SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist (22-18, 10-11 GAC) will look to begin an eight-game road tour as they'll travel to Alva to start a GAC series with Northwestern Oklahoma State (13-20-1, 7-14 GAC) on Friday night.
The games are scheduled for a 5 p.m. start on Friday, followed by a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon on the grounds of the NWOSU Softball Field.
This weekend, Oklahoma Baptist and Northwestern will meet for 24th time in program history. OBU owns a 16-7 all-time series lead, including a current eight-game winning streak against the Rangers.
After claiming their 10th conference victory of the season, OBU sits in a tie for sixth place in the Great American Conference standings. With the GAC Tournament approaching, the Bison will aim to remain towards the top of the league as the top eight will punch a ticket to the annual tournament.
OBU enters the series as the nation's leader in strikeouts with 329. Majority of the sum comes from the Division II leader in the category, Kayleigh Jones.
Jones broke the OBU single-season record for strikeouts this week when she reached 214 after her appearance against Southern Nazarene on Tuesday. Her 14 victories are tied for fifth in the country, while her 2.47 ERA ranks sixth in the GAC.
The second part of the one-two punch is Aspen Younce, who earned her eighth win this week. Younce has 96 strikeouts thus far, nearing her single-season best of 113 recorded in 2021.
At the plate, Oklahoma Baptist has went yard 27 times, which ranks fifth in the GAC. The number has surpassed last season's 22 home runs and is the most since OBU tallied 31 in 2019.
Jocee Sparks and Samantha Campos lead the squad in the home run category with nine and five. Campos and Sparks are batting over .300 and have a combined 56 RBIs.
Freshman Sammie Greene's 18 stolen bases lead the conference as she has made good on 100 percent of her attempts.
Scouting the Rangers
Northwestern enters the weekend with an overall 13-20 overall record, including a 7-14 conference mark. Before their midweek win against Southwestern Oklahoma State, the Rangers had lost four out of their last five.
NWOSU is the second-best batting team in the league, hitting .298 with 31 home runs. Senior Abby DeTar has been on a tear offensively, leading the Rangers with a .426 batting average that ranks second in the GAC.
DeTar's 49 hits are tied for third in the league, while her seven home runs lead the Rangers.
Allison Zanca follows, hitting .384 with four home runs, while Hannah Howell bats .327. Howell adds 34 hits and 20 RBIs that rank second on the team.
In the circle, Howell is NWOSU's most successful pitcher. She has a team-best 5.62 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 105.2 innings of work.
Hannah Scroggin has split time at the dish, pitching through 61.0 innings thus far. Scroggins totals 34 strikeouts in 14 appearances.
