Softball | 3/5/2021 10:06:00 AM

STORM LAKE, Iowa (March 5, 2021) - The Buena Vista softball team is off to a strong start to its 2021 campaign and it looks to keep the momentum going throughout this upcoming weekend as it will play six games over a three-day span starting on Saturday in St. Louis, Mo.

THE MATCH-UPS
Saturday, March 6
Buena Vista (5-1) at Fontbonne Univ. (1-1)  |  11:00 a.m.  |  Live Video
Buena Vista (5-1) vs. WashU (0-0)  |  1:00 p.m.  |  Live Video
St. Louis, Mo.  |  ABC Ballpark

Sunday, March 7
Buena Vista (5-1) vs. DePauw Univ. (4-0)  |  11:00 a.m.  |  Live VIdeo
Buena Vista (5-1) vs. Transylvania Univ. (1-0)  |  1:00 p.m.  |  Live Video
St. Louis, Mo.  |  ABC Ballpark

Monday, March 8
Buena Vista (5-1) at Greenville (Ill.) (0-2)  |  11:00 a.m.  |  Live Video
Buena Vista (5-1) at Greenville (Ill.) (0-2)  |  1:00 p.m.  |  Live Video
Greenville, Ill.  |  Lady Panther Field

LAST TIME OUT
The Beavers went 3-1 inside of the MSU Dome last weekend at Mankato, Minn.  The team began play with a doubleheader sweep on Saturday over Northwestern-St. Paul before splitting a pair of games against Bethany Lutheran on Sunday.  Over the course of the four games, BVU outscored its opponents by a combined 32-11 margin and hit .369 at the dish.  Ashtyn Miller tied for the team-lead with six hits and had seven RBI while also scoring six times.  Shelby Gunther hit a team-high .571 with four hits in seven at-bats.  Carleet Guyett had five hits, scored six runs and also tied for the team lead with four stolen bases.  As a team, the Beavers swiped 14 bases in 16 attempts.  Miller was nearly lights out inside the circle as well, appearing in two games (one start) and pitching a total of nine innings, allowing two runs while striking out 16 and not issuing a walk.  Peyton Gross went 2-0 while allowing a pair of unearned runs over her nine total innings and striking out eight.

SCOUTINIG FONTBONNE 
The Griffins, members of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, dropped a narrow 4-2 decision against Simpson to begin the year last Saturday before bouncing back a day later to top Concordia-Chicago by a 12-3 margin in five innings.  The team was 5-7 a year ago before the pandemic took over and went 10-25 overall back in 2019.  It made six straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2010-15.  Through two games in 2021,  four players are hitting at least .500 as the team is hitting .333 overall.  Junior utility player Abby Richmond has a team-high four hits and four RBI, sophomore infielder Patience Vandermeirden has a pair of doubles and two RBI.  Sophomore Lilly Jones has scored three runs with four others crossing the plate twice.  Richmond, along with Lexi Becker, has pitched five innings with Becker notching the lone win.  The two combined have allowed just one earned run (seven overall) with five strikeouts.  Defensively, the Griffins have committed eight errors in two games with opponents making six.

SCOUTING WASH U
The Bears will open their season on Friday afternoon with a doubleheader against Transylvania.  The team was 6-3 and ranked 27th nationally before the season was cut short last season.  It was coming off a 5-18 campaign in 2019.  Junior Katie Gould is among the team's top returning hitter.  She is a two-time all-conference selection and has started every game the last two seasons.  In 2019, she boasted the second-highest average (.446) in the conference and tallied 46 total hits.  Senior Natasha Ramakrishnan is one of two seniors returning and was hitting .296 with a home run and five RBI in the nine games of last season.  Junior Holly Stoner held a team-best 3.46 ERA in 2019.  Five sophomores are in the line-up and combined to hit three home runs, drive in nine runs and post an .833 slugging percentage through nine games in 2020. 

SCOUTING DEPAUW
The ninth-ranked Tigers have faced a pair of A-R-C foes already this season, picking up a 5-4 win over Simpson and a 5-2 victory over Central last Saturday before notching two lopsided five-inning wins on Sunday to remain perfect. The team sat at 6-3 before things ended abruptly last season and posted a 33-14 overall mark in 2019.  Last year aside, the Tigers have secured at least 20 wins each year since 2006 and has nine 30+ win campaigns during that stretch.  At the plate, the team is hitting .405 out of the gate this season with 28 of its 47 total hits going for extra-bases.  Junior catcher/first baseman Paige Price is 5-for-10 at the plate with a double and triple.  Over 20 players have at least one base hit.  Becca St. Germain has a team-high three doubles with Drew Bratcher and Alyssa Anderson driving in five runs apiece.  Junior Cami Henry is 2-0 on the mound with a 3.00 ERA over 16 total innings.  She has 24 strikeouts and just one walk while allowing six runs.  Riley Magood has one win and has yet to allow a run in five innings.

SCOUTING TRANSYLVANIA
The Pioneers are members of the Southern Athletic Association and the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.  Picked to win its conference in 2021, the team began its season on February 26 with a 15-0 triumph in five innings against Centre.  The program, ranked 12th nationally this season, has four NCAA Tournament appearances over the last five seasons, including in 2019 where it ended the year at 29-13.  It sat at 9-1 last spring before being cut short.  Alyssa Nunn had a pair of hits and three RBI in the opener while Allyson O'Dell had a triple and three driven in.  Taylor Stamps has 12 hits and was hitting over .600 last spring and was 1-for-2 with a run scored to begin this season.  Nunn was hitting .400 and tied for the team lead with 11 runs scored in 2020.  Kameron Bowling, who fired a no-hitter to begin this year picked up where she left off last season where she was 6-1 with a 1.13 ERA and 43.1 innings pitched. 

SCOUTING GREENVILLE
The Lady Panthers dropped a pair of five-inning contests to DePauw last Sunday while being outscored 28-5.  The team jumped out to a 7-4 record last season before things came to an end and was 21-14 overall and 13-5 in conference play in 2019.  Members of the St Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the team is hitting .243 early on this season with five extra-base hits.  Desirae Yost has a double, triple and one RBI while hitting .600 (3-for-5).  Hannah Hoffman has a pair of hits and two RBI.  Megan Stone and Alison Klaus have each started a game inside the circle and have combined to allow 19 runs and striking out just one over eight total innings.

BVU NOTES
-- Beavers currently rank second in the A-R-C in overall team batting average (.379) and third in team ERA (2.08)
-- Carlee Guyett is second in the A-RC in runs scored this season (10)
-- Michaela Mason has scored 95 career runs and is just three away from the top-5 all-time in program history.
-- Guyett has 27 career doubles which ranks ninth in program history.  Mason is right behind with 25 and 4th all-time with 12 home runs.
-- Ashtyn Miller is third in the conference with an overall ERA this season at 1.00.  Her 25 total strikeouts are tied for the most in the A-R-C so far this season.

ON DECK:  The Beavers are scheduled to play their home opener next Sunday afternoon in Storm Lake by hosting Bethel University in a non-conference doubleheader at 2:00 p.m.  They are then to begin American Rivers Conference play the following weekend at Simpson.