CANTON, Ohio – The final Malone University home softball series of the 2021 season will take place Tuesday at Pioneer Softball Field versus Case Western Reserve University. The non-conference doubleheader with be the penultimate tune-up for the Pioneers as they head into the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) tournament next week.
GAME INFORMATION:
Malone Pioneers (21-8-1, 13-7 G-MAC) vs Case Western Reserve Spartans (21-7)
Pioneer Softball Field – Canton, OH
Live Video/Stats:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/malone/
SOFTBALL SERIES HISTORY:
This will be the first ever matchup between Malone and Case Western Reserve.
MALONE PIONEERS TEAM NOTES:
Schedule |
Roster |
Statistics
The Pioneers have won five straight games and seven of their last eight. Malone softball is peaking at the right time with the postseason right around the corner. Heading into their last series at home, the Pioneers have won eight of their last 10 played in Canton, Ohio.
Kelsey Byers is fresh off a 3-0 week where she pitched 21 innings and surrendered just nine hits, two earned runs and struck out 23 batters. Byers broke her own single season record with 190 total punchouts after fanning 15 on Saturday in a doubleheader sweep of Walsh. Going into the last week of the regular season, Byers leads the G-MAC in innings (153.0 IP), strikeouts (190) and wins (19).
Bailey Byers also added on to her legacy by breaking her own single season homerun record on Saturday with her 13th and 14th blasts of the year. The Pioneers lead the conference with 31 team homeruns: Byers (14),
Lexi Betz (10),
Mikayla Kesel (2),
April Howser (2),
Erika Johnson (1),
Emily Betts (1) and
Lauren Bennett (1).
Mikayla Kesel had a big weekend at Walsh and has 10 multi-hit games in the 2021 campaign, behind only
Bailey Byers on the team. Kesel recorded a hit in all four games last week and was 7-for-13.
CASE WESTERN RESERVE SPARTANS TEAM NOTES:
Schedule |
Roster |
Statistics
Case Western Reserve is a team that has won 11 of their last 12 and went on a 10-game winning stretch earlier this year. Most recently, the Spartans picked up a 12-3 win at Bluffton last Friday.
At home, Case Western Reserve is 12-0, but are just 9-7 when venturing away from Cleveland, Ohio. As a team, the Spartans hit .370 with a miniscule 2.70 team ERA.
Sarah Miller does most of the damage in the batter's box for Case Western Reserve. She leads the Spartans and NCAA DIII with 13 homeruns and 24 of her 38 hits on the year have been extra base hits. She has 32 RBIs and 46 runs scored. Arisa Cleaveland leads Case Western Reserve with a .444 batting average. Six of her 40 base hits have been doubles.
In the circle, Sidney Brannam is one of the top pitchers at the NCAA DIII level with a 17-2 record, 1.66 ERA, 10 complete games and two saves with 90 strikeouts.
