The Great American Conference made a change to the softball league schedule this year to include two Rivalry Tuesday dates so rival teams would play a home-and-home series.  The East Central University softball team and Southeastern Oklahoma State will play the first of those games, Tuesday, March 25 in Durant, OK starting at 1 p.m.  The Lady Tigers will then return home to face Arkansas-Monticello, March 28-29 at Lady Tiger field for a four-game GAC series.  Double-headers are scheduled for Friday, March 28 at 2 p.m. and Saturday, March 29 at noon.

Game Notes

The Coverage
Fans who can't be at the game can find links to live stats, live video (if available) on ECUTigers.com.  Go to the softball schedule page.

Scouting Southeastern
The Savage Storm are 20-7 overall and 13-3 in the GAC after winning their last 11 games.  The last outing for SEOSU was March 17 when they earned two wins over Minnesota Duluth.  The Savage Storm are in the middle of a 12-game home stand, with Tuesday's games being games seven and eight.

SEOSU has a team batting average of .304 and is holding its opponents to a .259 mark for the season.  They have a clear advantage in runs scored (136/85) and hits (213/186).

Sydney Kramer is the leader at the plate, with a .466 average, 20 runs, 41 hits and 24 RBIs.  Jessica Simmons adds a .440 average, 27 runs, 33 hits and seven RBIs.

Mindy McElroy and Jacee Bennett are the main pitchers for the Savage Storm.  McElroy has seen 76.1 innings of work and has a 10-3 record, while Bennett has pitched 60 innings and is 7-2 in the circle.

Against the Savage Storm
The Lady Tigers and SEOSU did not get a chance to face each other in 2013, as the series was rained out.  In 2012, the Savage Storm took three of four games in the series.

Junior Chelsea Patterson is the top returning hitter for ECU in the series, with a .231 average on three hits and one run scored.  Junior Brianna Nunley went 1-1 in the circle, allowing 15 hits and eight runs and striking out five.

Lauren Renneker is the top returner for SEOSU, with a .400 average on two hits and two RBIs.  Jacee Bennett went 2-0 in the circle in seven innings.  She allowed seven hits and two runs, with just one strikeout.

Scouting Arkansas-Monticello
The Cotton Blossoms are 19-14 overall and 10-10 in the GAC heading into this week's action.  UAM will face Southern Arkansas on Rivalry Tuesday at home before making the trip to Ada.

The Cotton Blossoms have a .314 team batting average for the season, but are allowing a .303 mark by the opposition.  While they have a small advantage in hits (296/279) they have a clear advantage in runs scored (173/128).

Beth Johnson and Kali Piha are the leaders at the plate for UAM.  Johnson has a .438 average, 34 runs, 46 hits and 29 RBIs.  Piha adds a .412 average, 31 runs, 47 hits and 27 RBIs.

Against the Cotton Blossoms
In a shortened series in 2013, the teams each earned one win at Lady Tiger Field.

Sophomore Jordynn VanPelt hit .333, with two hits, one run and one RBI for the Lady Tigers.  Sophomore Lacey Paulk earned a complete game shutout win, with only two hits allowed and 13 strikeouts.

Hannah Pendley led the Cotton Blossoms with a .750 average, three hits and two runs.  Katie Slaughter threw a complete game win in the series, with nine hits and two runs allowed and eight K's.

Among the Nation's Best
The NCAA statistics came out for games through March 16 and the Lady Tigers are ranked in the top-100 in several categories as a team and have three players in the top-50 individually.

ECU's highest ranking is No. 19 in slugging percentage (.521).  The Lady Tigers also rank No. 21 in batting average (.341), No. 22 in double plays per game (0.52), No. 27 in home runs per game (1.00) and No. 38 in scoring (6.08).

Individually junior Chelsea Patterson is No. 44 in triples (2).  Sophomore Autumn Suydam is No. 43 in batting average (.479) and junior Brianna Nunley is No. 39 in saves (1).

Tigert Player of the Week
Sophomore Leah Tigert had a strong first GAC weekend for the Lady Tigers and was named the GAC Player of the Week for her efforts.

Tigert notched a pair of four-hit games in the Lady Tigers' four-game series against the Lady Reddies. She hit .688 with a 1.125 slugging percentage.

The Hennepin, Okla., native collected a home run, a triple and two doubles. She scored three runs and drove in five runs. During her current six-game hitting streak, she has recorded five multiple-hit games.

Reeves Stepping Up
Sophomore Lauren Reeves came up big for ECU in the opening GAC series against Henderson State.  The Tulsa, Okla., native tallied a .467 average, seven hits, five runs scored and seven RBIs.  The biggest hits she had in the weekend came in day one.  In the opening game, Reeves hit a game-winning double that scored three of the seven runs the Lady Tigers tallied in the top of the seventh to rally and win.  Reeves also added a game-winning grand slam in game two of the day.

Nunley GAC Pitcher of Week
Junior Brianna Nunley was been named the Great American Conference Pitcher of the Week for Feb. 11.

The Moore, Okla., native earned two wins against No. 17 Angelo State at the Rambelles' George McCorkle Classic. On Saturday, she recorded her third career shutout as she held Angelo State to just five hits. On Sunday, she entered the game with the score tied at four and threw two scoreless innings as the Lady Tigers rallied for a win.

Solid Suydam
Sophomore Autumn Suydam had a strong weekend at the George McCorkle Classic, hitting .538.  Suydam led ECU with seven hits, added four runs and two RBIs.  

VanPelt Belting Some Out
Sophomore Jordynn VanPelt had a big day for the Lady Tigers in the opening day of the ASU Tournament.  VanPelt hit two game-winning home runs.  In the first game, against Texas A&M International, she hit a three-run shot over the scoreboard in center field.  In the second game of the day she sent home the only two runs of the game, with a shot to left field against Angelo State.

GAC Preseason Poll
The success from a year ago and the retention of the majority of the 2013 squad has not gone unnoticed by the GAC coaches, as ECU was picked to finish second (87 points/2 first-place votes) in the 2014 GAC Preseason Poll.

Southeastern Oklahoma State was picked to finish first, with 97 points and seven first-place votes.  Arkansas-Monticello was picked third (75 points/2 first-place votes), Arkansas Tech fourth (70 points), Southern Arkansas fifth (60 points), Henderson State sixth (59), Ouachita Baptist and Southern Nazarene seventh (36 points), Northwestern Oklahoma State ninth (33), Southwestern Oklahoma State 10th (27) and Harding 11th (25).

Up Next
The Lady Tigers will return to road for a GAC series at Southern Arkansas, April 4-5.