ADA – While the East Central University softball team has been idle since March 8, the Tigers (9-9, 6-4 GAC) will have a busy week ahead of them, as they are scheduled to play six Great American Conference games in four days at Tiger Field.

ECU will first host Southern Nazarene, March 20-21 for a four game series.  The teams will play double-headers each day, with Saturday's games starting at 1 p.m. and Sunday's at noon.  The Tigers will then host archrival Southeastern Oklahoma State for a double-header, Tuesday, March 24 at 1 p.m.

After the first 18 games of the season, junior Autumn Suydam leads ECU at the plate, with a .420 average, 10 runs, 21 hits and five RBIs.  Senior Lacey Williams-Wenholm adds a .357 average, 10 runs, 15 hits and 12 RBIs.
The Tigers have used four pitchers in the circle, with sophomore Sydney Dow leading the team with 40.1 innings of work and a 2-2 record.  Dow has allowed 36 hits and 27 runs, while striking out 41.

Southern Nazarene comes into this weekend's games with a 9-12 overall record and a 5-6 mark in the GAC after going 1-2 against Southeastern last weekend.

Kylie Lang and Melissa Padilla are leading the Crimson Storm at the plate this season.  Lang has a .439 average, 18 runs, 25 hits and three RBIs.  Padilla adds a .397 average, six runs, 29 hits and a team-high 22 RBIs.
SNU has two key pitchers in Kayla Wyatt and Katelyn Brown.  Wyatt is 4-5 on the year in 64.1 innings pitched.  She has allowed 72 hits and 49 runs, while earning 100 strikeouts.  Brown is 5-7 in 59.2 innings of work, with 72 hits and 56 runs allowed and 50 Ks.

In 2014, the Tigers went 3-1 on the road against the Crimson Storm, earning a .311 to .243 lead in batting average.

Suydam led ECU with a .538 average, five runs, seven hits and four RBIs.  Senior Samantha McGraw added a .400 average, two runs, six hits and three RBIs.  Dow had a strong series at the plate and in the circle.  She hit .500, with three hits, two runs and three RBIs and then when 1-1 in the circle.  She threw 12.1 innings and struck out seven.  Senior Brianna Nunley was also strong for the Tigers in the circle, with a 2-0 record in 13 innings.  She allowed 10 hits and two runs, while striking out three.

Kylie Lang is the lone returner at the plate for the Crimson Storm, with a .357 average, two runs, five hits and two RBIs.  Kayla Wyatt is the only returning pitcher for the series, with 15 innings of work, a 1-1 record, 14 hits and 10 runs allowed and 10 strikeouts.

Since 2005, the Tigers and SNU have played 19 times, with ECU earning a 13-6 lead in the all-time series.  The Tigers are 6-2 when playing as GAC opponents, with all of those games having been played on the road so far.  When playing in Ada, ECU also holds a 4-2 lead in the series.

Southeastern will have the weekend off before traveling to face ECU on Tuesday and will come into the double-header with a 12-14 overall record and an 8-3 mark in the GAC.  Teams on both sides of the field have done well at the plate this season when playing the Savage Storm, with SEOSU leading .339 to .322 in team batting average.

Courtney Riddle is the top producer at the plate, with a .425 average, 20 runs, 34 hits and 22 RBIs.  Jessica Simmons adds a .403 average, with 25 runs, 27 hits and 11 RBIs.

While the Savage Storm have three pitchers with over 30 innings of work this season, Jacee Bennett is the top producer with an 8-7 record in 72 innings of work.  She has allowed 95 hits, 64 runs and struck out 58.

In 2014, SEOSU took the series with ECU 1-3, with the Tigers claiming the lone win on the road in the home-and-home series.

Suydam led the charge for ECU with a .500 average, three hits and one RBI.  Fellow junior Jordynn VanPelt added a .444 average, three runs, four hits and eight RBIs.  Dow when 1-1 in the circle in 8.2 innings.  She allowed 13 hits, 11 runs and struck out six.

Laramie Beal is the top returner for the Savage Storm, with a .545 average, four runs, six hits and six RBIs.  Conner Harmon added a .400 average, two hits and an RBI.  Jacee Bennett is the only returning pitcher from the series, going 0-1, allowing 15 hits and 17 runs and striking out nine.

The all-time series with SEOSU is one of the longest in school history, with 50 previous meetings.  However, the Savage Storm have a clear lead in the series, 9-40-1.  That includes a 2-6 record as GAC opponents and a 4-21-1 record when playing in Ada.