CANTON, Ohio – The Malone University softball team continues their path towards the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) tournament with a conference doubleheader with rival Walsh University. The Pioneers go into the weekend series fourth in the conference standings with an 11-7 G-MAC record.
 
GAME INFORMATION:
Malone Pioneers (19-8-1, 11-7 G-MAC) @ Walsh Cavaliers (18-14, 4-8 G-MAC)
WU Softball Complex – North Canton, Ohio (1/3 DH)
Live Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/walsh/
 
SOFTBALL SERIES HISTORY:
The Pioneers are 24-51 against the Walsh Cavaliers all-time, but Malone swept Walsh in 2019 in the regular season finale on their home turf. The Pioneers have won four consecutive games against the wine and gold.
 
MALONE PIONEERS TEAM NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
Malone is coming off a non-conference doubleheader sweep of Carlow University on Tuesday, where Kelsey Byers broke the career strikeout record in game one. Byers is also only six strikeouts away from topping her mark of 180 K's in a single season, the current individual season record in school history. Jensen Miller got the win in a complete game, five innings of work in game two.
 
Bailey Byers picked up right where she has left off in recent weeks by slugging her 12th homerun of the season Tuesday. Byers was named G-MAC Softball Position Player of the Week and Louisville Slugger/NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches' Association) Player of the Week Division II National Position Player of the Week for her performances on April 12-18. Byers is on a string of eight straight games with multiple hits and 13 of her last 14 have been two-plus hits for the senior catcher.
 
As Bailey Byers and Erika Johnson have been getting on base at the top of the order, number three hitter in the order Lexi Betz has been driving runs in at a high rate. Betz leads the G-MAC with 39 RBIs and is eighth in all of NCAA DII in RBIs per game played. 56% of the hits Betz has accumulated in 2021 have been extra base hits. Her 10 homeruns in 2021 would put her third in the Malone single season recordbook and her slugging percentage of .885 would be only topped by the season Byers is having offensively.
 
Elizabeth Dyke has upped her batting average to .347 this season, boosted by a 3-for-3 performance in the game two win against Carlow. Dyke has made 14 consecutive starts at first base, solidifying herself at the position.
 
WALSH CAVALIERS TEAM NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
The Walsh Cavaliers are winners of three straight, their most recent games coming on Thursday when Walsh swept Defiance College. The Cavaliers are currently just off the cusp of a postseason berth in the G-MAC Softball Championships with an 18-14 overall record and 4-8 in conference record.
 
Despite their poor league record, the Cavaliers hold the fourth-best offense in the G-MAC with a .293 team batting average. Walsh has the third-most homeruns in the conference with 19 balls leaving the yard in 2021.
 
Jesse Rock is the most prolific hitter for the Cavaliers. She leads the team with eight homeruns and has a .368 batting average. 14 of her 35 hits on the year have resulted in extra bases. Emma Bobey gets on base most often with an even .400 batting average.
 
Sara Gockenbach leads Walsh with 16 starts in the circle. She has an 11-5 record, with 12 complete games, 104.1 innings pitched, 74 strikeouts and a team-low 3.56 earned run average.