Wildcats and Lady Demons Set to Collide in Louisiana

NATCHITOCHES, La. – The ACU softball team (7-12, 1-2 SLC) continues its six-game road trip this weekend with a three-game series against the Lady Demons of Northwestern State (10-13, 2-1 SLC). After a 1-2 weekend against Lamar in which ACU was outscored 10-9 despite outhitting the Cardinals 23-18, the Wildcats look to get a road series win in league play for the first time in 2019.
 

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WEEKEND COVERAGE… All three games this weekend will have live stat options, and the games will also be streamed live on DemonTV.
 

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THE SERIES… The teams have met eight times over the years, with ACU trailing the series 5-3. The two squads met four times a season ago, including in the 2018 Southland Conference Tournament First Round in Lake Charles, La. Northwestern State won 4-3 in the postseason, and took two-of-three in Abilene earlier in the year. The Lady Demons have won three in a row in the series.
 

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CONFERENCE OPENERS… The Wildcats opened their Southland schedule last weekend in Beaumont, falling in game one to Lamar, 2-0, before bouncing back with a game-two victory, 5-3. The Cardinals took the finale last Saturday, 5-4, in extra innings to take two-of-three from ACU. Kayla Keeling led ACU offensively with a 4-for-10 weekend, with three extra-base hits (double, triple, homerun) and two runs driven in. Samantha Bradley (4-for-11) and Linsey Tomlinson (3-for-9) led the Wildcats as well. Calie Burris went 1-0 in the circle with a 1.74 earned run average to lead the pitching staff, picking up the victory in game two last Friday.

OFFENSIVE THREAT… Through the team's first 19 games, sophomore Kayla Keeling has been the driving force offensively. The Houston native leads the way with a .350 batting average, a .667 slugging percentage, a .418 on-base percentage, four home runs, and 12 runs driven in. The ACU backstop has also made just one error on the year as the team heads into its second weekend of league play. Keeling's 40 total bases by far lead the Wildcats as well.

DOUBLE-PLAY… ACU has turned a Southland Conference-best 13 double plays this season. The double-play duo up the middle of Kaitlyn Huseman and Briana Tijerina have turned six of them, and as a team, ACU has a fielding percentage of .955. First baseman Anna Grace Johnson leads the way with 96 putouts, and Katelyn Belch's 41 assists lead the team. Belch has been a part of a remarkable eight double plays already as well.