Drury Softball will try to finish a hot streak the right way - and hope it results in a Great Lakes Valley Conference post-season berth - when the Panthers visit Wisconsin-Parkside and Lewis on Sunday and Monday to close out the regular season.
Coach
Chantiel Wilson's Panthers have won nine of their last 10 games to improve to 23-25 overall and 10-16 in the GLVC. They currently sit in 11th place in the league standings, with the top eight teams qualifying for the post-season championships next weekend in East Peoria, Ill. William Jewell (14-13) is currently eighth, Lewis (11-13) is ninth and Saint Joseph's (10-14) is 10th. Jewell has doubleheaders at seventh-place Illinois Springfield and 15th-place McKendree remaining, while Saint Joseph's is at 12th-place Quincy (7-18) and fourth-place Truman State (18-6).
Lewis (21-20 overall) will play host to 14th-place Missouri S&T (6-20 in the league) on Saturday before hosting the Panthers on Monday.
Doubleheaders at both last-place Parkside (7-32, 2-22) on Sunday in Kenosha, Wis., and Lewis on Monday in Romeoville, Ill., will start at noon.
Drury has won seven straight games, including a 6-2, 8-0 sweep of Rogers State at Thompson Field on Thursday. Junior pitcher
Shelby Weissenbach hurled a four-hit shutout and hit a two-run, walk-off homer to highlight DU's effort in Game Two. The seven-game winning streak is the longest since the Panthers won 10 games in a row in two separate stretches during the 2012 season.
The Panthers are hitting .250 as a team, but sophomore shortstop
Kari Hillenburg has pushed her average to a team-leading .358 to go with 36 runs scored, 11 doubles, four homers and eight stolen bases. Senior third baseman
Carson Forge is batting .338 and leads the team with a single-season DU record 12 homers along with 37 RBIs, while junior outfielder
Chantal Oelrich is hitting .264 with eight homers and 21 RBIs.
Drury's 2.75 staff earned run average is headed by sophomore left-hander
Jessica Kjeldgaard's 2.24 ERA to go with a 14-12 record, while Weissenbach is 9-10 with a 3.26 ERA. Kjeldgaard has allowed just four earned runs over her last 41 innings pitched, two of those coming in her 6-2 win over Rogers State in Thursday's opener.
Drury trails Lewis 10-4 and is tied 5-5 with Parkside in the all-time series with the schools.
