Game Time... Northwestern College is set to open its 2019 season with several games in Batesville, Ark. this week. The Red Raiders will play six games in a span of three days against two opponents, Lyon (Ark.) and Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.), beginning with a doubleheader against the host Scots on Thursday at 12:30pm. 

Follow all of the games via live stats at this link: Live Stats

Video for all games is also available at these links: Day One | Day Two | Day Three

All-Time...This will be the first ever meeting between Northwestern and the two teams, Lyon and Lindenwood-Belleville, in program history. 

Scouting Reports...

    (RV) Lyon Scots: 3-0            Head Coach: Elliott Sampley (5th)

Earning votes for the first time in program history, Lyon College is off to a 3-0 start in the young 2019 season. They have wins over Avila (Mo.), Bethany (Kan.) and Central Arkansas, outscoring opponents 18-13 in the three wins. Lyon is a member of the American Midwest Conference and was picked to finish third out of 13 teams in the preseason poll, trailing Columbia (Mo.) and Freed-Hardeman. 

Sampley, the sixth head coach in the history of the Scots softball program, was hired in 2014 and begins his fifth season. A member of the Lyon College Athletic Hall of Fame after a standout baseball career, Sampley returns his No.2 pitcher, three starters and seven players total from a 2018 team that finished second in the AMC with a 19-5 record, 37-12 overall. 

    By the Numbers:
    Runs/Game: 6                            Runs/Game Given Up: 4.3
    Batting Ave: .286                        Opponents Batting Ave: .260
    Stolen Bases: 9/10

    Top Players:
    Faith Cornmesser: .750BA, Run
    Megan Micke: .400BA, 3 runs, HR
    Cheyenne Herrera: .333BA
    Cheyenne Black (All-American in 2018): .286BA, 3 RBIs

    Katelyn Platt (2nd team all-conference): 1-0, 1.50 ERA, 9.1 IP, 8 K's

    Lindenwood-Belleville Lynx: 0-0        Head Coach: Charlie Kennedy (8th year)

Like Northwestern, Lindenwood-Belleville is making its 2019 season debut this weekend at the Tri-Match. Also a member of the American Midwest Conference, the Lynx are picked to finish ninth in the preseason coaches' poll. 

Kennedy started the softball program at Lindenwood-Belleville in 2012 and is now in his eighth season as the head coach of the Lynx. He guided LBU to a ninth place finish in league play with a 12-12 record, 24-22 overall.

Top Returning Players (2018 stats)
Zoie Villa (2nd team all-conference): .378 BA, 14 runs, 4 HR, 24 RBIs
Payton Curtis  .342 BA, 14 runs, 17 RBIs
Madison Mountain  .315 BA, 32 runs, 8 HR, 31 RBIs
Amanda Velasquez  .315 BA, 13 runs, 2 HR

Peyton Rose: 8-7, 3.70 ERA, 92.2 IP, 42 K's
Cortnye Pool: 6-4, 3.72 ERA  84.2 IP, 36 K's

    Northwestern College Red Raiders: 0-0            Head Coach: Shane Bouman (1st year)

The Red Raiders are coming off a 2018 season where they finished with a 36-13 overall record, winning the GPAC postseason title and qualifying for the NAIA Softball Championship - Opening Round.

Hired in August, Bouman, a former head coach at SDSU and Indiana State along with an assistant at the University of Iowa, inherits a NWC team that returns three starters, two pitchers and seven players from the 2018 team.

Top Players Returning (2018 stats)
Emily Bosch - (All-Conference)  .351 BA, 25 runs, 5 HR, 26 RBIs
Madison Beaver (2x All-Conference)  .292 BA, 25 runs, 3 HR, 14 RBIs
Emma Schnell .266 BA, 14 runs, 4 HR, 18 RBIs

Schnell (All-Conference)  17-5, 1.87 ERA  146 IP, 99 K's