SHAWNEE – Following a critical series win at Arkansas Tech last weekend, Oklahoma Baptist, ranked No. 24 by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, heads to Bethany to face Southern Nazarene.
The three-game series starts Friday, April 24 at 4 p.m.
OBU's victories against ATU kept the Bison within striking distance of the GAC Regular Season Title. In fact, OBU has a 36-11 overall mark and 22-5 conference record. That's the same amount of conference victories as Southern Arkansas (39-5, 22-4) who only leads due to win percentage.
Historically, the Bison and Crimson Storm each have 27 wins apiece versus each other. However, over the last 11 matchups, the green and gold have won eight. Below are notes on the teams.
For the Bison:
Following two victories last Friday in Russellville, OBU has 36 wins, matching last year's total. For Head Coach
Jace Brewer, through nearly two seasons, he's got a 72-28 record. That .720 winning percentage is best all-time in school history.
Greenlee Wells broke a third single-season record last week. An
Ally Ryan sixth-inning homer pushed Wells across home for the 51st time this season. That total surpassed Kayla Hubbard's 2002 mark of 50.
Speaking of Ryan, that home run mentioned above was her 40th career bomb. Only one other OBU player has that many: Jayme Boyer. Between 2006-09, she attained 46, a program-high.
Ryan also has 131 career RBI. That's slotted sixth in school history.
One other major milestone is close to being broken.
Kaley Cook's 44 stolen bags are two away from Mary May's 1993 single-season record of 46. Cook, a sophomore, has the third-most steals in the nation.
Jaycee Shaffer was outstanding in game one against Arkansas Tech. She notched a complete-game shutout and earned her 19th win of the year. The senior has 41 career wins, seventh-most all-time.
OBU's 60 home runs are a top-three national mark. For historical perspective, OBU has hit 60-plus homers in each of the last two seasons, a first. The team had 69 a year ago, a program record.
The green and gold are among the best in the GAC in numerous categories. They've drawn 209 walks, 101 stolen bases, 43 sacrifice bunts, 60 homers, 393 hits and posted a .319 batting average. Pitching wise, the team strikes out 6.39 per seven innings. All of these marks are top-two in the conference.
For the Crimson Storm:
SNU won at Harding last weekend, taking two of three. Those victories boosted their record to 26-23 and 16-11 in the GAC.
The Storm sit in fifth place in the GAC standings with two weekends of league action remaining. Of the team's 26 wins, 15 have come at home.
Two big takeaways from this year's Southern Nazarene are shutouts and fielding percentage. They lead the GAC in both with 10 shutouts and a .972 fielding mark.
Their lowest marks are eighth in batting average (.267) and ninth with 28 hit batters.
Offensively, Quinlyn Johnson leads the league with five triples while Eden Anderson and Kristen Mullendore are second and third, respectively, with 15 and 13 doubles.
In the circle, SNU has a couple good pitchers. Baylee Sales is third in the GAC and 16th nationally with six shutouts. She's also third in hits allowed per seven frames (5.40). Teammate Olivia Hernandez sits in third in the GAC with a 2.23 ERA.
