SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist (34-10, 20-4 GAC) heads to Arkansas Tech (31-9, 20-4 GAC) this weekend for a three-game Great American Conference series at Chartwells Women's Sports Complex.
On Friday, April 17 a 4 p.m. doubleheader takes place before an April 18 finale starts at noon. Both teams are tied atop the standings with Southern Arkansas with three weekends remaining.
Historically, OBU holds a slim 18-15 advantage over the Golden Suns but as of late, has won 10 straight over ATU. Coming into this series through, Arkansas Tech has won 21 of its last 22 games while the Bison have been up and down posting a 7-6 record recently. Here are notes on both teams.
For the Bison:
A couple things have jumped out recently: A 4.32 staff ERA and .269 batting average with runners in scoring position.
In eight of the last 13 games, opponents have scored at least four runs. As for hitting, take the Harding series. OBU stranded 24 runners over three games. Included in that was 12 hits in 42 ABs (.285) with runners on base, 7-for-27 (.259) two-out hitting and 8-for-29 (.275) with RBI opportunities.
Greenlee Wells' season continues to impress. She's the national leader with 19 homers, 1.27 walks per game, 1.092 slugging percentage and is tied for sixth with 57 RBI.
Wells already broke the school's single-season walks and home run record but she's also just two runs away from breaking Kayla Hubbard's total of 50 set in 2002. Wells also needs just two RBI to pass Annie Combs' 2014 record mark of 58. Wells has 57.
Among top NCAA marks,
Ally Ryan's 12 homers are slotted No. 16 in D2 while
Kaley Cook's 44 stolen bags are tied for third. Cook also has 60 hits, a top-22 mark. Pitcher
Jaycee Shaffer has 142 strikeouts, the 16th-best total in the nation.
As a team, OBU has multiple top-10 national totals. Their 59 homers are No. 3 while their 200 walks are another top-three total. OBU is also tenth in slugging (.536).
For the Golden Suns:
As mentioned prior, ATU has been on a tear winning 21 of its last 22. Their only loss was a 6-5 extra-innings defeat at Southern Nazarene on April 9.
A trio of statistics jump out for Arkansas Tech, and those reside on the defensive front. The Golden Suns rank No. 24 in hits allowed per game (5.99) and 25th in double plays (16) and earned run average (2.39).
Offensively, ATU is doing decently, ranking fifth in the GAC in batting average (.279) and third with 34 homers. They are also the GAC leader with 10 triples and rank second with 84 stolen bags.
Individually, pitcher Emily Richarde is No. 29 in the country and second in the GAC allowing 4.97 hits per game. She also ranks third in the conference with a 2.21 ERA.
Teammate Aly White's 1.66 earned run average is slotted No. 29 in D2 and second in the league.
On the offensive end, Aubree Jones, the GAC Player of the Week, and Anna Winkfield each have seven homers. Those are slotted eighth in the conference. Also of note, Jones' .497 on-base-percentage is good for third. Lastly, Caroline Wilhelm is first in the GAC and No. 16 in D2 with five sacrifice flies.
