Games #31-33
Lindenwood (14-16, 3-6 OVC)
vs. Tennessee Tech (15-11, 6-3 OVC)
Match Information:
Dates: Friday, Mar. 29 / Saturday, Mar. 30
Location: Cookeville, Tenn.
Venue: Tech Softball Field
Start Times: 12:00 p.m. C.T. (Fri.) & 2:00 p.m. / 1:00 p.m. CT (Sat.)
All-Time Series: 3-0
Last Meeting: W, 10-4
Live Stats: Stats
Audio: Stream

On-Tap
Lindenwood heads to Tennessee to take on the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech for a three game Ohio Valley Conference series. The Lions play a doubleheader on Friday, March 29^th at 12:00 p.m. CT and 2:00 p.m. CT before finishing the series on Saturday, March 30^th at 1:00 p.m. CT. The Lions bring a 3-6 OVC record into the weekend after going 1-2 against USI.

Southern Indiana Recap
Game 1: Lindenwood dropped the opening game of the series 3-2 after nine innings. Amanda Weyh (L, 8-7) took the loss after pitching the last four innings, allowing one run on five hits and striking out six batters, after taking over for Avery Wapp, who started and pitched the first five innings, letting up two runs and also striking out six.
 
Madisen Noll hit her second home run of the season in the first, and Irelynn West hit her first homer of the year in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings. In extras, USI grabbed a run in the top of the ninth and the Lions weren't able to respond.
 
Game 2: Lindenwood evened the series in game one of Sunday's double header after run-ruling Southern Indiana by a final score of 8-0 in five innings. The Lions scored at least one run in every single inning while posting eight hits and capitalizing on USI's six errors. 
 
Madisen Noll and Weyh both had two hits in the Lions' victory with Weyh hitting her first home run of the season to deep center field. Jolie McMinn also had two runs batted in to help Lindenwood get their first win of the weekend.

Game 3: Game two of the doubleheader was all about defense as the Screaming Eagles scraped out of Lou Brock Stadium with a 2-1 win. The Ohio Valley Conference's leading strikeout pitcher Josie Newman (W, 10-5) had 10 strikeouts through seven innings. Avery Wapp (L, 4-6) earned the loss for the Lions after allowing two runs on six hits with three strikeouts. Weyh returned to the ball game in the seventh inning allowing only one hit in game two.
 
Lindenwood was held to just four hits in game three of the series including two by Darnell at the lead-off spot. Bethany and Noll also had singles for the Lions in the loss.
 
OVC Preseason Poll
Southeast Missouri State was selected to win the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference softball crown as voted on by the league's head coaches and communications directors last week. Lindenwood was picked to finish in seventh.

Eastern Illinois earned six first-place votes as they were selected to finish in second followed by UT Martin and Southern Indiana. The Lions finished last season with a 16-32 overall record including a 8-15 conference record. Lindenwood made the OVC Tournament during their first Division I season, losing a heart-breaker to Tennessee State in 10 innings.

Statistical Leaders
Batting Average: Mya Bethany (.275)
Hits: Mya Bethany (22)
RBI: Madisen Noll (11)
ERA: Amanda Weyh (2.35)
Strikeouts: Amanda Weyh (95)

Scouting Tennessee Tech
Tennessee Tech are led by Danielle Penner who enters her second season in charge of the Golden Ealges. Her first season, the Golden Eagles went 6-44 with a 2-21 OVC record. So far in her second season, Penner is guiding the Golden Eagles to a 14-11 record and 6-3 in OVC play.
 
Senior Carmen Betts leads the Golden Eagles at the plate with a .362 average and a .429 on-base percentage on 29 hits to go along with 24 RBI's. Junior Mac Fitzgerald leads the Golden Eagles in at-bats (102), runs (24), hits (30), and stolen bases (23).
 
Lennon Spicer and Payton Wagner are the leading starters for the Golden Eagles, both with 10 starts on the year. Emily York leads the Golden Eagles with 55.2 innings pitched to go along with a 5-0 record and a 1.51 ERA as well as leading the team with 19 appearances.

Head Coach Erin Brown
Erin Brown is entering her third season as the head coach of the Lindenwood softball team in 2024. In 2023, the Lions went 16-32, including an 8-15 mark against OVC competition. Lindenwood finished with a winning record at home (12-10) and swept eventual conference champion Eastern Illinois late in the year at Lou Brock Sports Complex.

Under Brown's guidance, the Lindenwood softball team capped a historic 2022 season in the NCAA Midwest Regional and a 35-13 overall record. The Lions' trip to the regional tournament marked the first in program history, as the team claimed the No. 4 seed. Lindenwood earned a notable win over No. 2 UIndy in late April, the highest-ranked victory in program history.

Prior to Lindenwood, Brown was the head coach at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., where she accumulated a 348-302 record in 13 seasons at the helm of the program. Over her final seven seasons with the Bulldogs, Brown amassed 233 wins and a .643 winning percentage. Brown led TSU to five NCAA Regional Appearances, and coached three All-Americans, 12 first-team All-Conference selections, 10 second-team All-Conference honorees, and four conference major award winners in 13 campaigns. The Bulldogs made the GLVC Tournament in every season under Brown.

Up Next
Lindenwood will make a short trip into St. Louis to take on the Billikens on Wednesday, April 3^rd before the Lions host the Eagles of Morehead State University for a three game OVC series on April 6^th and 7^th. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.