SLIAC Game of the Week: Fontbonne at Greenville

At a Glance

This week's SLIAC Game of the Week is a mid-week softball doubleheader between Fontbonne University and Greenville University. The two teams have combined to win the last nine SLIAC Tournament titles and will meet on Wednesday, March 27 in Greenville, Illinois.

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Fontbonne University 'GRIFFINS'

Fontbonne comes into this week having won four of their last five games including a split doubleheader against Monmouth in their last action. The Griffins are averaging 3.3 runs per game this season, hitting .267 as a team. They currently rank 2nd in the league in stolen bases with 25 and hold a 4.69 team earned-run average.

The Griffins have a core of two-way players in Lexi Becker, Maddy Strickland, and Diamond Thomas. The trio is the top three hitters in batting average and makes up the Griffins pitching staff. Strickland is hitting .472 this season while throwing 18 innings in the circle. Thomas is hitting .404 and has stolen six bases while leading the team with 19 strikeouts in the circle. Becker is tied with Thomas for the team lead with two wins and has a 3.86 E.R.A. while hitting .351 at the plate.

Greenville University 'PANTHERS'

Greenville is currently 8-4 on the season and has won five of their last seven games with their only losses during that stretch coming to #23 Millikin. The Panthers are hitting .346 as a team and average 7.4 runs per game. They are in the top two in the conference in average, runs, doubles, triples, home runs, and stolen bases. 

Their potent offense consists of four players hitting above .400 with Megan Barrett leading the way with a .452 average. Beth Mersinger is hitting .400 with 10 RBI while Deidra Holzhauer is hitting .310 with a team-high 17 RBI. Kayla Zimmerman is hitting .415 and has a team-high nine stolen bases. Five pitchers have already worked double digits in innings this season and combine for a SLIAC leading 2.87 earned-run average. Maegan Stone leads the team with a 1.59 E.R.A. while Caitie Opp holds a 1.75 E.R.A.

Last Series
The two teams split their last regular season series with Fontbonne winning 5-1 in game one and Greenville taking game two 7-6. The Griffins plated three runs in the first inning of game one with Strickland picking up the complete game win. Greenville held off a late Griffin rally in game two, which saw the Griffins plate five runs in the bottom of the 9th. Kendall Farr and Amanda Atteberry led the Panthers with two hits each in the game.