The East Central University softball team will open the Great American Conference portion of the 2015 season, Feb. 20-21 when they host Henderson State at Tiger Field.  Doubleheaders are scheduled for each day, with Friday, Feb. 20 set to start at 1 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 21 at noon.

Game  Notes

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

Scouting Henderson State
The Reddies are 9-3 to start the season, but have a 0-2 mark when playing on the road.  HSU has a strong team effort, with a .374 batting average, including 16 home runs.

Sarah Gipson leads the team with a .514 average, 20 hits, 24 RBIs, four home runs and 14 runs scored.  Amy Halter is next on the list with a .475 average on 16 runs, 19 hits and two RBIs.

The Reddies have used three pitchers this year, with two picking up most of the action.  Michelle Sorensen has a 5-2 record and 1.82 ERA after 34.2 innings.  She has struck out 40 and allowed 21 hits and 10 runs.  Ashlyn White adds a 3-1 mark and a 3.42 ERA in 26.1 innings of work.  She has allowed 30 hits and 11 runs, while striking out 16.

Against the Reddies
The Tigers went 3-2 with HSU last season, including a 3-1 mark on the road and a 0-1 record at the GAC Tournament.

Senior Lauren Reeves led ECU at the plate, with a .444 average, five runs, eight hits and seven RBIs.  Junior Autumn Suydam added a .400 average, three runs, four hits and one RBI.

Junior Lacey Paulk earned a 2-1 record against HSU in the circle, with a 4.40 ERA.  She threw 14.1 innings, allowed 12 hits and nine runs and struck out six.

Ashlyn White was a key producer at the plate and in the circle for HSU.  She hit .385 on five hits and four RBIs and went 1-1 as a pitcher.  She allowed 11 hits and seven run, with no Ks, in four innings of work.

The Series
The Tigers currently hold a 14-4 mark in the all-time series with the Reddies that dates back to 2011.  While HSU has won the last two meetings, ECU also holds an 11-1 lead when playing as GAC opponents and a 7-2 mark at home.

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 continue GAC action, Feb. 27-28 when they travel to face Arkansas Tech in Russellville, Ark.