KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - The Truman State University softball team will be hitting the road for the first time in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) play this weekend when it travels to Lewis on Saturday and No. 20 Indianapolis the following Sunday. The Bulldogs opened their league slate with a pair of splits last week against the likes of William Jewell on Sunday and Rockhurst on Monday at Truman Softball Park.

Starting with Lewis, the Flyers are 9-13 overall, 2-2 in the GLVC like Truman and will be making their 2019 home debut on Saturday with the Bulldogs in town. Lewis was supposed to play its first home games on Thursday vs. Davenport, but that doubleheader was cancelled due to unfavorable weather. The Flyers are in year five under head coach, Becky Pearl, who owns an overall record of 103-119 (.464 winning percentage) during her tenure in Romeoville. That mark includes a 49-71 record (.408) in conference play.

Statistically, Lewis is 10th in the league for both batting average (.287) and ERA (3.79). Individually, four Flyers are hitting at least .300 including Cassie Shaw (.395), Cierra Taylor (.354), Morgan Weber (.352), and Kristin Kavalauskas (.333). Taylor is tied with four other players for third in the GLVC in home runs with four while Olivia Magaldi is also tied for third, but in sacrifice bunts, with five. In the circle, Lewis has been led by a rookie in Sara Serena and her team-leading 2.82 ERA in 39.2 innings pitched. Behind her is Dara Sanders' 3.19 ERA in 59 and a third frames of work, which are good for ninth in the conference.

Switching over to No. 20 Indianapolis (19-7, 2-2 GLVC), the Greyhounds have already played 26 games, which is tied with Southern Indiana, Illinois Springfield and Missouri-St. Louis for the third most in the GLVC. Maryville is second with 27 and McKendree has played the most games so far with 28. Back to Indianapolis, it will also be making its home debut for 2019 after splitting a pair of doubleheaders with the St. Louis contingent last weekend. Prior to that, the Greyhounds had won four games in a row and 16 of 18 to improve to 17-5.

At No. 20 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Coaches Poll, Indianapolis is the GLVC's only team featured in the top 25 including the "Others Receiving Votes" section. The Greyhounds are in year 15 under the winningest coach in program history and five-time GLVC Coach of the Year, Melissa Frost. In that time, Frost's record of 569-237 (.706 winning percentage), 276-102 (.730) in GLVC play, includes 12 30-win campaigns, five with 40 or more, three with 50+ victories, and an NCAA Super Regional appearance in 2013.

When looking at the GLVC's statistical rankings, Indianapolis is just below the .300 mark for batting average at .294, which is ranked eighth, but its team ERA of 2.42 is second only to Drury at 2.19. Sticking with pitching, the Greyhounds have already used five different arms, three of which collect most of the innings including Halie Waters (1.93 ERA in 76 IP), Lauren Honkomp (2.19 in 54.1 IP) and Amy Kaniewski (3.28 in 32 IP). Among the league's leaders, Waters and Honkomp are all over. Hitting wise, five Indianapolis regulars hit above .300 including Hanna Burris (.402), Brooke Montgomery (.341), Taylor Podschweit (.338), Frankie Kontor (.333), and Rachel Vander Wagen (.327).

Record Book Watch
Christa Reisinger's climb up the program's career record book continues with each passing game. So far in 2019, Reisinger has already set new records for hits (278) and runs scored (196) and is tied for first in triples (15). The Winfield native is also second for both total bases with 424 (needs 72 for new record) and stolen bases with 139 (needs 15 for new record). The center field speedster is also first in average (.474), eighth in home runs (28) and ninth in runs batted in (109). Also playing her final season as a Bulldog, Lauren Dale is making some movement on the career pitching charts. Dale is now sixth in appearances (86), tied for seventh in wins (45), eighth in winning percentage (.682), ninth in innings pitched (.434), and ninth in games started (65).

All Facets of the Game
Right now, Truman is one of only two teams in the GLVC that is ranked in the top six for both team batting average and team ERA. The Bulldogs are first in average at .353, 12 points better than Maryville, and third in team ERA at 2.59. The only other program that can lay claim to that feat is Drury as the Panthers are third in average at .334 and first in ERA at 2.19. With that being said, Truman has played the fewest games of any league team and is one of four with fewer than 20 games played including Missouri S&T (18), William Jewell (19) and Quincy (19).

Two-Headed Monster
While Dale boasts the second-best ERA in the GLVC at 1.41, Alyssa Hajduk continues to be an admirable second option for Truman. Hitters have mustered up a batting average of just .194 against the junior lefty and that mark is good for fourth in the conference behind Dale's opposing batting average of .193 in third. Hajduk has picked up her two saves in her last four outings to increase her Truman career record to 12.

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