SOFTBALL PREVIEW
Drury Panthers (25-25, 13-11) vs. #6 Indianapolis Greyhounds (47-6, 20-3)
Thursday, May 4, 12:30 pm
EastSide Centre -- East Peoria, Illinois
 
Live coverage
Live Video
GLVC Tournament Central
 
Tickets (per day)
$12 for adults
$5 for kids and students (with ID)
Children five and under are free

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.– The Drury Panthers will begin the 2023 postseason at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament against the number one-seeded and nationally sixth-ranked Indianapolis Greyhounds. The tournament will take place at EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Illinois.
 
The Panthers are 25-25 and are coming off a sweep over Illinois Springfield and a split with Lewis last weekend. Drury finished the conference season with a 13-11 record and is seeded eighth on the tournament bracket.
 
Indianapolis went 2-2 last weekend, splitting with both Missouri-St. Louis and Missouri S&T on the road. The Greyhounds finished with a conference record of 20-3 and won the GLVC regular season title.
 
When these teams met in the regular season, Indianapolis won both contests at home in one-run games (3-2, 4-3) on April 22. The Panthers are just 4-23 all-time against the Greyhounds, with their last win against UIndy coming on April 24, 2021. Last year, the two teams staged an eight-inning scoreless battle in the GLVC semifinals when UIndy broke through for a 1-0. 
 
The winner of Thursday's opening round game advances to the winner's bracket and will face either fourth-seeded Maryville or number-five seed Illinois Springfield on Friday at 3 pm. The loser of the Drury-UIndy match-up on Thursday will play the Maryville/UIS loser in an elimination game on Friday at 10 am.
 
The other opening-round games on Thursday include second place UMSL vs. seventh-seeded Rockhurst, and number three seed McKendree takes on sixth-seeded Lewis. The tournament concludes with the championship on Sunday, May 7.

Diamond Notes
-- Rylee Kolb has a hit in 12 of her last 14 games
-- Lauren Beier has a hit in 7 of her last 8 games
-- Sydney Sneed has a hit in 8 of her last 10 games
-- Kristina Bettis is fourth in the GLVC in strikeouts with 180
 
Probable Starters
DU- Kristina Bettis (14-13, 2.53 ERA)
INDY- Kenzee Smith (28-3, 1.39 ERA)
 
Head Coaches
DU- Jerry Breaux (6th year, 134-95 / 30th year, 894-517-2)
INDY- Melissa Frost (19th year, 754-312-1 / 22nd year, 828-368-1)
 
Stat Leaders
DU- Sophia Luetticke (.342, .402 OBP, .421 SLG, 11 SB), Rylee Kolb (.327, .392 OBP, .504 SLG, 16 RBI), Lauren Beier (4 HR, 17 RBI), Victoria Garland (.290, .397 OBP, .500 SLG, 4 HR), Gracie Thomas (18 RBI), Kristina Bettis (14-13, 2.53 ERA, 180 SO),
 
INDY- Megan Nichols (.399, .456 OBP, .595 SLG, 32 RBI, 7 HR, 25 SB), Jocelyn Calvin (.355, .433 OBP, .454 SLG, 31 RBI), Emily O'Connor (.351, .451 OBP, .709 SLG, 7 HR, 59 RBI), Lexy Rees (.342, .391 OBP, .599 SLG, 7 HR, 38 RBI), Kenzee Smith (28-3, 1.39 ERA, 186 SO)
 
Drury Summary
Record: 25-25 (13-11)
Current Streak: Won 1
Record in last four games: 4-1
Record at home: 14-7
Record on the road: 5-11
Record on neutral field: 6-7
Record vs. ranked opponents: 0-4
In 1-run games: 8-8
Extra Innings: 1-2
Shutouts: 9-7
In Last At-Bat: 5-4
Run-Rule Games: 4-2
Leading after 5 inn: 19-1
Trailing after 5 inn: 1-20
Tied after 5 inn: 5-4
Leading after 6 inn: 19-1
Trailing after 6 inn: 1-20
Tied after 6 inn: 4-3
Best record: 17-15, +2 (GLVC: 5-1, +4)
Worst record: 2-7, -5 (GLVC: 9-10, -1)
Longest win streak: 6, Feb. 24 – Mar. 4 (GLVC: 4, Mar. 20-26)
Longest losing streak: 5, Feb. 5 – Feb. 12 (GLVC: 4, Apr. 16-23)
 

#allweDUiswin