CANTON, Ohio – The Malone University softball team, who are winners of six of their last seven games, look to continue their run this weekend with a road doubleheader at Ohio Dominican University. The Pioneers were also scheduled to venture to Hillsdale College on Saturday, but that game has been postponed until Monday afternoon due to impending rain showers.
 
GAME INFORMATION:
Malone Pioneers (12-5-1, 6-4 G-MAC) @ Ohio Dominican Panthers (15-10, 5-3 G-MAC)
Panther Softball Field – Columbus, OH (3/5 DH)
Live Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ohiodominican/
Live Stats: https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=ohdo
 
SOFTBALL SERIES HISTORY:
The Pioneers are 12-41 all-time against the Panthers of Ohio Dominican, but split a road doubleheader in 2019. Kelsey Byers threw a one-hit shutout in a 1-0 win in Columbus.
 
MALONE PIONEERS TEAM NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
The Malone softball team has ascended the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) standings in the last week after completing sweeps of Findlay and Ohio Valley and taking six of their last seven games. The Pioneers are in fourth place in the conference standings and third-ranked Ohio Dominican Panthers this weekend with a chance to move up even more.
 
Offensively, Malone has been dominant throughout the lineup. The Pioneers have the highest team batting average in the G-MAC at .347 and have the most extra base hits per game at just over three per. Malone showcased the pop in their bats on Tuesday, hitting seven homeruns against Ohio Valley, with 12 extra base hits in total.
 
For the second time this season, pitcher Kelsey Byers has been named G-MAC Softball Pitcher of the Week for March 29 through April 4. Byers pitched all 26 innings for Malone in a 3-1 weekend. Byers recorded 28 total punchouts last week while allowing just one batter to reach via base on balls. On Tuesday, she added on to her totals with nine innings of work, allowing two runs on five total hits on the afternoon. Byers has the most strikeouts in the conference with 122 in 81.2 innings.
 
In between the team leaders in homeruns (Bailey Byers and Lexi Betz), sits Erika Johnson in the two hole and April Howser as the number four hitter. Quietly this season, Johnson and Howser have reached base in 13 consecutive games, the longest such streaks on the team. Howser has also recorded a hit in five straight contests, the second-longest active streak behind Bailey Byers with eight consecutive games with a base hit.
 
OHIO DOMINICAN PANTHERS TEAM NOTES:
Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
The Panthers were winners of four straight before dropping a mid-week doubleheader to Ursuline College on Tuesday. Earlier in the season, Ohio Dominican went on a run of 10 wins in 11 games, all but one coming against Midwest Regional opponents.
 
It will be a clash of styles on Friday with the number two pitching staff in the G-MAC squaring off against the most efficient offense in the Pioneers. Ohio Dominican holds a team ERA of 2.71, has four shutouts this season, and batters are hitting .264 off Panther pitching. Ohio Dominican also utilizes efficient defense to limit opponent scoring. The Panthers have the second-best fielding percentage in the league at .964.
 
Sydney Long has thrown eight complete games this season and holds a 7-6 record. She has a team-high 81.1 innings pitched with a team-low 2.07 ERA.
 
Senior utility player Carson Hackerd leads the Panthers in batting with a .361 average. Braxton Downs has hit eight homeruns this season, the most in the G-MAC, and accumulated 23 RBIs.