Crossover Central

LIVINGSTON, Ala. –  The University of West Alabama softball team will open the month of April at the annual Gulf South Conference Crossover in Decatur, Ala.  All 13 conference schools that participate in softball will converge at Wilson Morgan Park on Thursday, April 2.  The four-day event runs through Sunday, April 5.

UWA (29-7, 3-5 GSC) opens its slate of seven games in four days against Southern Arkansas (4-19, 3-5 GSC) at 4 p.m. on Thursday, followed by a 6 p.m. match up against Arkansas at Monticello (24-3, 3-1 GSC).  Friday’s action pits the Tigers against Henderson State (16-20, 5-7 GSC) at Noon and Christian Brothers (12-12, 2-8 GSC) at 4 p.m.  UWA will square off with Delta State (17-10, 6-2 GSC) in its lone Saturday contest at Noon.  On the final day, the Red and White will face GSC West leader Arkansas Tech (28-14, 11-3 GSC) at 10 a.m. and finish with Ouachita Baptist (15-18, 4-8 GSC) at Noon.  All games this weekend count as conference games.  If weather interrupts competition this weekend, Monday, April 6 will be used as a rain date.

UWA slipped one spot from sixth to seventh in this week’s NCAA South Region rankings, announced by the NCAA Softball Committee on Thursday.  Going into the weekend, the Tigers are 13-7 in region games.   

The Tigers will look to bounce back after dropping a pair to second-ranked UAH on Monday.  On Sunday, UWA swept a doubleheader with North Alabama. 

Entering this weekend’s play, UWA ranks second in the league in batting average with a .346 clip.  The offensive mark also ranks tenth in NCAA Division II softball.  The Tigers are listed in the top three in the conference in nine other offensive statistical categories.  The ballclub leads the GSC in doubles with 70 through 36 games.  UWA has accumulated 336 hits and 254 RBIs, which ranks second in the GSC.  As a pitching staff, the Tigers sport a 2.32 earned run average and has registered six shut outs this season.  Senior Brittany McGee leads the squad with 11 wins, including a pair of complete games.  Senior Aubree Hudson is the team leader in appearances with 25 along with a team-best 63 strikeouts.  Junior Jessica Cervantes remains the NCAA Division II leader in saves with eight.

All games this weekend can be followed through live stats at athletics.uwa.edu by clicking on the crossover central link.