Complete Game Notes
Games #25-26: Emporia State (19-12, 3-5 MIAA) at Lincoln (8-16, 0-6 MIAA)
Date:  Friday, March 22 at 2:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: https://lubluetigers.com/sidearmstats/softball
Live Video: https://themiaanetwork.com/lubluetigers
Site: LU Softball Field (Jefferson City, Mo.)

Games #27-28: Washburn (23-9, 4-4 MIAA) at Lincoln
Date:  Saturday, March 23 at 1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: https://lubluetigers.com/sidearmstats/softball
Live Video: https://themiaanetwork.com/lubluetigers
Site: LU Softball Field (Jefferson City, Mo.)

THE LEAD OFF:  The Lincoln softball team opens its home MIAA slate this weekend with a pair of twinbills against conference opponents. On Friday (March 22), the Blue Tigers welcome Emporia State to LU Softball Field for a 2:00 p.m. CDT double-header. On Saturday (March 23), Lincoln hosts Washburn for two games beginning at 1:00 p.m. CST. The Blue Tigers are 4-4 at home this year and shut out Minnesota State-Moorhead, 4-0, in their last game at LU Softball Field on March 13. Emporia State is just 1-5 in road games but 19-12 overall. ESU dropped two games to Rogers State in its last contests, getting run-ruled in the first game before falling in extra innings in the second on March 16. Washburn, meanwhile, is 23-9 overall, 4-4 in the MIAA and 2-3 in true road games.

PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  Leslie Callahan, who is batting .343, has 24 hits and 19 runs while Abbi Conrad leads the Blue Tigers with 20 runs on 25 hits while hitting .333. Maris Ollison, a .319 hitter, has a team-high 17 RBI on 15 hits and Mackenzie Graham has 20 hits and 13 RBI. Paige Rademann has three of Lincoln's wins in the circle and Mallorey Rogers has struck out a team-high 28 batters.

HEAD COACH JASON OLLISON:  A 2000 grad of Lincoln University and an All-MIAA baseball player with the Blue Tigers, Jason Ollison in now in his second year as the head coach of the Lincoln softball team. In his first season, Ollison guided the Blue Tigers as they transitioned from playing games an off-campus site to playing on a brand new surface at LU Softball Field. Ollison is his second stint working at LU, as he served as the baseball team's hitting coach in 2001-02.

LAST TIME OUT:  A brief review of Lincoln's recent games:

Game 13: LU 3, CBU 2:  Abbi Conrad's hit in the bottom of the seventh allowed Lindsey Brandt to score as the Blue Tigers edged Christian Brothers, 3-2, in Jefferson City on March 5. Conrad had two hits in the game and Maris Ollison had a pair of RBI while Kasey Kilburn got the win in the circle in a relief role.

Game 14: CBU 4, LU 2:  Mackenzie Graham scored on a wild pitch and Taylor Heimbaugh reached the plate on an error, but the Blue Tigers fell to Christian Brothers, 4-2, in the second game on March 5. Allison Schwartze led LU with two hits and Paige Rademann notched a strikeout in a complete-game effort.

Game 15: MSSU 4, LU 1:  The Blue Tigers scored in the top of the first as Abbi Conrad came home on a single from Mackenzie Graham, but Missouri Southern scored the next four runs to get the 4-1 victory in Joplin, Mo. on March 9. In five innings in the circle, Mallorey Rogers fanned four batters.

Game 16: MSSU 14, LU 4:  Missouri Southern used a nine-run first inning to beat the Blue Tigers in five frames, 14-4, on March 9. Leslie Callahan had two hits, a run and an RBI.

Game 17: #16 PSU 3, LU 0:  Mallorey Rogers pitched a gem, allowing just two earned runs on five hits, but Pittsburg State, ranked No. 16 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II poll, earned the 3-0 win on March 10. Rogers struck out two batters.

Game 18: #16 PSU 13, LU 1:  Pittsburg State took advantage of 19 hits to sweep the double-header against Lincoln on March 10. Lindsey Brandt had the run for LU, scoring on Mackenzie Graham's double in the top of the fourth.

Game 19: WJC 7, LU 3:  Leslie Callahan scored a pair of runs and Mackenzie Graham had three hits, but William Jewell plated five runs in the fourth inning and did not look back in a 7-3 win in Liberty, Mo. on March 12. Mallorey Rogers had a pair of strikeouts.

Game 20: WJC 7, LU 6:  William Jewell scored a pair of seventh-inning runs to force extras and ended up plating three more scores in the bottom of the eighth to eke out a 7-6 win on March 12. Leslie Callahan went 4-for-4 at the plate with a home run and Lindsey Brandt had two RBI.

Game 21: MSUM 7, LU 6:  Gabby Newman's three-run homer in the seventh nearly brought LU back from a 7-1 deficit, but Minnesota State-Moorhead held on for a 7-6 victory at LU Softball Field on March 13. Abbi Conrad, Torri Hinnah and Newman each had two hits.

Game 22: LU 4, MSUM 0:  Paige Rademann struck out three batters and allowed just three hits in a shutout win over MSU-Moorhead on March 13. Mackenzie Graham led LU with two hits and Torri Hinnah and Kierra O'Rourke each had an RBI.

Game 23: UCM 8, LU 0:  Central Missouri scored eight runs on 10 hits to win in Warrensburg, Mo. on Tuesday (March 19).

Game 24: UCM 2, LU 0:  Paige Rademann and Kasey Kilburn combined to strike out four UCM batters, but the Jennies scored runs in the second and third innings to pull out a 2-0 win in the night cap on Tuesday (March 20).

ON DECK:  The Blue Tigers head to Oklahoma next weekend, playing double-headers against Northeastern State on March 29 and Rogers State on March 30.