the league's best offensive team with an overall average of .340. With that, UIS does rank third in both walks and hit by pitches, putting their on-base percentage at .351, 11^th best in the league.

Lakyn Wagoner, a freshman from Springfield, IL, currently leads the entire GLVC with six triples. Erin Stroup ranks T-6 with 14 walks and BriAnna Edgar ranks T-2 with nine hit by pitches.

Ali Haesele is all over the top-10 leaders in the circle, ranking sixth in batting average against (.231), 10^th in innings pitched (91.1), sixth in strikeouts (82), third in strike out looking (25), and T-6 in wins (10).  

Team Average:
Southern Indiana -- .340 (1^st)
Bellarmine -- .281 (11^th)
Illinois Springfield -- .268 (T-14)

Team ERA:
Southern Indiana – 1.64 (1^st)
Illinois Springfield – 3.14 (6^th)
Bellarmine – 4.80 (14^th)

AGAINST LIKE OPPONENTS
Bellarmine and UIS have faced seven of the same teams this season and Bellarmine has played 14 games against those opponents while UIS has played 11. Illinois Springfield holds a 7-4 records in those games while Bellarmine holds a 5-9 record. These games include the opponents: Findlay, Saginaw Valley, Lindenwood, Ohio Dominican, Northwood, Hillsdale, Ferris State.

Southern Indiana is 7-1 in those such games, playing against Ferris State, Northwood, Ohio Dominican, Hillsdale, Saginaw Valley, Cedarville, Ashland, and Grand Valley State. UIS is 5-6 against those same opponents.

WAGONER DOES IT ALL
Aside from leading the GLVC in triples, Wagoner is 4-for-5 this season in pinch hit opportunities. On top of that, she is 11-for-31 (.355) with runners in scoring position and that number increases to 13-for-34 (.382) with two outs. With the bases loaded, the freshman is 3-for-4 on the year with six RBI's.

SCOUTING BELLARMINE
The Knights are led offensively by Rachel Ayer and Megan Bretz who are hitting .348 and .345, respectively. The Knights have only hit 10 homeruns on the season --- one less than UIS --- but Kelly Ely does have 14 doubles, which leads the league. In the circle, Sabrina Fussenegger has thrown two-thirds of the total innings on the year, totaling 112.0 so far. Fussenegger owns a 4.19 ERA and a 5-6 record.

SCOUTING SOUTHERN INDIANA
UIS welcomes in the most potent offense in the GLVC, a team that owns a combined .340 average. Southern Indiana has clubbed 28 homeruns on the season, second only to UIndy's 29, and owns the league's highest slugging percentage at .492. The Screaming Eagles also hold the GLVC's best ERA with a combined mark of 1.64. Jennifer Leonhardt is 14-1 on the year with a 1.34 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 104.2 innings.

COMING UP NEXT
The Prairie Stars will host McKendree in GLVC action on Tuesday for games at 3 and 5 pm. This will be the final home games for UIS until the final weekend of the season as UIS heads on the road for 12 straight games. Illinois Springfield will head to Wisconsin-Parkside and Lewis for games next weekend.