Game Time...Northwestern College will make its long awaited softball season debut with five games this weekend in Wichita, Kan. The Red Raiders will open with two games on Friday against Bethany (Kan.) and Friends at 10am and noon. They will then come back and play three more games on Saturday against Bethel (Kan.), McPherson (Kan.) and a ranked Ottawa (Kan.) team. 

Scouting Reports...

    Bethany Swedes:  5-9 record         Head Coach: Laura Moreno (3rd year)

Since beginning the season with six consecutive losses, Bethany has gone 5-3 over their last eight games. Earlier this week, the split with Concordia (Neb.), winning game one 12-10 and dropping game two 10-6. The Swedes have a team batting average of .353 and are scoring over seven runs per game. Defensively, they are giving up seven runs per game and have team ERA of 5.93.

    Top Players:

        Courtney Fudge: .476 BA, 14 runs, 8 extra-base hits, 14 RBI
        Emma Wager: .429 BA, 10 runs, 11 RBIs
        Ciera Flores: .405 BA, 15 runs, 2 HR, 10 RBIs
        Lexie Valentine: .394 BA, 10 runs

        Jessica Armijo: 2-0, 2.56 ERA, 13.2 IP, 6 K's
        Aspen Atkins: 2-1, 7.56 ERA 25 IP, 16 K's

    Friends Falcons: 1-5 record             Head Coach: Tony Segovia (14th year)

The Falcons have dropped five straight since a season-opening win against Texas Wesleyan on Feb. 2. They have lost to LSU-Alexandria (2x), Texas A&M-Texarkana and two games to Science & Arts of Oklahoma. 

Friends is scoring just under three runs per game while hitting .231 as a team. Defensively, they are giving up 3.5 runs per game with a team ERA of 2.48. 

    Top Players:

        Kylie Fox: .421 BA, 2 runs, 4 RBIs
        Jessie Guentzel: .308 BA, 1 run, 3 RBIs
        Kennedy Brunson: .294 BA, 3 runs
        Moriah Kayhill: .273 BA, 1 run

        Hali Walters: 0-2, 1.08 ERA  13 IP, 2 K's
        Maci Walker: 1-1, 3.20 ERA  15.1 IP

    Bethel Threshers: 5-3 record        Head Coach: Dave Middleton (1st year)

Bethel has won four straight games since a 1-3 start to the season, sweeping doubleheaders against both Hastings and Haskell. The Threshers are scoring five runs per game and hitting .271 as a team. Defensively, they are giving up nearly seven runs per game and carry a 5.80 ERA into the weekend.

    Top Players:

        Katie Schrag: .529 BA, 4 runs, 1 HR, 7 RBIs
        Leisle Hoffman: .300 BA, 3 runs
        Alexis Wilson: .300 BA, 3 runs, 1 HR

        Rylie Scudder: 0-0, 3.42 ERA  14.1 IP, 11 K's
        Raegan Beckley: 0-2, 9.84 ERA  10.2 IP, 7 K's

    McPherson Bulldogs: 4-6            Head Coach: Ashley Hickman (4th year)

The Bulldogs have dropped three straight games, two to Baker and one to Panhandle State, to fall to 4-6 on the year. They have a team batting average of .315 and score 4.4 runs per game. Defensively, they are giving up five runs per game and have a 3.02 ERA.

    Top Players:

        Kimberly Trice: .452 BA, 6 runs, HR, 10 RBIs
        Jessica Jones: .432 BA, 6 runs
        Ali Smith: .346 BA, 4 runs, 7 RBIs
        Malie Deutsch: .345 BA, 6 runs

        Christie Betker: 3-3, 2.50 ERA, 36.1 IP, 38 K's

    (RV) Ottawa Braves: 9-1    Head Coach: Jay Kahnt (17th year)

The Braves have won three straight and are off to an impressive 9-1 start to the season. Their only loss is a 3-1 decision to Avila in game one of a doubleheader on Feb. 14. Ottawa is hitting .285 as a team, scoring nearly six runs per game while giving up 2.6 runs per contest. Their pitching staff has a very good 2.19 team ERA.

    Top Players:

        Kori Lacey: .394 BA, 8 runs, 3 RBIs
        Ellena Cott-Laurie: .345 BA, 6 runs, 11 RBIs
        Aryn Smith: .333 BA, 9 runs
        Kenzie Stevens: .313 BA, 12 runs, HR

        Rebekah Clinton: 5-1, 1.63 ERA  43 IP, 36 Ks

Northwestern College: 0-0     Head Coach: Chris Nachtigall (7th year)

Nachtigall returns a total of 16 players and six starters from a 2017 team that finished fifth in the GPAC with a 10-10 record and earning a spot in the GPAC postseason tournament. They lost two straight games in the tournament to finish 23-24 on the year.

    Key Returners:

        Madison Beaver (All-Conference): .351 BA, 33 runs, 18 RBIs
        Katie Elliott (All-Conference): .304 BA, 22 runs, 19 RBIs
        Jensen Boger: .254 BA, 23 runs, 23 RBIs, 2 HR
        Jessica Sandbulte: .239 BA, 19 runs, 3 HR, 25 RBIs

        Kayla Tindall (All-Conference): 14-11, 3.95 ERA  163 IP, 114 K's