CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — The Battle of Highway 55 hits the softball diamond this week and it has a little more meaning than the normal bragging rights. No. 6 Campbellsville is looking to win three straight Mid-South Conference regular season titles but to do so, the Lady Tigers have to win at least 3-of-4 over games No. 9 Lindsey Wilson College, which comes to town for a four-game series starting tomorrow.
The Lady Tigers boast a 30-8 record and 17-1 Mid-South Conference slate, while Lindsey Wilson is a game ahead in the standings at 18-0 and 32-7 overall.
The series gets started at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 13 with the first of two doubleheaders. Friday's two games starts at 1 p.m. ET.
Fans can tune in on the Campbellsville University Sports Network and
www.CampbellsvilleTigers.com/watch for all four games.
Last season, Campbellsville won the series with three wins – 12-3, 7-0, 4-3 and lost 2-1. The Lady Tigers also won their first MSC Tournament championship title since 2008 with a 1-0 victory in Bowling Green.
The Lady Tigers are coming off a weekend series with rival Georgetown College, which CU won 3-of-4 games but dropped its first conference game. Lindsey Wilson is coming in with a 21-game win streak and has swept Cumberland University, Shawnee State and University of the Cumberlands in the last few weeks.
For CU, this weekend is the final conference series of the year but the Lady Tigers are still searching for dates to make up two games that were rained out with University of the Cumberlands. Lindsey Wilson travels to Georgetown on Tuesday, April 18 for its conference regular season finale.
Tori Humphrey leads the Lady Tigers at the plate, hitting .490 with five home runs and 24 RBI. She is followed by a pair of upperclassmen –
Jacqueline Roof (.430, seven HR, 33 RBI) and
Brittany Rippy (.375, one HR, 17 RBI). In addition to Humphrey, fellow freshmen
Alexis Smith (.348, three HR, 27 RBI) and
Mia Aldridge (.345, five HR, 24 RBI) are also having stellar rookie seasons.
Overall, CU has eight Lady Tigers hitting over .300 and as a team is hitting .337, which ranks no. 2 in the Mid-South.
In the pitching circle, the Lady Tigers have a pair of arms that have been nothing but stellar as well. Boasting a team-ERA of 2.58,
Neely Quint and
Morgan Gailor combined for a 27-8 record with 21 complete-games and six shutouts. In addition,
Rachel Denkins has seen action in relief with 39 innings under her belt with a 2.87 ERA.
Pitching is a strong point for Lindsey Wilson, though. The Blue Raiders lead the MSC with a team-ERA at 1.65 and opponents are hitting .231 off Casey Bryan and Taylor Slade. Slade enters the week with a 1.18 ERA and 8-2 overall record in 65 innings. Bryan boasts a 1.61 ERA and 17-3 record with 15 complete-game shutouts. She's tossed 126.1 innings, while striking out 139 on the year.
At the plate, Cassie Kooker leads the Blue Raiders with a .379 average and Callum Pilgrim is hitting .363. The power numbers are driven by Sydney Forum's 10 home runs and 30 RBI. Amber Foukes has hit eighth long balls and driven in a team-high 38.
The Blue Raiders have out-scored opponents 221-83 and boast a 5-3 record against opponents ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
