STORM LAKE, Iowa (April 14, 2022) - The Buena Vista softball team returns home on Friday afternoon to host Luther College in what will be a big doubleheader for both teams as we reach the midway point of the American Rivers Conference season.

GAME INFO
Luther (14-8, 3-3 A-R-C) vs. Buena Vista (19-9, 3-3 A-R-C)
Friday, April15, 2022  |  3:00 p.m.  |  Storm Lake, Iowa
NOTE: Senior Day recognition to take place following game 2 - Ashtyn Miller, Peyton Gross, Carlee Guyett, Savanna Pohlmann and Alyssa Barnhardt

BROADCAST INFO
Video: https://team1sports.com/buenavista/
Stats: https://bvuathletics.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary

LAST TIME OUT
Buena Vista traveled to No. 22 Loras College last Saturday afternoon and split a doubleheader with the Duhawks.  Loras got a solo home run in the first and added a second run late in the game to hold off the Beavers in game one, 2-0.  BVU, however, used some power of its own with a pair of home runs in the nightcap, including a big three-run blast from Madalyn Elwood, to help lift the team to a 5-0 victory.  Buena Vista has been off since then after its scheduled DH with Central on April 13 was postponed due to weather conditions.

ABOUT LUTHER
The Norse have gone 3-3 over their last six games overall, including a DH split against Coe College last Sunday.  The team also has a DH sweep of Nebraska Wesleyan which followed a pair of losses to Wartburg College to begin American Rivers Conference play.  Luther finished 31-14 last season and was  the A-R-C Tournament champion.
 
The Norse entered this season with 13 position players and three pitchers set to return.  Sydney Schultz, an all-conference performer from a year ago, is currently fifth on the team with a .324 average.  Overall, six players are at or above the .300, led by Emily Fell's .406 mark that also sits seventh in the A-R-C.  Abby Spore, also an all-conference selection, is second on the team at .368 while sitting tied for second at seven doubles.  As a team,  Luther is hitting .309, are tied for third with 45 doubles and have stolen 20 bases.
 
The pitching staff has a pair of all-conference players back.  Kendra Cooper and Sam Thompson are turning in strong seasons yet again.  Thompson is fourth in the league with a 1.82 ERA.  She's 9-3 over 10 starts with five complete games.  Cooper is close behind in sixth with a 2.34 ERA and a 5-5 mark and is sixth in innings pitched at 74.2.  She's also among the leaders with 74 strikeouts.  Opponents are hitting only .236 against the staff overall this season.
 
ABOUT BUENA VISTA
The Beavers have split their first three conference doubleheaders of the year and sit one win shy of reaching 20 for the first time since 2018.  Two of its three conference losses have been by just a combined four runs.
 
The team has put itself as one of the top offensive teams in the league.  It ranks fourth in average (.301) and has 10 more doubles (58) than any other team.  It's 10 triples are also tops in the league and it has also hit 10 home runs. 
 
Carlee Guyett is eighth in the league with her .402 average and is first in doubles (13).  Chloe Wells is second with her 11 two-baggers and is tied for fifth with 22 RBI.  Nattie Murillo has pushed her average up to .389 which is 12th in the league and her five home runs are tied for third-most in the conference this season. 
 
The senior duo of Ashtyn Miller and Peyton Gross have been among the bet in the league this season.  During conference play, Miller is second with a 2.00 ERA and her 23 strikeouts are second-most.  Gross is 12th in A-R-C play in ERA and ranks fifth in strikeouts with 17.  For the year, the two have combined for 152 strikeouts and only 52 walks.  Miller has eight wins overall with Gross right behind with seven.  Gross is coming off a 5-0 shutout performance last Saturday at No. 22 Loras while Miller suffered a tough 2-0 setback.  The 2.76 ERA for the staff ranks fourth overall in the A-R-C while the 170 total strikeouts are also tops.
 
ON DECK
Buena Vista will play a pair of doubleheaders in the early part of next week.  The team travels to Simpson College (17-10, 2-4 A-R-C) on Tuesday, April 19 for a DH before it returns home the next day (Apr. 20) to host Central College (16-10, 4-2 A-R-C) in the rescheduled doubleheader starting at 5:00 p.m.