Lady Cougars get break from GLVC in Michigan

Branden Peterson
Sports Reporter

SIUE softball will travel to Battle Creek, Mich., for the Great Lakes Valley Conference/Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Challenge this weekend.

During the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge, the Lady Cougars will be facing many nonconference opponents.

Saturday the Lady Cougars will kick off their five-game weekend by meeting Michigan's Sagnow Valley State University at 11 a.m. and the University of Findlay at 3 p.m.

Sunday SIUE will play Pennsylvania's Gannon University at 11 a.m., Michigan's Grand Valley State University at 3 p.m. and Wayne State University at 5 p.m.

After disappointing losses to Lewis University and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, the Lady Cougars look to rebound this weekend.

The Lady Cougars split with Wisconsin-Parkside, winning game one 5-4 and losing game two 6-3. Saturday, SIUE dropped both games to Lewis 2-0 and 6-4.

"We are very disappointed with the results. We played hard but couldn't catch a break." coach Sandy Montgomery said. "Each game from now on will be very important."

The Lady Cougars are ranked third in the Great Lakes Region and tied for second in the GLVC with a conference record of 13-5.

"Every game is huge for us at this point," Montgomery said. "It is all about winning."

The Lady Cougars' hitting and pitching have been an integral key to their success.

"Mandy (Uhrhan) continues to swing a hot bat. Val (McCoy) has also been consistent," Montgomery said. "Both are playing exceptionally well for us."

McCoy is leading the team with a .442 batting average and 17 RBIs. Uhrhan is third on the team with a .389 batting average, five home runs and 18 RBIs.

Other key hitters for the Lady Cougars are Erin Newman, Katie Waldo and Melissa Lindgren. Newman is hitting .395 with 42 RBIs and 10 home runs on the season.

Waldo has a .373 batting average with 24 RBIs and one home run. Lindgren is batting .367 with 14 RBIs and one home run.

The Lady Cougars' pitching has been close to perfection with Dawn Farmer, Missy Koenig and RyAnn Spann.

Farmer has made 18 appearances this season and has faced 398 batters, striking out 51.

Koenig has made 17 appearances this season, facing 426 batters, while striking out 38.

RyAnn Spann has appeared 10 times this season, facing 173 batters with 39 strikeouts.

The GLVC/GLIAC Challenge will be Friday through Sunday.