GAME 25: SBU BEARCATS (10-14, 0-2 MIAA)
vs MARYVILLE SAINTS (8-17, 1-9 GLVC)
TUESDAY, MARCH 30 • 3:00 PM
SBU SOFTBALL FIELD • BOLIVAR, MO
G26: SBU at MISSOURI SOUTHERN LIONS (9-19-1, 0-2 MIAA)
SATURDAY, APRIL 3 • 2:00 PM (changed due to weather)
WILD FIELD • JOPLIN, MO
G27: SBU at PITTSBURG ST. GORILLAS (11-12-1, 0-2 MIAA)
MONDAY, APRIL 5 • 2:00 PM (changed due to weather)
PSU SOFTBALL COMPLEX • PITTSBURG, KS

SBU NOTES

BOLIVAR, Mo. – With the MIAA opener behind them, the SBU Bearcats get a couple of chances to get that first conference win this week, as they face a pair of teams also looking to recover from an 0-2 start, in Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State. As something of a mid-week tuneup, SBU will also meet up with non-conference foe Maryville. SBU fell in a doubleheader to Fort Hays State to begin conference play, but split a doubleheader against Drury to go 1-3 over last week.

While the Bearcats are just under the .300 mark as a team (hitting .299 after last weekend), they are led by a pair of .400 hitters in Latasha Baderdeen and Stephanie Luciani. Baderdeen (.440, 3rd in MIAA) is the conference leader in hits, with 33, while Luciani (.429, 4th in MIAA) has cranked out six doubles, most for any Bearcat. Krysta Baderdeen has been a force at the plate as well, hitting .362 with four home runs and a .623 slugging percentage, both team highs. BreAnn Proctor has a team-high eight stolen bases, good for a fourth place tie in the MIAA.

ABOUT THE COACHES
Christy Capner returned to her alma mater before the 2007 season as she was named head coach of the Bearcats. Capner has seen six All-MIAA awards given out to her players over the last three seasons, and has seen steady improvement, going from eight wins in 2007, to 23 last year.

Head coach of the Maryville Saints, Melissa Hurley, is in her second year in St. Louis after leading the then-Division III Saints to the SLIAC Tournament championship game and had five players earn All-Conference awards.

This is the second season for Bill Gray as the Missouri Southern head coach. The Lions manager has 20 years of coaching under his belt, in which he has recorded multiple winning seasons, regional championships and trips to NCAA Tournament.

Coaching the Gorillas is Brad Horky. For the past three years he has been successfully working on rebuilding Pitt's squad. Known as the winningest head coach in the 34-year history of the Gorillas' softball program, Horky led the Gorillas to an MIAA regular season title in 1994 and to the NCAA Tournament three times from 1993-95.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Brittany Ponder leads the Saints with a .329 batting average, while Ashley Reed has driven in 15 runs. Caitlin McClintock has started 23 of Maryville's 25 games so far, going 8-14 with a 3.25 ERA, and allowing an average of only .275.

Missouri Southern has a pair of heavy hitters in Dawn Grass and Megan Roark. Grass (5 HR) may be hitting only .277, but is among the league leaders in home runs, and Roark (4 HR) also leads the team with a .378 average and 31 hits.

The Gorillas have a lineup that may seem to be missing a big hitter, but can consistantly reach base from spots one through nine. Four players are hitting above .300 (Lora Lockhart, Jessica Jones, Cassie Martin, and Amanda DeCastro).

NEXT UP FOR THE BEARCATS
The Bearcats will have already reached the middle of the MIAA schedule by the end of next week, as they host Missouri Western and Truman State on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 9-10. Each squad is sitting in the middle of the conference standings, with .500 records so far. Western finished second in the league standings last year, while Truman is looking to avoid being left out of the conference tournament with their last place finish in '09.