Complete Game Notes
Game #5: Lincoln (4-0) at Drury (6-4)
Date:  Friday, Feb. 28 at 2:00 p.m. CST
Site: Thompson Field (Springfield, Mo.)
Live Stats:  https://drurypanthers.com/sidearmstats/softball/
 
Game #6: Lincoln vs. William Jewell (3-5)
Date:  Friday, Feb. 28 at 4:00 p.m. CST
Site: Thompson Field (Springfield, Mo.)
Live Stats: https://drurypanthers.com/sidearmstats/softball/
 
Game #7: Lincoln vs. Newman (3-10)
Date:  Saturday, Feb. 29 at 12:00 p.m. CST
Site: Thompson Field (Springfield, Mo.)
 
Game #8: Lincoln vs. Southwest Baptist (1-11)
Date:  Saturday, Feb. 29 at 2:00 p.m. CST
Site: Thompson Field (Springfield, Mo.)
 
THE LEAD OFF:  The undefeated Lincoln softball team puts its perfect record on the line this weekend with four games at the Drury Invitational. The Blue Tigers take on the host school, Drury, on Friday (Feb. 28) at 2:00 p.m. CST in LU's first game away from home in 2020. Later that day, Lincoln will play William Jewell at 4:00 p.m. CST, before going head-to-head with Newman in a non-MIAA match-up on Saturday (Feb. 29) at 12:00 p.m. CST. The Blue Tigers close play in the Drury Invitational with a 2:00 p.m. CST contest against Southwest Baptist after the game vs. Newman. This will be the only meeting of the season between Lincoln and Drury, and the first of three games this year between LU and Newman, which is in its first season as an associate member of the MIAA. These will be the first of five games vs. both Southwest Baptist and William Jewell, as Lincoln plays home-and-homes with both teams later in the year.
 
PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  Lincoln owns a team ERA of 0.33, as both Tressa Hughes (11 strikeouts) and Hannah Clark have collected wins without allowing any earned runs. Twelve LU players are batting .364 or better, with Jordan Lawson (eight hits), Emily Williams (seven hits) & Kendra Holt (seven RBI) leading the way.

HEAD COACH CHRISTINE CORE:  Now in her second year as the coach of the Blue Tigers, Core helped Lincoln improve in nearly every offensive category in 2019. Two LU players earned All-MIAA honors under her direction. She took over the Lincoln program after a successful two-year run at Covenant, where she won 45 games.
 
LAST TIME OUT:  Lincoln hosted Lane for two games on Feb. 21. Below are brief recaps of those contests:
 
Game 3: LU 9, LC 1:  Tressa Hughes struck out nine and took a no-hitter into the fifth inning as LU beat LC in the first game of the twinbill. The Dragons' only run was unearned, as Hughes got the complete game win. Both Jordan Lawson and Emily Williams had three hits, with Lawson and Alex Miller, who hit a homerun, each tallying two RBI.
 
Game 4: LU 10, LC 1:  Lincoln had eight hits and took advantage of four Lane errors two sweep the double-header on Feb. 21. Hannah Clark went 2-for-2 at the plate and got the win in the circle, and Alex Miller pitched two innings while striking out three. Ashton Stalling also had a pair of hits for the Blue Tigers.
 
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS:  Drury allows just under two earned runs per game, with Haylee Van Deventer owning a 2-0 record and a 0.88 ERA. Kasey Cazares is 3-2 in the circle, and has struck out 30 opposing batters. Offensively, Abby Abby Tiemann has scored 10 runs on 12 hits, both team-highs, and Jacy Ummel has 11 hits and seven RBI.
 
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS:  Lindsay Glynn leads William Jewell in hits (nine), RBI (seven) and runs scored (five) while Tori Farr has seven hits, six of which have been doubles. Allison Rawls leads WJC with a .333 batting average, and Ashlyn Sutton has a team-best on-base percentage of .435. In the circle, Sarah Lewis (25 strikeouts), Kenzie Jones and Aly Manhart all have wins.

SCOUTING THE JETS:  Newman sports a deep roster, with 15 different batters having started at least one game in 2020. Lauren Kuhrt leads the Jets with 16 hits and 13 runs, and Lacey Colvin has a team-high .389 batting average. Emma Eck and Bailey Bugner both have 11 RBI. In the circle, Anna Veltein has all three of Newman's wins as well as a team-high 10 strikeouts.
 
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS:  Emma Wood has Southwest Baptist's lone win, but owns an ERA of 9.00, while Alexis Dock, who has an ERA of 3.68, has struck out a team-high 19 batters. Only three SBU batters are hitting better than .250: Nya Morgan (.333, nine hits), Janessa Rivera (.276, eight hits) and Aubry Hernandez (.257, nine hits).
 
TAKE TWO (OR MORE):  Lincoln enjoyed one of its best hitting seasons in recent memory in 2019, as Lincoln collected 96 multiple base hits, with an average of 1.4 doubles per game that ranked sixth in the MIAA. The Blue Tigers picked up where they left off in the first games of 2020, as LU's batters have combined to hit 14 doubles, three home runs and three triples this season.
 
LEADING THE NATION:  The Blue Tigers lead NCAA Division II in seven statistics, including batting average (.476), earned run average (0.33) and slugging percentage (.752). Tressa Hughes and Hannah Clark are two of the 10 Division II pitchers with 0.00 ERAs, and Hughes' average of 1.75 hits allowed per seven innings ranks as the best in the country.
 
LAW AND ORDER:  Jordan Lawson, a three-time All-MIAA honoree, leads Lincoln with a .571 batting average that ranks second in the league and 18th in NCAA Division II. Lawson is one of just four MIAA players with a triple and has stolen two bases on two attempts.
 
ON DECK:  Lincoln heads to St. Charles, Mo. on Monday (March 2) for a 2:00 p.m. CST twinbill against Lindenwood.