Four league teams enter the third week of the non-conference schedule with .500 or better records. At 4-1, Drake enters this week with a league-best four-game win streak.
UNI enters the third week of the season atop the MVC and No. 25 in the NCAA in team ERA (1.40). Two other league teams are in the Top 100, with Southern Illinois clocking in at No. 50 (2.00), while Murray State ranks 76 in team ERA (2.52).
Drake is among the top NCAA programs in runs scored per game this season. The Bulldogs rank No. 41 nationally with 6.40 runs per game. Drake is also the league's tops in slugging percentage, ranking 39th nationally at .522.
Allie Bishoff (Drake) and Kam Utendorf (Valpo) are tied for the league lead in batting average through the first two weeks of the season. Each is hitting .556. Madison Parks of UNI is third nationally in on-base percentage, reaching base 77.8 percent of the time. She leads the nation in walks per game (2.0).
Bradley’s Tory Meyer hit for the cycle for the Braves last weekend. Against UNLV on Feb. 17 Tori led off the game with a double, followed by a single up the middle in the second, a solo shot to left in the 4th and a triple down the right field line in the 6th. In Bradley’s four games in the Braves’ opening weekend, she hit .500 with 10 hits in 20 at-bats, scored six times, homered twice and had 21 total bases. She knocked in four runs.
Veber posted a 0.39 ERA this past weekend. She has one win while only letting one earned run through 18 innings pitched. Veber has posted 12 strikeouts.
Utendorf stood out for the Beacons last weekend, posting a slash line of .643/.706/.786. Playing just her second weekend of D-I softball, Utendorf recorded three-hit games in both of Valpo's wins, starting off the weekend by going 3-for-3 with two runs scored, an RBI, a walk and a stolen base in the win over Morehead State. Utendorf scored her first run by stealing home against the Eagles, while her second run scored was the tying run in the seventh inning in Valpo's come-from-behind win. She closed the weekend with another three-hit game, going 3-for-4 with a run scored, two RBIs and two doubles in the Beacons' win over Youngstown State. Utendorf also had a multi-hit game in the weekend's first matchup with YSU, going 2-for-3, and reached base in all three of her plate appearances against host Presbyterian, going 1-for-1 with a run scored and two walks.
ABOUT THE TEAMS
Belmont
- The Bruins finished the weekend 3-2 at the Panther Invitational hosted by Georgia State.
- Belmont brought home a two-game sweep over host GSU and a win against South Dakota.
- Nicole Hughes had another strong showing for the Bruins. The shortstop posted a .412 batting average on seven hits, four runs, two doubles, two home runs, and 3 RBIs. Hughes also recorded 15 putouts and six assists.
- Cockrill led the Bruins with a .417 batting average this weekend. The junior added five hits, five runs, one double, and two home runs on 12 at bats. The right fielder had a strong offensive showing in the Bruins' win versus Georgia State on Saturday. Cockrill recorded two hits, three runs, one RBI, and a home run in just four at bats to compile a .500 hitting percentage.
- Summers pitched a shutout in the win versus South Dakota. The pitcher recorded eight strikeouts and only allowed four hits with no runs for a .66 ERA. Summers moves to 1-1
Bradley
- Bradley started their season in Las Vegas at the UNLV Desert Classic where they picked up their first win of the season off the hot bat of Tori Meyer, who hit for the cycle.
- Meyer led off in all five games and batted .500 with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, and 21 total bases. Kierston McCoy tied Meyer for the team lead with 4 RBIs over the weekend.
Drake
- The Bulldogs took a week off after their 4-1 start at the Doc Halverson UNI-Dome Classic.
- Drake will head to the desert for a stint at the Hillenbrand Invitational in Tucson, Ariz. The Bulldogs will take on the host Wildcats, Central Michigan, Marshall, and Indiana from Feb. 22-24.
Evansville
- Still Going Strong – Batting .444 in the weekend home tournament, Marah Wood raised her season batting average to .409. With two weekends in the books, Wood has accumulated nine hits in 22 trips to the plate. Her .480 on-base tally also leads the squad.
- First Start – Freshman Abby Bode made the first start of her career on Sunday against Austin Peay and provided an immediate spark in the lineup. She picked up two hits in three at-bats and accumulated three assists on the defensive side.
- Batting .444, Marah Wood led the University of Evansville in its first weekend of home action. She registered four hits in nine at-bats while reaching base 50.0% of the time. Wood finished the week 4-of-9 from the plate while scoring two runs along with an RBI. Wood went 2-3 with two runs and an RBI in the weekend opener versus Miami Ohio. In Sunday’s finale versus Austin Peay, Wood was 1-4 before completing the week on Monday with a 1-2 contest against the RedHawks.
UIC
- The Flames finished off the weekend on a strong note, with a 5-1 victory over Hostra to earn their first win of the season. Graduate student Christina Toniolo pitched the complete game, going all seven innings in the circle, striking out five and only walking one batter. Senior Larisa Ville went one-for-three with three RBI from a double and a sacrifice fly. Junior Larissa Ortiz went one-for-four in the game with two RBI behind a single.
- UIC remains in the Sunshine State this upcoming weekend, this time traveling to Gainesville to compete in the T-Mobile Tournament. They are slated to face off against Colgate, Lafayette and the No. 17 Florid from Friday Feb. 23 to Sunday Feb. 25.
- Fleming was pivotal during USF's Fonseca Memorial Tournament this weekend, leading the team in hits (six) and in batting average (.429). She collected two multi-hit games against Boston College and Hofstra. In the rematch against the Pride, Fleming went one-for-three in the Flames victory over Hofstra, scoring twice in the 5-1 victory. She now leads the Flames this season with 10 hits over the past two weekends.
Illinois State
- Illinois State attended the Littlewood Classic in Tempe & Phoenix, Ariz. for the 19th time in program history. Freshman, Julia Larson earned first-career hit, while junior, Abby Knight, earned her 100th career-hit.
- Knight Batted .273, .455 SLG, with two doubles against stiff competition such as: No. 21/17 Virginia Tech, Arizona State, BYU, Grand Canyon, and Cal.
- Paige McLeod pitched 13.1 innings with only 3 ER for a 1.58 tournament ERA. McLeod also pitched 4.1 relief innings against No. 21/17 Virginia Tech giving up no runs and only one hit
Indiana State
- Sycamores conclude their weekend with a record of 3-1 in the Roar City Invitational, defeating Western Michigan, Tennessee State, and UT Martin, and falling to SLU in their final game.
- The Sycamores will travel to Memphis, Tenn. to compete in the Blues City Classic hosted by University of Memphis on Feb 23-25. ISU will face SIUE, Tennessee Tech, and Memphis.
- Isabella Henning had a big weekend at the Roar City Invitational in Nashville where she led the Sycamores with a .600 batting average hitting safely in all four games. The senior first baseman homered in both games on Friday against Western Michigan and Tennessee State with her two-run shot against the Tigers proving to be the difference in the 2-0 win. She followed up with another two-hit, two-run game against UT Martin, before doubling against St. Louis to wrap up the weekend.
Missouri State
- After setting the program’s single-season record a year ago with 99 stolen bases, the Bears rank second in the MVC this season with 13 stolen bases. Seven different Bears own a stolen base already this season.
- Fifth-year senior Gracie Johnston leads the MVC with two saves on the year after collecting her second save in MSU’s 3-2 win over Southern Miss last weekend. She came on in relief to toss 2.0 hitless innings while striking out two Golden Eagles in the one-run victory.
- Sophomore outfield Abby Ford led the way for Missouri State in a three-game series at Southern Miss. Ford batted a team-best .455 (5-for-11) on the weekend with a run scored, two stolen bases and she posted a clean weekend defensively with a 1.000 fielding percentage. In game one of the series against the Golden Eagles, Ford went 2-for-4 at the plate, one of two Bears with multiple hits in the game, as MSU went on to secure a 3-2 victory to open the series. In game two, Ford collected a hit, scored a run and stole a base. In the series finale, she once again recorded multiple hits with a 2-for-4 performance while swiping another base against Southern Miss. Ford is MSU’s second-leading hitter this season with a .333 average and leads the team with nine hits after two weekends, and she improved to 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts on the young season. Her nine hits are tied for sixth in the MVC, just one off the leaders and her four steals are tied for the league lead.
Murray State
- Racers went 1-4 through the weekend
- Summer Ray posted her first RBI of her Racer career
- Murray State will host the second annual Velvet Milkman Classic for their home-opener, Friday through Sunday.
- Ozment posted two hits, two doubles, and three RBIs this weekend. Her double against Jacksonville State on Sunday, scored the Racers winning run.
UNI
- Following a week-and-a-half break, UNI softball returns to action on Wednesday against Memphis. That game kicks off a three-week road trip through the south that will see the Panthers compete in three non-conference events hosted by Southeastern Conference schools. UNI visits Auburn immediately after squaring off with Memphis for Auburn’s Plainsman Invite, which runs from Friday to Sunday. There, the Panthers will play two games each against Longwood, Southeast Missouri State and Auburn.
- Wednesday’s game at Memphis will mark the third meeting between UNI and Memphis in program history. Additionally, the Panthers will play their first-ever games against Longwood and Auburn over the weekend.
- UNI's road trip totals 18 games, which will take the team to the beginning of conference play. The Panthers will face four teams that were either ranked or receiving votes in the Feb. 12 ESPN USA Softball Top 25.
Southern Illinois
- Southern Illinois improved to 5-2 on the season after going 2-0 at The Spring Games. The Salukis took down UC Riverside on a Elizabeth Warwick two-run double in the seventh to walk the game off. Following the win over UCR, the Salukis defeated Big Ten opponent Iowa 4-1 behind a complete game from Maddia Groff. Both Groff and senior Madi Eberle through 7-inning complete games while allowing no earned runs in the pair of SIU wins. Southern’s last three games of the weekend were canceled due to rain.
- Freshman Maddia Groff picked up her fourth win of the season to begin her Saluki career 4-0 as SIU took down Big Ten opponent Iowa 4-1 on day one of The Spring Games. The lefty allowed just three hits, one walk, while striking out eight on her way to her third complete game of the season. The Salukis gave up a run but it was unearned, giving Groff her second 7-inning shutout of the season. Through 25.2 innings of the season, she’s allowed just one earned run and one walk while striking out 24 batters and allowing 13 hits, only two of which have been extra base.
Valparaiso
- Valpo's win over Morehead State on Friday was notable not only for the Beacons' 13-run output, but for the fact that Valpo trailed 10-8 heading into the seventh inning before emerging with the 13-11 victory. It was the team's first win when trailing after six innings since prevailing 7-5 in extra inning over Cleveland State March 8, 2020. It was the first time the program has won in regulation when trailing after six since a three-run bottom of the seventh gave it a 4-3 walk-off win over Western Michigan April 17, 2019.
- The Beacons put up some big offensive numbers in the second weekend of action. The weekend opened with a 13-11 win over Morehead State - the 13 runs the most by a Valpo team since the 2019 team earned a 13-0 win over Wagner in March of that season. Valpo capped the weekend with an 8-5 win over Youngstown State in which it racked up 13 hits, its most prolific hits total since a 16-hit performance against Holy Cross Feb. 19, 2022.