GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – The Green Bay Phoenix softball team has a busy weekend ahead of it as the squad will play seven games in four days. To start off the hectic stretch, the Phoenix will head back to Tennessee to take on UT-Martin for a doubleheader on Thursday then take a three hour trip to Bowling Green, Ky. for the WKU Hilltopper Classic.
 
Complete slate of weekend games:
Thursday, Feb. 20 at UT-Martin at 12:00 PM
Thursday, Feb. 20 at UT-Martin at 2:00 PM
Friday, Feb. 21 vs Ball State at 9:00 AM
Friday, Feb. 21 at Western Kentucky at 2:00 PM
Saturday, Feb. 22 vs Indiana State at 9:00 AM
Saturday, Feb. 22 TBD
Sunday, Feb. 23 TBD
 
Most Recently for the Phoenix - Green Bay took two out of three games at the Bruin Challenge this past weekend thanks to some timely hitting and stellar pitching performances. Kayla Schwebke, reigning Horizon League Pitcher of the Week, was the star of the show in Green Bay's two victories. She tossed a complete game shutout and allowed only three hits in a 1-0 Phoenix win over Marist. The only runner to cross the plate for either side was Samantha Soley on a one-out single by Tiffany Giese. Alyssa Brewer was the hero in the final game of the weekend, sending a deep fly over the center field fence to give Green Bay the lead and eventually the victory. Schwebke shined again, going the distance allowing only four hits.
 
Scouting the UT-Martin Skyhawks: The Skyhawks enter the doubleheader with a 4-5 record on the young season after having played invitationals at Southeastern Louisiana and North Texas. This will be the first home game for UT-Martin at Bettye Giles Field where they have played since 1996. On the diamond this year, Chelsey Gore has gotten off to a hot start at the dish so far batting .520 with a .680 slugging percentage and 13 hits. Sophomore Erin Gallagher had a 7-4 record last season with a 2.58 ERA and she's the workhorse for the Skyhawks this season as she has already pitched 25 innings for her side and a 2-2 record.
 
Scouting the Ball State Cardinals: The Cardinals sit a 5-5 record on the 2020 season and are currently on a two game winning streak. Megan Ciolli Bartlett enters her fifth season as the head coach and currently holds a 128-104 record. Bartlett, a two-time All-American as a player at Notre Dame is the ninth head coach in program history but has already cemented herself as one of the best as she entered this season as the fourth-winningest coach in the sport of softball in Muncie. Offense has been the recipe for success for the Cardinals as they have a team average of .323, 91 hits, and nine home runs. In wins this season, Ball State average an astounding 10.6 runs per game thanks to five players with at least nine hits, three players with an average of .429 or better, and five players with least one home run.
 
Scouting the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers: The Hilltoppers enter their home tournament with a scorching hot seven wins in a row and an impressive 8-2 record so far. Western Kentucky is building off a 37-13 record last season where they also went 18-3 at home and 18-6 in conference play. The heavy hitters have come to play early on in the 2020 season for Coach Amy Tudor, tallying 14 hits and three home runs in a game against Ohio on Valentine's Day. Western Kentucky was chosen to finish second in the Conference USA Preseason Poll and catcher, Kendall Smith was tabbed an All-Conference Team member. Smith has three home runs on the season with a .395 average and nine runs batted in so far this year.
 
Scouting the Indiana State Sycamores: Indiana State will look to bounce back this weekend after dropping four out of five games last weekend at the Chattanooga Challenge to drop them to 3-6 this season. Mike Perniciaro is trying to turn around the program in Terre Haute as he has seven freshman on the roster this season with hopes of soon beating their best finish in the MVC of fifth which came in 2018, the same year that the Sycamores and Phoenix matched up where Indiana State won 1-0. In the circle, Lexi Benko leads the team with a 1.80 ERA and one win in 5.0 innings pitched for Indiana State. Senior Leslie Sims is having an outstanding season at the plate with an average of .500 with five runs scored and 16 total bases.
 
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