SHAWNEE – No. 22 Oklahoma Baptist (34-9, 19-5 GAC) looks to defend their home field and stay atop the Great American Conference in a best-of-three series against Ouachita Baptist this weekend.
Fans can watch the contest on the Bison Sports Network with Todd Miller on the call.
The Bison boast a 12-1 record at Bison Softball Park, a tie for the most home victories in its Division II era. Their lone loss came against then-ranked No. 17 Southern Arkansas, a series Oklahoma Baptist ended up winning.
Coming off Tuesday night's victory over Southern Nazarene, OBU has won eight straight games, the longest win streak since the program officially joined the NCAA. The next longest streak came in 2020 when the Bison tallied seven consecutive wins to start GAC play.
In this week's edition of the NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, Oklahoma Baptist earned its highest ranking in program history at No. 22. OBU has now spent three straight weeks in the national poll.
History continues to be made in 2023 as the Bison eclipsed its previous DII season-best mark for wins (33-2022) while pitcher Kayleigh Jones broke the all-time victories record on Tuesday. Jones earned her 24th win of the season after an eight-inning brawl with SNU to surpass Hannah Wilbur's program record (23).
Jones, now with a 58-26 record in her career, needs two more wins to become the all-time leader for victories in OBU history. The record's holder, Kena Freeman, racked up 59 wins from 2000-2003 in 655.2 innings of work. Jones has pitched 512.2 innings thus far in her esteemed pilgrimage on Bison Hill.
Here is where the right-hand twirler sits on the active career leader charts of Division II: 6th in strikeouts (698), 7th for shutouts (21), 12th in victories (58), and 13th for complete games (54). This season, she leads the nation in strikeouts (247) while ranking second in victories (24) and shutouts (10).
At the plate, the Bison own the league's fourth-best batting average (.307). They add the second-most hits (349), home runs (26), and second-best on-base percentage (.329).
Senior Emily Adler leads the charge batting .421, while Kennedy Clarks trails with a .402 average. Adi Reese and Morgan Max head the squad with seven and five homers, respectively. Max went yard for the third straight game on Tuesday and has the longest current hit streak (4) on the team going into the weekend.
OBU's base running has also been admirable, as they rank second in the GAC with 67 stolen bases. Adler and junior outfielder Reagan Ford each have 15 steals.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
On Tuesday, Ouachita Baptist snapped a 12-game losing streak with a win against Henderson State. The victory moved their record to 11-30, including a 5-19 conference mark that is tied for last in the GAC.
Junior infielder Erin Williams leads Ouachita in the batter's box with a .352 average, the only Tiger hitting over .300. She adds the most hits (45), home runs (7), and RBIs (22). Hope Waid has the second-most hits (35) with a .299 batting average, while Maggi Huddleston's RBI total matches Williams.
Tuesday Melton and Huddleston have logged the most time in the circle, drawing ERA's of 5.85 and 8.34. Melton has fanned 79 batters and earned eight wins, while Huddleston trails with 24 strikeouts and one victory.
