The University of Illinois Springfield softball team starts its final homestand of the year this week. The Prairie Stars play six start at home, including a doubleheader against Maryville on Saturday afternoon.
 
UIS is having its best GLVC results in recent weeks, winning six straight conference contests. That has pushed the team up to sixth in the league standings with 10 games remaining. The team right behind the Prairie Stars is this week's opponent in Maryville.
 
UIS will bring a 26-13 overall record into play this week, including a 10-8 mark in GLVC games.
 
The Prairie Stars rank among the top of the GLVC leaders in most league statistical categories. Offensively, UIS has recently moved up to third with a .308 batting average, which is among the best marks in program history. The team's current on-base percentage of .387 would be a new program record, and its .441 slugging percentage is also among the top marks all-time.
 
The hottest hitter of late for UIS is Jillian Mathis. Last week, she was 13-of-17 at the plate with seven runs and five RBI in five games. Carly Chovanec currently leads the GLVC and is second in NCAA Division II with 39 stolen bases. Danielle Dennis leads the conference with 14 doubles.
 
On the mound, Payton Long is 6-0 in her last 10 appearances. She has a 2.14 ERA and a .228 opponent batting average in that span, and has struck out 53 batters in 49 innings. On the season, Long is 11-4 with a 2.10 ERA.
  
UIS vs. Maryville
Date/Time/Location: Saturday, April 16, 12:00 p.m. – Springfield, Ill.
Streaming: https://glvcsn.com/uis/
Live Stats: https://uisprairiestars.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
All-Time Series (Since 2011): Maryville leads 14-12

Maryville enters GLVC play this week with a .500 conference record at 8-8. The Saints are 13-16 overall on the year, and have lost five straight games.
 
The Saints are led by their pitching staff, which has a 3.94 ERA and a .259 opponent batting average. Emersen Heron is the team's top hurler. She is 7-6 with a 2.75 ERA, and opponents are batting just .222 off of her.
 
Offensively, the team is scoring just over three runs per game. Maryville has a .249 batting average, .309 on-base percentage, and .348 slugging percentage. Taylor Shingler leads the team with a .341 batting average and 21 runs. Heron leads the squad with 22 RBI, 13 doubles, and two homers.
 
Last season, Maryville went 2-1 against the Prairie Stars. The two teams split the regular season meeting in St. Louis, and the Saints then won 6-3 at the GLVC Championship Tournament.

Up Next
UIS ends its home season on April 23-24 when it hosts Southwest Baptist and Rockhurst.