For the second-straight season, the East Central University softball team will be participating in the Arkansas-Monticello 8-State Classic tournament in Bentonville, Ark.  The Tigers will face four opponents, two each day, Feb. 14-15.

Game Notes

Scouting Northwest Missouri State
The Bearcats will be opening the season at the tournament and will have played two games before battling with the Tigers.  NWMS finished the 2014 season with a 20-30 overall record and return their three top hitters.  Last season the Bearcats went 2-3 at this same tournament.

Stephanie Mark and Chentel Adams are the top returners for NWMS at the plate.  Mark hit .380 in 2014, with 26 runs, 62 hits and 59 RBIs.  Adams added a .374 batting average, 31 runs, 61 this and 43 RBIs.  Sarah Baldwin is the top retuning pitcher for the Bearcats, with a 10-10 record.  She earned a 3.97 ERA in 134 innings of work, allowing 151 hits, 107 runs and striking out 107.

Scouting Missouri-St. Louis
The Tritons head into this weekend's tournament after going 5-1 in the NFCA DII Leadoff Classic and finishing as the Gold Bracket Consolation Winner.  UMSL has a strong showing at the plate, with a .325 team batting average in the games, while only allowing a .252 average.

Brianna Butler and Madison Abaraschuck led the Tritons with .500 batting averages.  Butler tallied five runs, 10 hits and four RBIs, while Abaraschuck added one run eight hits and five RBIs.

Brittni Chapman and Hannah Perryman split most of the time in the circle in the games.  Chapman went 3-0, with a 1.68 ERA in 16.2 innings.  She allowed 17 hits and four runs, while striking out six.  Perryman added a 2-1 record in 17.2 innings of work.  She allowed 16 hits, 11 runs and struck out 29.

Scouting Central Missouri
The Jennies will be opening the 2015 season at the tournament and will play four games before facing ECU.  In 2014 UCM went 27-23, including a 2-1 mark in the UAM 8-State Classic.

Lindsey Dawson and Jakki Prater are the top returners for the Jennies.  Dawson hit .365 on the year, with 37 runs, 58 hits and 29 RBIs.  Prater added a .361 batting average, 40 runs, 61 hits and 60 RBIs.

Jakki Prater is also one of three returning pitchers, who combined for a 3.55 ERA and 202 strikeouts.  Prater finished 143.1 innings of work with a 15-12 record, 3.17 ERA, 176 hits and 85 runs allowed and 74 K's.

Scouting Missouri Western State
The Griffons are 3-2 overall in 2015 after a stop at the Henderson State Tournament last weekend.

Katie Klostemann led the team at the plate with a .44 batting average, one run, four hits and one RBI.  Paige Shifflett adds a .364 batting average, two runs, four hits and five RBIs.

Shyanne Saladino went 2-0 in the circle, with a 0.00 ERA, 10 hits and no runs allowed and five strikeouts.

Preseason Predictions
After finished the 2014 season tied for fifth, ECU has been picked to finish third in the Great American Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll.

The Tigers, who finished 33-25 overall and 22-18 in league action a season ago, received a total of 79 points, with one first-place vote.  The 2014 regular-season champs, Southeastern Oklahoma State were picked to finish first in 2015, earning 97 points and seven first-place votes.  Southern Arkansas was the other team to finish above ECU, earning 85 points and two first-place votes.

Henderson State was picked fourth (71 points/1 first-place votes), Harding fifth (66), Northwestern Oklahoma State sixth (52), Arkansas-Monticello seventh (47), Arkansas Tech eighth (44), Southern Nazarene ninth (24), Southwestern Oklahoma State 10th (21) and Ouachita Baptist 11th (19).

Returning Power
ECU will be looking to improve on their record from a season ago.  The Tigers have a strong chance of doing just that, as they have 14 returners, including seven starters on the 2015 squad.

Of the 14 returners from the 2014 season, five student-athletes were honored by the GAC last season for their performances.  Sophomore Sydney Dow, senior Samantha McGraw and junior Autumn Suydam all earned All-GAC Second Team honors.  Junior Jordynn VanPelt and senior Kaile Marcum were also honored by the league with All-GAC Honorable Mention selections.

Dow led the team in the circle, with a 12-4 record, four shutouts, eight complete games and 132 strikeouts. McGraw had a .337 batting average, 57 hits, 29 runs and 34 RBIs.   Suydam hit .389 and garnered 63 hits, 41 runs and 18 RBIs.

VanPelt led the team and league with 59 RBIs and added 56 hits, 15 home runs, 38 runs scored and a .348 batting average.  Marcum led the team with a .406 average and garnered 63 hits, 36 runs and 16 RBIs.

Up Next
The Tigers will return to Ada to host the first of just five series at Tiger Field, Feb. 20-21.  ECU will host Henderson State in the first Great American Conference games of the 2015 season.