SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist (11-2, 0-0 GAC) will make its first appearance at the Bison Softball park Wednesday afternoon in a doubleheader against Newman University (5-5, 0-0 MIAA) starting at 1 p.m.
The matchup comes on the heels of last Saturday's meeting between the two squads, where OBU got the best of the Jets 9-3. The Bison hold a 4-0 all-time series lead over NU.
Oklahoma Baptist is flying high after another successful weekend of action. OBU posted a 3-1 record at the Emporia State Classic, besting the likes of Minnesota-Duluth, Newman, and Emporia State. The win over UMD was a program first and was the first blemish on the Bulldogs' 2023 record, who came into the tournament 8-0.
OBU's lone loss came against then-ranked No. 21 Washburn. The Bison fell 3-2 after committing an error in the eighth inning of play. Oklahoma Baptist has a 1-1 record against ranked opponents this season, having beat No. 6 Texas Kingsville 6-0 earlier this year.
Head coach Sam Maples is on the cusp of becoming the second coach to reach 100 career wins, accumulating 96 wins in almost five seasons on Bison Hill. Maples would only be in pursuit of the all-time winningest coach in program history, Pam Fink (645-644).
The Bison are outscoring its opponents 68-24 this season. Oklahoma Baptist has five games with 10 or more hits, all of which they came out victorious. OBU hopes to maintain its good fortune against a Newman team they charted 11 hits against them a couple of days ago.
Emily Adler continues to pace the Bison at the plate with a .525 batting average. In 13 games, her 13 hits, 16 RBIs, and .596 on-base percentage are team-bests. Additionally, she is tied with three others for most stolen bases (5). Adler was sensational last week in Kansas, batting .545 while collecting three RBIs.
Others recorded stellar performances, such as freshman Kennedy Clark, who matched Adler's hit total. Clark had a hit in every game and totaled a season-high 17 putouts on Sunday against Emporia.
Three others, Adi Reese, Reagan Ford, and Samantha Campos, have 11 or more hits. Ford leads the trio with 12 scored runs and five stolen bags.
Pitcher Kayleigh Jones claimed her third career no-hitter in the 4-0 victory versus ESU, joining Andrea Tselee as the only Bison to record three. Jones nearly earned her first-ever perfect game, but a walk in the fifth inning prevented the feat. She fanned 30 batters without surrendering an earned run in three appearances, highlighted by a program-tying record of 16 punch-outs against Emporia.
Already the all-time leader for strikeouts in the Bison record books, Jones needs six wins to eclipse Alissa Baxter (2000-03) and Noelle McDowell (2011-14) for the fourth most wins in school history.
SCOUTING THE JETS
Newman makes their way to Shawnee with a 5-5 overall record, looking to stay above .500. The Jets went 2-2 last weekend at the ESU Classic, suffering losses against OBU and Minnesota State-Mankato (8-1).
NU has three batters hitting over .300, led by sophomore infielder Laurie Cooke's .333 average. Cooke is the Jets' most dependable batter with 12 hits this season, highlighted by the most doubles (5) in the MIAA.
The big bats of Gianna De Luca-Paape and Madi Canez have driven in the most runs on the squad, totaling eight apiece. De Luca-Paape's .613 slugging percentage and total bags (19) are also team highs.
Time in the circle has been split between juniors Madison Dewitt (3.92 ERA) and Jackie Gold (3.96 ERA). Gold has the better record of the two at 3-1 this season, while Dewitt totals more strikeouts (17).
For more information on OBU Softball, follow the team on Twitter (@OBU_Softball) and Instagram (@OBU_Softball).
