Softball 2/28/2019 5:02:00 PM Jordan Alves

Lady Tiger softball opens Gulf Shores Invitational on Friday with a late night doubleheader

Fans can listen live on the CU Sports Network - www.campbellsvilletigers.com/watch

GULF SHORES, Ala. — A five-game schedule at the Gulf Coast Invitational sits in front of No. 11 Campbellsville University softball this weekend.

The Lady Tigers are facing three of the Top 30 teams in the country, including a date with No. 18 Central Methodist to close out the tournament. Before Sunday's matchup, Campbellsville will open The Invitational with Baker University and Ave Maria on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET.

CU then turns around to play Houston-Victoria and Culver-Stockton on Saturday at 12:30 and 5:30 p.m. ET, respectively, before the date with Central Methodist Sunday morning at 10 a.m. ET.

Of the five opponents this weekend, three of them reached their conference tournament championship and all three were one of the 45 teams in the NAIA Opening Round.

All five games will air on the Campbellsville University Sports Network this weekend at the link above.

Lady Tigers enter with a 7-1 record:

Lexi Miller has been on a tear of late. After only tallying two hits in her first four collegiate games, the freshman from Madisonville has since gone 10-for-16 and scored four runs. She went 6-for-7 against Brescia during the Tuesday doubleheader.
Ryley Whitney has started her sophomore campaign strong at the plate, already matching her home run total from last season with four through the first eight games.
Mia Aldridge is right above Whitney in the average category after starting the year 10-of-24 (.417). Aldridge is tied for third on the team with Miller driving in four runs.
The pitching staff has been solid thus far. Aleigha Talsma has proved why she was one of the best recruits out of Michigan after starting 3-0 with a sub-one ERA.
Talsma has thrown a pair of complete games, 23 total innings and allowed only three earned runs.
Senior Morgan Gailor has bounced back nicely after the season-opening 8-0 loss to Warner. Gailor has since allowed only two earned runs in the last four games, has a 2.28 ERA and has matched her career-high twice this season with eight strikeouts in a pair of games.
Head Coach Shannon Wathen also hit a milestone this week. After the doubleheader sweep over Brescia on Tuesday, Coach Wathen notched her 600^thwin at the helm of the Lady Tigers.

Scouting Baker University:

Baker University is 6-0 on the year and is coming off an NAIA Opening Round appearance in the second Bowling Green Bracket last season.
Baker starts to season just outside the Top 25 at No. 26 with 80 points in the Coaches' Poll.
The Wildcats return arguably one of the best pitchers in the country from last season – Olivia Brees. She struck out 331 batters last season in 229 innings. In her career, she has an even 900 Ks and 1.65 ERA through 631 innings.
Offensively, Baker scores eight runs a game and is hitting .398 as a team. Jazzmine Thorpe is hitting .522 early in the year from the top of the order.

Scouting Ave Maria:

Ave Maria is 3-5 on the year and is the lone team from the Sunshine State the Lady Tigers will face this weekend.
Brittany Blizzard is their ace in the circle with a 2.71 ERA and 2-2 record through 20.2 innings on the year.
Offensively, the Gyrenes are led by Angela Cataldo's .450 average.
Ave Maria has yet to hit a home run this season through eight games.

Scouting Houston-Victoria:

Houston-Victoria is a familiar opponent from last season's Gulf Shores Invitational. The Lady Tigers won 9-4 over the Jaguars. Morgan Gailor tossed four innings and allowed one earned run, while Ryley Whitney hit one of two home runs for the Lady Tigers.
CU trailed 3-2 but put up a seven-spot in the sixth inning to break it open.
The Jaguars, who are 4-2 on the year, are out of the Red River Athletic Conference and reached the NAIA Opening Round last season right here in Gulf Shores. But UHV went 0-2 and were eliminated.
In the Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Jaguars are No. 32 with receiving votes.
UHV did win the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Championship over Texas A&M-Texarkana, 10-9.
Individually, the Jaguars are led by Jamison "Torey" Dumont at the plate with a .368 average. She has the only home run for UHV and is second on the team with four RBI.
In the circle, the Jaguars have thrown out six pitchers early in the year.
Three pitchers have two starts – Dumont, Cheyenne Galindo and Kelsey Tidrick. Galindo and Tindrick have thrown the bulk of the innings and are sub 1.50 ERAs.

Scouting Culver-Stockton:

The Wildcats are 2-0 on the year after beating Hannibal-LaGrange, 19-0 and 9-1.
Culver-Stockton, out of Canton, Missouri, has arguably the toughest schedule this weekend by facing three NAIA Top 25 programs in No. 17 William Carey, No. 11 Campbellsville and No. 19 Faulkner.

Scouting No. 18 Central Methodist:

The Eagles are 3-3 on the year, including wins over Friends University, Avila University and Lindenwood-Belleville. The three losses have come against Top 40 opponents in the Preseason Poll – No. 1 Oklahoma City, Ottawa and Bellevue.
They are another familiar foe in the Gulf Shores Invite for CU. The Lady Tigers beat Central Methodist 6-0 last year behind Neely Quint's three-hitter.
Last season, the Eagles lost in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament finals to Grand View. Central Methodist were in the winner's bracket, but the Vikings beat the Eagles twice on Championship day to steal the crown.
The Eagles were also in the NAIA Opening Round hosted by Columbia College in Fayette, Missouri.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#7 Neely Quint: P; 5' 6"; Senior; Brookport, Ill.

#4 Mia Aldridge: LF; 5' 7"; Junior; Lawrenceburg, Ky.

#17 Morgan Gailor: RHP; 5' 7"; Senior; Louisville, Ky.

#15 Ryley Whitney: C; 5' 9"; Sophomore; Scottsville, Ky.

#3 Lexi Miller: OF; 5' 7"; Freshman; Madisonville, Ky.

#7 Aleigha Talsma: RHP; 5' 7"; Freshman; Hudsonville, Mich.

Players Mentioned

#7 Neely Quint
: 5' 6"; Senior; Brookport, Ill.
: P

#4 Mia Aldridge
: 5' 7"; Junior; Lawrenceburg, Ky.
: LF

#17 Morgan Gailor
: 5' 7"; Senior; Louisville, Ky.
: RHP

#15 Ryley Whitney
: 5' 9"; Sophomore; Scottsville, Ky.
: C

#3 Lexi Miller
: 5' 7"; Freshman; Madisonville, Ky.
: OF

#7 Aleigha Talsma
: 5' 7"; Freshman; Hudsonville, Mich.
: RHP