COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican softball team continues play in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference with a short trip to northeast Ohio. The Black and Gold will take on Ursuline College and Lake Erie College.

About Ohio Dominican
 The Panthers head into the weekend with a 17-7 overall record and a 5-3 conference record after sweeping the Saints of Thomas More on Monday afternoon. ODU currently sits tied for fifth with Ky. Wesleyan and Ashland in the conference standings. The Black and Gold are receiving votes for the third week in a row in the NFCA Division II Coaches Poll.

Leading the way for the team is Emily Walker (Plain City, Ohio) with a .400. batting average. The senior has eight doubles and two triples along with 13 runs batted in. Following her is Alexis Stevens (Marion, Ohio) with a .398 batting average. Stevens leads the team and the G-MAC in doubles with 13. She's driven in a team high of 28 runs and has 33 hits.

In the circle, Grace Hammer (Uniontown, Ohio) has a 6-3 record. Hammer has the third best ERA in the conference at 1.21 and the seventh most strikeouts with 67. Addison Smodilla (Terre Haute, Ind.) has a 6-2 record with 28 strikeouts and a 2.95 ERA.

About Ursuline
The Arrows enter Thursday with a 5-13 record and a 0-4 mark in the G-MAC. UC is coming off a five game losing streak after dropping both at Trevecca Nazarene and Ky. Wesleyan.

Leading the way for Ursuline is Casey Barton with a .284 batting average. Barton has 27 hits including two triples and two doubles. Jovanna Herrera follows with nine runs batted in and 26 hits. Herrera has four doubles, a triple, and three home runs.
On the rubber, Tara Backherms has a 5.25 ERA in 58.2 innings pitched. Danielle Hoffman follows with a 5.74 ERA in 50.0 innings pitched. Backherms has retired 18 while Hoffman has struck out 38.

Dating back to 2018, the Panthers are 9-3 against the Arrows. ODU has won the last six meetings in a row, including two last year, 6-3, and 10-5, in Pepper Pike.

About Lake Erie
The Storm head into Friday with a 0-20 overall record and a 0-6 record in the G-MAC. Last weekend, LEC took their southern sweep and fell to Trevecca and Ky. Wesleyan.

Emma Spahr has a .441 batting average and leads the team with 26 hits, six home runs, and 11 runs batted in. Following her is Lillian Campbell with a .289 batting average. In the circle, Carly Rowland has a 4.64 ERA in 63.1 innings pitched. The graduate student has 35 strikeouts and has a 0-10 record.

Within the Division II Era, the Black and Gold are 26-2 against the Green and White. LEC grabbed their wins in 2016 and 2018. The Panthers have won the last eight meetings including two close ones last season, 1-0 and 2-1 in nine innings.

First Pitch
On Thursday evening, the doubleheader is set for 3:30 PM at Ursuline Softball Field. Friday's doubleheader will start at 2:00 PM at Kiwanis Recreation Park.