The University of Illinois Springfield softball team hits the road this week for two GLVC doubleheaders. The Prairie Stars will be at Rockhurst on Saturday, followed by a trip to Southwest Baptist on Sunday.
 
UIS got back into the race for a GLVC Tournament spot last weekend with four straight victories on its home field. The Prairie Stars defeated Truman State by scores of 3-2 and 9-0, and won two against William Jewell by margins of 9-8 and 9-2.
 
UIS is now 13-21 overall and 8-10 in GLVC play. The Prairie Stars are 11^th in the conference standings, but just percentage points outside of the eighth position.
 
The Prairie Stars pitching continues to improve, as they have now allowed just two earned runs a game over their last six contests. The offense also picked up as last weekend went on, with UIS scoring nine runs in each of its last three games.
 
In the four games last weekend, Carly Chovanec led the offense. She went seven-of-12 at the plate with five runs and seven RBI. Calla Wickenhauser hit .500 for the weekend, and joined Chovanec and Kayana Diederich as players with over a .900 slugging percentage.
 
Since March 21, Addison Bryant has pitched in six games and she has a 2-1 record. Those victories came last weekend against Truman State and William Jewell. She has a 1.71 ERA in her last six games, and opponents are batting just .210 off of her in that span.
 
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. (Rockhurst | Southwest Baptist)
 
UIS vs. Rockhurst
Date/Time/Location: Saturday, April 24, 12:00 p.m. – Kansas City, Mo.
Streaming: https://www.facebook.com/rockhurst.softball
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/rockhurst/softball/
All-Time Series (Since 2011): UIS leads 18-5 (UIS leads 8-2 in Kansas City, Mo.)

Rockhurst will enter Saturday's doubleheader with an 18-12 overall record. It is sixth in the GLVC with an 11-9 mark. The Hawks swept a doubleheader against Lewis last time out by scores of 5-1 and 4-2.
 
Rockhurst has one of the top pitching staffs in the league. The Hawks have a 1.98 ERA on the year, and opposing batters are hitting just .204 off of them. Offensively, they are averaging nearly four runs a contest, and have a .286 batting average.
 
Lexie Storrer is the team's top pitcher. She has a 1.17 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, and .152 opponent batting average on the year. She is 14-4 and has struck out 144 batters in 107 2/3 innings. Offensively, Allison Shakiba is among the GLVC leaders with a .505 on-base percentage. She has walked 24 times and has 16 runs on the year.
 
In 2019, UIS and Rockhurst split a pair of games. Rockhurst won game one by a 3-2 score, and UIS took the nightcap by a 9-3 margin.
 
UIS vs. Southwest Baptist
Date/Time/Location: Sunday, April 25, 12:00 p.m. – Bolivar, Mo.
Streaming: https://glvcsn.com/sbu
Live Stats: https://www.sbubearcats.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
All-Time Series (Since 2011): UIS leads 9-0 (UIS leads 2-0 in Bolivar, Mo.)

Southwest Baptist enters play this weekend with a 2-32 record, including a 1-19 GLVC mark. The Bearcats have lost 18 straight, and are 15^th in the league standings.
 
Offensively, the Bearcats are scoring just under two runs a game. It is batting .206 on the year. On the mound, Southwest Baptist has a 6.93 ERA.
 
Katlynn McConville is among the team's offensive leaders with nine runs and seven RBI on the year, and she has a .403 slugging percentage. Renae Gillmore is batting .274, Emma Ezzell has a team-high 10 runs, and Nicole Horstman has nine RBI. Emma Wood is the team's top pitcher. She has a 6.88 ERA and a .348 opponent batting average.
 
The two teams met in Bolivar, Mo. in 2019 with UIS winning by scores of 1-0 and 3-1.
 
Up Next
UIS has a midweek doubleheader on Maryville on Wednesday, April 28. That will be the final regular season road games of the year.