Complete Game Notes
Games #23-24: William Jewell (7-7) at Lincoln (4-18, 1-7 MIAA)
Date: Wednesday, March 20 at 2:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m. CT
Site: Cardinal Field in Liberty, Mo.
Live Stats: https://jewellcardinals.com/sidearmstats/softball
 
Games #25-26: Fort Hays State (10-9, 3-1 MIAA) at Lincoln
Date: Friday, March 22 at 1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m. CT
Site: LU Softball Field in Jefferson City, Mo.
Live Stats: https://lubluetigers.com/sidearmstats/softball/
 
Games #27-28: Nebraska Kearney (3-13, 1-3 MIAA) at Lincoln
Date: Saturday, March 23 at 12:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m. CT
Site: LU Softball Field in Jefferson City, Mo.
Live Stats: https://lubluetigers.com/sidearmstats/softball/
 
THE LEAD OFF:  Six games await the Lincoln softball team this week, as LU resumes non-conference play on the road before hosting a pair of MIAA double-headers. Lincoln will open the week on Wednesday (March 20) in Liberty, Mo. with two games against William Jewell at 2:00 p.m. CDT. The Blue Tigers then return home to host Fort Hays State on Friday (March 22) at 1:00 p.m. CDT and Nebraska Kearney on Saturday (March 23) at 12:00 p.m. CDT. Lincoln is coming off a pair of hard-fought losses to MIAA leader Central Oklahoma, and takes on a William Jewell team that is 7-7 on Wednesday. Over the weekend, LU plays an FHSU squad that is 10-9 after a split with Pittsburg State, and a UNK team that has three wins on the year.
 
PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  Camryn Pryor, who is hitting .379, is tied with Jordan Lawson, a .357 batter, with a team-high 25 hits, and Pryor and Bekah Kirker have each scored 10 runs. Mykenzie Livesay leads LU with 13 RBI, followed by Rachael Balke, who has 12 RBI on 20 hits. Gabi McGinty has tallied 14 hits and Tori Nienhueser has 11 hits, including seven doubles. Inside the circle, Shannon Greene (25 strikeouts) and Hannah Hennessy (28 strikeouts) each have two victories.
 
HEAD COACH CHRISTINE ENGBERS:  Engbers was named the head coach of the Blue Tigers in 2018 after a successful two-year run at Covenant, where she won 45 games and became the first coach to lead the Lady Scots to back-to-back years with winning records. Engbers, in her first season at Lincoln, was an All-American as a player at Covenant.
 
LAST TIME OUT:  The Blue Tigers hosted a pair of MIAA double-headers, playing Northeastern State on Saturday (March 16) before taking on Central Oklahoma on Sunday (March 17). Below are brief recaps of those contests:
 
Game 19: NSU 7, LU 0:  Lincoln had a base-runner in five of the game's seven innings, including in the fourth when Emily Williams hit a double, but Northeastern State kept the Blue Tigers off of the board to win Saturday's opener. Starter Hannah Hennessy had two strikeouts in the circle for LU.
 
Game 20: NSU 14, LU 4:  The Blue Tigers had 10 hits, including two each by Mykenzie Livesay, Tori Nienhueser and Rachael Balke, but NSU got the series sweep with a 14-4 win on Saturday. Nienhueser scored twice, and Balke had a pair of doubles, while Gabi McGinty had an RBI. In the circle, Shannon Greene notched two strikeouts.
 
Game 21: UCO 9, LU 1:  A solo homerun from Rachael Balke pulled the Blue Tigers to within 3-1 of the Bronchos, who entered the game ranked #4 in the American Fastpitch Coaches Association's Division II poll, through two innings. UCO added four runs in the third, however, and held off the Blue Tigers in seven innings on Sunday. Balke and Emily Williams each had two hits for Lincoln.
 
Game 22: UCO 9, LU 1:  Lincoln kept the MIAA-leading Bronchos off the board until the third frame, but Central Oklahoma pulled away late to hand the Blue Tigers a seven-inning loss in the second game on Sunday. Mykenzie Livesay went 3-for-3 at the plate, and batted in Rachael Balke in the bottom of the fourth. Jordan Lawson, Camryn Pryor and Emily Williams also had hits.
 
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS:  Courtney Beatty holds a .465 batting average and leads William Jewell with 20 hits while Sarah Lewis is next with 13. Emily Hoover and Lindsay Glynn each have scored 11 runs, and Madelynne Greenstreet has a pair of triples. WJC has a team batting average of .278 and an ERA of 4.22, with Greenstreet having four of the Cardinals' seven victories inside the circle.
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS:  Fort Hays State hits .293 as a team, led by Grace Philop with a .400 average and 26 hits. Five other Tigers are batting better than .300, including Terran Cauldwell, a .303 batter with 20 hits. Sara Breckbill leads the Tigers with 12 runs, and Bailey Boxberger has 20 RBI on the season. Haley Chapman is 5-4 with a 3.63 ERA while, as a team, FHSU has an ERA of 3.59.
 
SCOUTING THE LOPERS:  Despite having just three wins on the year, UNK hits .288 while its opponents have hit .286. The Lopers have a team ERA of 4.53, and Sarah Handrahan has two of Nebraska Kearney's victories while the other belongs to Erin Hallman. Offensively, Carlee Liesch leads UNK with a .442 average, 23 hits, 12 runs and three triples while Cheyenne Hamilton has 10 RBI.
 
DOUBLES PARTNERS: Tori Nienhueser and Rachael Balke are each adept at gaining multiple bases, as both players have seven doubles on the season. Both Balke and Nienhueser are tied for 10th in the MIAA in doubles.
 
PRYOR SUCCESS: Camryn Pryor opened the 2019 season on a hot streak, recording at least one hit in each of the first 11 games of the year. Pryor currently leads the Blue Tigers with 25 hits, and a .379 batting average.
 
ON DECK:  The Blue Tigers will be in Quincy, Ill next Wednesday (March 27) for a 2:00 p.m. CDT double-header against Quincy.