The University of Illinois Springfield softball team starts GLVC play this weekend. The Prairie Stars are scheduled to host Lindenwood on Friday afternoon, followed by a Sunday game at Missouri-St. Louis.
 
UIS enters conference action with a 5-11 record. The Prairie Stars are one of the top offenses in the GLVC, including ranking third in batting average and fourth in scoring. UIS is also fifth in NCAA Division II with over three stolen bases per game.
 
Kelsie Burrows leads the team with 19 hits, and is tied with Ashley Klinzing with 12 stolen bases. Klinzing leads the team with 13 runs, and Danielle Dennis has a team-high 11 RBI. Reagan Miles is batting .471 for the season, and Dennis has a team-best .737 slugging percentage and .522 on-base percentage.
 
Each individual GLVC school will determine their own attendance policy for softball. Please check the policies of the home teams if interested in attending a contest. (UIS | UMSL)
 
UIS vs. Lindenwood
Date/Time/Location: Friday, March 12, 2:00 p.m. – Springfield, Ill.
Streaming: https://glvcsn.com/uis
Live Stats: https://uisprairiestars.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary
All-Time Series (Since 2011): UIS leads 5-2 (UIS leads 2-0 in Springfield, Ill.)
 
Lindenwood has started the season with a 5-1-1 overall record, and it is coming off a doubleheader sweep over Parkside last Friday.
 
The Lions have the best pitching staff in the GLVC so far, having a 1.07 ERA in seven games. Opponents are batting just .192 off of their pitchers. Offensively, the team is second with a .324 batting average.
 
Ceairra Perez leads the offense with a .474 batting average, and Karli Goocher is hitting .429 with a team-high eight RBI. Amanda Weyh and Marina Esparza each have ERAs below 0.50 and opponent batting averages under .200.
 
UIS has won five straight in the series, including an 8-6 neutral site victory in the last matchup in 2019.

UIS vs. Missouri-St. Louis
Date/Time/Location: Sunday, March 14, 12:00 p.m. – St. Louis, Mo.
Streaming: https://glvcsn.com/umsl
Live Stats: https://umsltritons.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary
All-Time Series (since 2011): UMSL leads 16-12 (UMSL leads 5-4 in St. Louis, Mo.)
 
Missouri-St. Louis is 5-9 in non-conference action. The Tritons lost a pair of games on Wednesday to nationally-ranked Winona State.
 
Missouri-St. Louis is in the upper half of the conference with a ERA of 3.64. Offensively, the Tritons are batting .228, and averaging over two runs a game.
 
Morgan Barnoski is the team's top offensive threat, with eight runs and 10 RBI on the season. Annie Scaramuzzi has a team-high .375 batting average, .575 slugging percentage, and .458 on-base percentage. Jenna Towle has seen the most action on the mound, and has a 2.77 ERA.
 
UIS and Missouri-St. Louis met four times in 2019, with both teams winning twice. The Tritons won the matchup in the GLVC Tournament, but UIS captured the contest at the NCAA Regional Tournament.
 
Up Next
UIS hosts two GLVC doubleheaders the following weekend. The Prairie Stars take on McKendree on Saturday, March 20, and Southern Indiana on Sunday, March 21.