Senior Day to Highlight this Week's Regular Season Finale for Softball

COLUMBIA, Ky. – The Lindsey Wilson softball team has reached the final week of its 2023 regular season, and with the playoffs just days away, the Blue Raiders are set to face one last tune-up before heading to Bowling Green.

Marilyn D. Sparks Park will play host to the local's next four contests, capping off a ten-game homestand that began back on April 14. Visiting on Wednesday afternoon are the Crimson Pride of Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC), before Saturday welcomes the University of Pikeville.

The latter of the two opponents enters the week on a four-game skid and has yet to claim a victory away from their home field. In fact, the Bears have lost 14 of their last 15 regular season true road games dating back to 2022.

In conference-play, Pikeville is 4-17 with its last win coming on April 14 versus Thomas More University. Since then, the Bears have seen only one other Mid-South rival, and it was third-ranked University of the Cumberlands last weekend in Williamsburg. The Patriots would take all three of those meetings by a combined score of 21-3.

Junior Lillie Kluesner and senior Alyssa Franklin pace the Pikeville offense with 29 and 28 total hits, respectively. Additionally, Franklin leads the team with 10 extra-base hits, including three home runs and seven doubles.

In the circle, Carolyn Alincic ranks second in the league with 112 total strikeouts, but she also sits inside the top five for earned runs allowed. The junior has gone 12 complete games this season and holds a 6-10 overall record in 17 starts.

Lindsey Wilson has defeated Pikeville in 41 consecutive meetings dating back to 2009, in which the Bears last won in the all-time series, 4-3, on March 20.

The Blue Raiders' first match-up of the week, IUPUC, was only granted full membership in the NAIA earlier this month.

The Crimson Pride (5-23) have met up with one other Mid-South program this season, dropping both sides of a doubleheader to Campbellsville University on February 28.

Statistically, IUPUC is batting 0.245 on the year and is led by Morgan Stieneker and Taylor Hadley, who are each hitting over 0.300 with identical team-leading hit totals of 26.

As far as pitching goes, Sydney Owens has made 18 appearances and is credited with four of the Crimson Pride's five wins.

This will be the first-ever meeting between Lindsey Wilson and IUPUC, and the Blue Raiders are hoping to snap a six-game losing streak when they do so on Wednesday at 5 p.m. CST.

The conference series with Pikeville is currently slated for a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 and 3 p.m. CST. Prior to Saturday's first game, the Blue Raiders will recognize the trio of seniors on the roster, Desiree Chang, Alexis Garayzar, and Za'Kiya Sizemore.