Softball | 5/11/2021 10:31:00 AM

STORM LAKE, Iowa (May 11, 2021) - The Buena Vista University softball team will be the No. 8 seed in this year's American Rivers Conference Softball Tournament and will begin its tournament trek on Wednesday afternoon by facing No. 9 Loras College in the play-in game hosted by Coe College in Cedar Rapids.

The winner of Wednesday's game will move on to play No. 1 seed Coe College at noon on Thursday afternoon to begin the double-elimination tournament format.

BVU and Loras met for their three-game series back on March 25 and March 28.  The Beavers, playing their home openers, took all three games from the Duhawks, including a 12-3 (5 inning) contest to complete the sweep.  Freshman Rylee Cain had a big series by going 6-for-9 at the plate with a pair of doubles, an RBI and three runs scored.  Senior Carlee Guyett was 6-for-11 with a pair of home runs, five RBI and four runs scored.  Fellow senior Kayden Archibeque also added six hits and scored three times.  As a team, BVU hit .417 in the series with nine doubles, a pair of home runs and stole nine bases.

The Beavers concluded the regular season on a high note by taking a 6-2 victory on the road at Central to close out the three-game series and snap a seven-game losing skid.  

Guyett leads the team heading into the tournament with a .348 average overall this season.  Her 12 doubles are tied for third-most in the A-R-C this season while her five home runs also rank in the top-10.  She's also been walked a team-high 18 times.  Junior Ashtyn Miller is right behind with a .339 average and has driven in a team-high 27 runs on 37 hits.  On the mound, she's appeared in 21 games, made 18 starts and has posted a 3.86 ERA with over 100 innings pitched.  Her 110 strikeouts are also third-most by any pitcher in the league this season and are ninth-most all-time for a single-season in program history.

As a team, the Beavers are hitting .293 as a team this season and have posted a team ERA of 5.20.

The Duhawks will enter the play-in game having dropped six straight games overall while scoring one run or less in three of those.  Their last win was a thrilling 11-10 triumph against inner-city rival Dubuque on April 29.  The team is hitting .243 overall this season with just 24 doubles and nine home runs.  Jessica Bulanda has a team-high 24 hits and batting a team-leading .286 on the year.  Hadalyn Anderson, Grace Houghton, and Gabby Garcia all follow with 20 hits with Houghton (15 RBI) the only player with over 10 runs driven in.

First pitch between BVU and Loras is set for 3:00 p.m.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
(Subject to change)

Wednesday, May 12 | (Play-in game)
No. 8 Buena Vista vs. No. 9 Loras at Coe College (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) | Tentative - 3:00 p.m.

Thursday, May 13 and Friday, May 14
Pod 1 | Seeds 1, 4, 5 8/9 | at Coe College (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) 

Thursday, May 13
Game 1 - No. 4 Luther vs. No. 5 Simpson @ 10:00 a.m.
Game 2 - No. 8 BVU/No. 9 Loras vs. No. 1 Coe @ 12:00 p.m.
Game 3 - Loser 4/5 vs. Loser 1/(8/9) @ 2:00 p.m.
Game 4 - Winner 4/5 vs. Winner 1/(8/9) @ 4:00 p.m.

Friday, May 14
Game 5 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser @ 11:00 a.m.
Game 6 - Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner @ 1:00 p.m.
*Game 7 - Played if Game 5 winner WINS Game 6 @ 3:00 p.m.
*if necessary game

Pod 2 | Seeds 2, 3, 6, 7 | at Wartburg College (Waverly, Iowa)
Thursday, May 13
Game 1 - No. 6 Nebraska Wesleyan vs. No. 3 Central @ 10:00 a.m.
Game 2 - No. 7 Dubuque vs. No. 2 Wartburg @ 12:00 p.m.
Game 3 - Loser 3/6 vs. Loser 2/7 @ 2:00 p.m.
Game 4 - Winner 3/6 vs. Winner 2/7 @ 4:00 p.m.

Friday, May 14
Game 5 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser @ 11:00 a.m.
Game 6 - Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner @ 1:00 p.m.
*Game 7 - Played if Game 5 winner WINS Game 6 @ 3:00 p.m.
*if necessary game

Saturday, May 15 | (Championship series, best-of-three) - To be played at the pod site of highest remaining seed.
Game 1 - Pod 1 winner vs. Pod 2 winner | 12:00 p.m.
Game 2 - Pod 1 winner vs. Pod 2 winner | 2:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 16 (Championship series if necessary game) - To be played at the pod site of highest remaining seed.
Game 3 - Pod 1 winner vs. Pod 2 winner (if necessary...)
at highest seed | 1:00 p.m.