Winning out at the Lowcountry Classic, Ohio (9-4) looks to continue the trend during the Purple/Gold Challenge this weekend. Ohio looked efficient in its last four matches, only letting its opponents score a combined 2 runs throughout all the games, with the peak being the final game against College of Charleston, with a 15-2 victory.
Here's everything to know ahead of Ohio's next weekend in the Purple/Gold Challenge, taking place in Nashville:
Series Information
Opponents: Northern Iowa, Lipscomb, Illinois State
Times: Friday at noon and 2:30 p.m., Saturday at noon and 5 p.m., Sunday at 11 p.m.
Location: Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee)
Watch game four on ESPN+
Games One and Three: Northern Iowa (7-3)
Head Coach: Ryan Jacobs (18th season)
Statistical leaders
Batting Average: Kylee Sanders (.433)
Hits: Sanders (13)
Home Runs: Addison McElrath (4)
RBIs: McElrath (9)
Innings Pitched: Anna Wischnowski (35.0)
Strikeouts: Anna Wischnowski (20)
ERA: Anna Wischnowski (1.00)
Northern Iowa has had a bumpy season, starting out struggling to win consistently. This changed, though, in the last three games, as the Panthers have won all three. The offense has scored 20 runs in the past three games while holding its opponents to 5 total runs.
Games Two and Four: Lipscomb (6-8)
Head Coach: Kristin Ryman (19th season)
Statistical leaders
Batting Average: Elle Smith (.306)
Hits: Alyssa Hastings (11)
Home Runs: Three players (1)
RBIs: Hastings (7)
Innings Pitched: Courtney Sauer (31.2)
Strikeouts: Ryleigh Sapp (24)
ERA: Sauer (4.42)
Lipscomb has had a rough start to the season as they have lost two more games than they have won. Lipscomb is coming off a game where it was outscored 15-4 and couldn't get anything going. This season, Lipscomb has been outscored 82 to 49, showing that the offense has had some problems outside a few select games, like an 18-0 victory against the University of Maine.
Game Five: Illinois State (4-9)
Head Coach: Tina Kramos (3rd season)
Statistical leaders
Batting Average: Tatum Wolford (.320)
Hits: Delainey Bryant (12)
Home Runs: Bryant (1)
RBIs: Addison Masching (7)
Innings Pitched: Hannah Meshnick (47.2)
Strikeouts: Meshnick (16)
ERA: Meshnick (1.32)
Illinois State hasn't had the best season, either. Most of its losses have been within a few scores, with the only notably bad loss being against Florida, finishing 10-2. Despite this, Illinois State is currently on a two-game win streak and looks to continue that this weekend.
