Complete Game Notes
Games #29-30: Lincoln (9-19, 1-9 MIAA) at Northeastern State (5-22, 0-10 MIAA)
Date:  Friday, March 29 at 1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: https://goriverhawksgo.com/sidearmstats/softball
Live Video: https://themiaanetwork.com/lubluetigers
Site: RiverHawks Park (Tahlequah, Okla.)

Games #31-32: Lincoln at #3 Rogers State (26-4, 10-0 MIAA)
Date:  Saturday, March 30 at 12:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m. CT
Live Stats: https://rsuhillcats.com/sidearmstats/softball
Live Video: https://themiaanetwork.com/lubluetigers
Site: LU Softball Field (Jefferson City, Mo.)

THE LEAD OFF:  The Lincoln softball team travels to the Sooner State this weekend for four games against MIAA opponents. On Friday (March 29), the Blue Tigers will be in Tahlequah, Okla. to play two games vs. Northeastern State, with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CDT. LU will then face its toughest tests of the season on Saturday (March 30), as the Blue Tigers visit Claremore, Okla. to play a double-header against Rogers State. The Hillcats, who are 26-4 overall and 10-0 in league play, are ranked No. 3 in the country according to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II poll. First pitch for LU against Rogers State is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CDT.

PREVIEWING THE BLUE TIGERS:  Abbi Conrad leads the Blue Tigers with a .360 batting average, 31 hits, 22 runs and seven doubles. Leslie Callahan, a .313 batter, has 25 hits on the season to go with 20 runs and six doubles. Maris Ollison has batted in a team-high 18 runs and has 18 hits while Mackenzie Graham, who has 23 hits on the year, has 13 RBI. Gabby Newman is next with 20 hits, Torri Hinnah has 15 hits and 11 RBI and Kierra O'Rourke is batting .333. In the circle, Paige Rademann has three wins and Mallorey Rogers has struck out 30 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 25: ESU 3, LU 2:  Abbi Conrad hit a two-RBI double in the bottom of the seventh to pull LU to within one, but Emporia State held off Lincoln for a 3-2 win in the first game of a double-header in Jefferson City last Friday (March 22). Conrad went 3-for-4 at the plate and Mackenzie Graham had two hits as Lincoln out-hit Emporia State, 9-7. In the circle, Page Rademann struck out two batters.

Game 26: LU 4, ESU 3:  Leslie Callahan's single into right field in the bottom of the ninth brought in Kierra O'Rourke and gave Lincoln a 4-3 extra inning win over Emporia State on Friday (March 22) at LU Softball Field. Abby Pulliam struck out three as the game's starter and Mallorey Rogers got the win after pitching the final 2.1 innings. O'Rourke led Lincoln with three hits and Gabby Newman tallied an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

Game 27: #23 WU 11, LU 1:  Washburn, which was ranked No. 23 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II poll, took advantage of 11 hits to hand the Blue Tigers an 11-1 home loss on Saturday afternoon (March 23). Lincoln's run was scored in the bottom of the fifth, as Abbi Conrad hit a double before scoring on a base hit by Maris Ollison.

Game 28: #23 WU 9, LU 0:  Kierra O'Rourke went 2-for-2 at the plate and Mackenzie Graham had a hit, but the Blue Tigers dropped a 9-0 decision to Washburn in Jefferson City on Saturday (March 23).

SCOUTING THE RIVERHAWKS:  Addy Wolfe leads Northeastern State with a .333 average, 23 hits and 16 runs to go with eight RBI as well as four doubles. Emily Sampson has NSU's next-highest batting average of .263 and has 11 doubles and 15 RBI, both of which lead the team. Macie Sawney has 21 hits, Allison Zanca is next with 19 and Brynn Burchfield has scored nine runs on 16 hits. Madison Heinle has all five of the RiverHawks' wins in the circle and has an ERA of 4.88 as well as 51 strikeouts.

SCOUTING THE HILLCATS:  Rogers State has one of the nation's best pitching rotations with a team ERA of 1.56 and 194 total strikeouts. Sara Llamas-Howell is 13-2 with a 1.31 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 89.1 innings of work. Harley Culie also has a 1.31 ERA and is 4-0 while Jade Sanders has a record of 9-2. Offensively, there are a pair of Hillcat batters hitting better than .300: Paxton Donaldson, a .375 batter with 27 hits and 15 runs, and Kalyee Lyon, a .309 hitter with 15 runs and 18 RBI.

DOUBLE UP:  The Blue Tigers have turned 13 double plays, an average of 0.46 per game that leads the MIAA and ranks 23rd in the country. LU is 20th nationally in total double plays as well as second in the conference. On offense, Lincoln has hit 37 doubles and is seventh in the league with an average of 1.32 per game.

IT'S A HIT:  Abbi Conrad has 10 multiple hit games in 2024, the most by a Blue Tiger, with eight two-hit efforts and a pair of performances with three hits. Leslie Callahan is next with seven multiple hit contests, followed by Mackenzie Graham with six.

ON DECK:  Lincoln is back at home to play four games next weekend, starting on Friday (April 5), when the Blue Tigers host Newman in a 1:00 p.m. CDT twinbill. On Saturday (April 6), the Blue Tigers host a double-header against Central Oklahoma at 12:00 p.m. CDT.