APSU Women’s Softball
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University’s softball team will play host to Ohio Valley Conference leader Eastern Illinois, 1:00pm, Friday and Saturday, at Cheryl Holt Field for a three-game league series.
The two teams will play a doubleheader Friday followed by a Saturday single game.
The Lady Govs (10-33, 5-16 OVC) enter the weekend sitting in 10th place in the conference standing, four games out of the needed sixth-place slot to earn a berth to the conference’s post-season tournament. Nine OVC games are left on the schedule.
The Panthers (32-8, 19-2 OVC), who lost their second conference game of the season, Tuesday, at Southeast Missouri, sit atop the league race one game ahead of second-place Jacksonville State.
Austin Peay is led offensively by freshman Lauren de Castro — who missed the series with Jacksonville State last weekend with a leg injury – and comes in batting .277 on the season, with three home runs and 14 RBI.
Following de Castro is junior Catie Cozart (.276, 3 HR, 14 RBI), who was the hottest hitter for the Lady Govs last week with a .417 batting average in five games, including a double and a home run.
In the circle, sophomore Morgan Brewer tops the Lady Govs pitching staff with a 6-12 win-loss mark this season, including a 3.76 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 126.2 innings of work. Brewer was the hard-luck loser in the nine-inning 1-0 loss to Jacksonville State last Sunday.
Offensively the Panthers have four players hitting more than .300 on the season, led by Malise Brown’s .408 batting average.
But it’s in the circle that has truly propelled Eastern Illinois to atop the conference standings this season as the duo of Amber May (17-3, 1.17 ERA) and Stephanie Maday (12-4, 1.49 ERA) have the Panther pitching staff ranked second in the nation in team ERA.
