Branson, Mo. – With the first weekend of the season under the belts of the ladies of Southwest Baptist University's softball team, they now turn their attention to the DII Classic in Branson, Missouri. The games that were originally scheduled for Friday, Saturday has been moved to Thursday (4 p.m. & 6 p.m.) and Friday (1:30 p.m. & 3:30 p.m). 
 
Last weekend, the Bearcats ventured down to Bentonville, Arkansas to participate in the Alvy Early Classic. Despite starting their season 1-0 with a 4-3 win over East Central University, SBU fell to a 1-3 record at the completion of the tournament. The bright spot for the team in purple was sophomore Keeley Elsea who now leads the team in batting average with .357. Elsea racked up five hits in 14 at bats over the four games played by the Bearcats, and she scored two runs on the weekend to cap off her impressive stat line.
 
Another notable player for SBU was senior Shalie Wooden who hit the team's only home run during the Alvy Early Classic against #24 Missouri Southern. Wooden's home run and three total hits from nine at bats boosts her to lead Southwest Baptist in on-base plus slugging percentage with an even 1.000.
 
On Thursday, February 12 at 4:00 p.m., Southwest Baptist will kick off the DII Classic with a rematch against the fellow Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State University (NWMSU). NWMSU is 5-4 on their season thus far, including the narrow 2-1 win they secured over SBU in the Alvy Early Classic. Southwest Baptist will then round out their Thursday with a game against Christian Brothers University (CBU) at 6:00 p.m. The Buccaneers are 2-2 after splitting both of their two-game series against Henderson State University and Miles College last week. SBU won their only ever game against CBU back in 2018, and they will be looking to stay undefeated against the Buccaneers this weekend.
 
The Bearcats begin Friday, February 13 with a game against Missouri Western State University at 1:30 p.m. The Griffons are 9-1 this season and coming off a 5-1 record at the George and Ola McCorkle Challenge, including a victory over #13 Angelo State. Missouri Western State looks to be a tough challenge for the Bearcats. Finally, SBU will wrap up their Friday and the DII Classic with a game against Winona State University at 3:30 p.m. Winona State is yet to play a game this season, so SBU will be hoping to give them an early loss.

To stay in the loop with softball or any of the many other sports currently in season at SBU, be sure to visit sbubearcats.com for preview, post-game, and other news stories. Also, follow us on Instagram (@sbubearcats) to keep up with live game updates, news, and other content.