SHAWNEE – Due to the heavy rains on Monday, the Oklahoma Baptist softball team (17-13, 6-7 GAC) has pushed back its non-conference doubleheader against Southwest Baptist to Wednesday, March 23.
OBU will host the Bearcats at Bison Softball Park at 4 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. matchup to conclude the series.
Fans will be able to watch all games on OBUBison.com, accompanied by the play-by-play commentary of Clayton Coffman.
This will be the second all-time meeting between the two programs, with the first taking place earlier this season. Oklahoma Baptist run-ruled Southwest Baptist 8-0 in the season-opening tournament in Arkadelphia on February 6.
After starting the week 3-1 with wins over Newman and Fort Hays State, the Bison's good fortune ran out. OBU dropped three games to a high-powered Harding squad on Friday and Saturday, bringing their conference record to 6-7.
Oklahoma Baptist is currently seventh in the GAC standings. OBU will have a chance to knock off a top-three team in the league after tomorrow's series, as they'll travel to Arkansas Tech this weekend.
Offensively, Samantha Campos leads the Bison with a .368 batting average. She totals a team-best 32 hits with 20 RBIs. Going into the second game of the Harding series, Campos had registered a hit in five consecutive games. During that span, she collected four RBIs and one home run.
Jocee Sparks smashed her seventh home run of the season last weekend, a career-best with the Bison after totaling three in 2021. Sparks' home run mark ranks fifth in the conference, while her 27 RBIs are fifth as well.
Freshman Sammie Greene is up to 12 stolen bases this season, which is No. 2 in the GAC, while Adi Reese has compiled three triples for a tie at No. 1.
Pitcher Kayleigh Jones has had her way in the circle thus far, leading the nation in strikeouts (165) and the conference in wins (12). Jones has already eclipsed her previous career-best of 134 strikeouts recorded last season. This year, she has a 2.70 ERA and has charted 10 strikeouts in 11 games.
Scouting the Bearcats
Southwest Baptist enters with a 5-16 overall record, including a 0-6 conference mark. The Bearcats have lost their last four, with their most recent loss coming on Sunday against Drury University.
SBU has a 6.86 team ERA and has been led in the circle by Reilly Rupert. Rupert, a senior from California, has an ERA of 5.67 and totals a team-best 33 strikeouts. She has given up 50 runs in 11 appearances.
Madison Coone leads the Bearcats in the batter's box, hitting .320 this season. She has three home runs on eight hits, while Freshman Margo Frossard totals two. Frossard is batting .283 with a team-leading 17 hits.
