Bearkats challenge Northwestern State Friday
3/19/2015 12:13:00 PM | Softball
The Sam Houston softball team heads to Louisiana for another important Southland Conference three-game series Friday and Saturday.
Two weeks ago, the Kats opened league play against two-time regular season champion McNeese State. The next trip across the Sabine River doesn't get any easier as the opponent this time is two-time defending Southland tournament champion Northwestern State.
The Bearkats and the Demons are scheduled to play a doubleheader in Natchitoches Friday at 1 p.m. and a 1 p.m. single game Saturday.
Sam Houston enters the contest with an 8-17 overall record while Northwestern State owns a 16-12 season mark. After the first two weeks of Southland play, the league standings feature a log jam at both the top and the bottom.
Northwestern State is in a four-way tie for first place with Central Arkansas, McNeese State and Lamar all with perfect 6-0 league records. At the other end of the standings Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin and Abilene Christian all are 1-5 while Houston Baptist, A&M-Corpus Christi and Incarnate Word all are still looking for their first conference victory at 6-0.
The Demons rank third in the league in hitting with a .309 team batting average. Northwestern State's pitching staff has limited opponents to a .277 batting average.
Third baseman Peyton Webb (.380), second baseman Dani Allen (.312) and outfielder Jessica Slater (.301) rank as Sam Houston's top three hitters. The Bearkats have totaled 28 doubles, a triple and 26 home runs this year. Shortstop Sarah Allison leads the team with six homers. Webb has five.
Following this weekend's action, Sam Houston will make its third Louisiana trip with a three-game series Friday and Saturday, April 27-28, at Southeastern Louisiana.
Next home games for the Bearkats will be a series with A&M-Corpus Christi Friday and Saturday, April 3 and 4.
