CANTON, Ohio – After missing two weeks, the Malone University softball team is back in action on Friday in the team's first Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) doubleheader games. First up, the Pioneers take on the Trojans of Trevecca Nazarene University at home and follow that up with a pair of games against Kentucky Wesleyan College on Saturday. All four games will be played at Pioneer Softball Field.
 
GAME INFORMATION:
Friday, March 26
Malone Pioneers (6-1-1, 0-0 G-MAC) vs Trevecca Nazarene Trojans (8-6, 0-0 G-MAC)
Pioneer Softball Field – Canton, Ohio (3/5 pm)
Live Video/Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/
 
Saturday, March 27
Malone Pioneers (6-1-1, 0-0 G-MAC) vs Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers (4-9, 0-0 G-MAC)
Pioneer Softball Field – Canton, Ohio (12/2 pm)
Live Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/
 
SOFTBALL SERIES HISTORY:
Malone holds a 4-6 record all-time against Trevecca Nazarene. In 2019, the Pioneers traveled to Nashville and split the regular season series with a game one 4-2 victory and 5-2 loss in the endcap. In the G-MAC Tournament, Malone captured the season series with a 3-1 elimination game victory over the Trojans.
 
Against Kentucky Wesleyan, Malone is just 1-8, but the lone Pioneer win was an exciting one in the 2019 G-MAC Tournament. Both teams were playing with their backs against the wall, and Erika Johnson hosed the tying run at the plate to clinch a 5-4 victory and move on in the conference championships.
 
MALONE PIONEERS TEAM NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
Heading into the weekend, it will have been 14 days since Malone last played a game of softball. The Pioneers enter G-MAC play with a 6-1-1 record.
 
As a team, Malone has the highest batting average (.340) and lowest team ERA (1.43) and batting average against (.205). In their spring trip to North Myrtle Beach, the Pioneers went 5-1 overall and scored an average of 6.7 runs per game and allowed one run or fewer in four of the six games.
 
Kelsey Byers was named both G-MAC Athlete of the Week and Wilson/NFCA (National Fastpitch Softball Association) Division II National Pitcher of the Week from March 8-14. Byers is 6-0 on the season with a 0.21 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 34.0 innings pitched. Byers pitched the first known perfect game in school history and has three complete games and two shutouts already this season.
 
Offensively, Malone has four players batting above .400, and three of the four qualify for the conference batting title. Lauren Bennett leads the team with a .467 average and her four walks have led to a .579 on-base percentage. Her average puts her fourth in the G-MAC and her on-base percentage in second in the league.
 
The other top hitters are Amber Burick (.462), Bailey Byers (.458) and Mikayla Kesel (.450). Byers and Kesel sit seventh and tenth in the conference in batting average. Byers and Lexi Betz have six extra base hits (each with one homerun) to lead the Pioneers and are tied for the team lead with nine RBIs apiece.
 
TREVECCA NAZARENE TROJANS TEAM NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
Trevecca is 8-6 overall, but have seen wins in their last seven in a row. The Trojans swept four games in the Midwest Region Crossover event in Evansville, Indiana in their last games. Trevecca will be playing in their first games in 20 days after a long layoff.
 
The Trojans have the fourth highest team batting average at .284. Their pitching staff holds an ERA of 4.43 overall and hitters are batting .308 off of Trojan pitching. Trevecca has stolen 22 bases in 26 attempts, placing the Trojans third in the conference list of most steals. Errors leading to unearned runs tends to hold Trevecca back, as the Trojans have the second lowest fielding percentage in the G-MAC (.933).
 
Trevecca Nazarene is led by 2019 All-American selection and G-MAC Player of the Year MaKray Odom. In 13 games, Odom is batting a team-high .452 with four doubles, one homerun, six RBIs and eight runs scored.
 
Raygn Hall (4-4) and Alex Behnke (3-1) have split pitching duties almost evenly for the Trojans, with Hannah Caffey getting a few innings in the circle as well. Hall has more strikeouts with 28, but Behnke has a slightly lower earned run average at 3.85. Both pitchers have gone for three complete games.
 
KENTUCKY WESLEYAN PANTHERS TEAM NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
Kentucky Wesleyan is coming off a doubleheader loss to the University of Indianapolis on Tuesday and have a 4-9 overall record heading into their first conference action of the season on Saturday.
 
As a team, the Panthers rank 11th in batting average (.227) and earned run average (6.41).
 
Leading the Kentucky Wesleyan offense is Hannah Scheberle with a .302 batting average (13-for-43) with two doubles and three RBIs. Madison Scott is right on her heels at .289 (11-for-38) with two doubles and is tied for the team-high six RBIs.
 
In the circle, Evyn Hendrickson had started seven games, going the distance in six of them. She has a 4.17 ERA in 43.2 innings pitched and is second in the conference (only behind Kelsey Byers) with 63 strikeouts.