The Tennessee Tech softball team will host North Alabama on Wednesday, Apr. 7, as the Golden Eagles prepare for a challenging game against the visiting Lions.
North Alabama has recently climbed into two mid-major polls, ranked No. 18 by Softball America and No. 22 by D1Softball after winning eight straight conference games and improving their record to 27-8 this season. The game is scheduled for 4 p.m., with live coverage available on ESPN+ and free admission at Tech Softball Field.
The Golden Eagles come off a weekend series at Western Illinois where they dropped two games but maintained strong offensive production, hitting .368 with six home runs and collecting 23 RBI on 24 runs scored. Sofia Carroll hit .667 during the series with five RBI and six runs scored, while Jailynn Paderez posted a .571 average along with an impressive slugging percentage of 1.571, recording eight RBI and three runs while being walked eight times.
North Alabama enters the contest riding a six-game winning streak since a loss to No. 6 Alabama, having swept Bellarmine and Lipscomb in recent matchups. The Lions are currently hitting .311 as a team this season with Briley Dover leading in batting average (.393) and runs (40), Holly Merritt topping home run (12) and RBI (43) charts, while Gyvan Hammons leads in stolen bases (13). In pitching, Alivia Wilken holds an 11-4 record with a 2.68 ERA.
Tennessee Tech holds an overall record of 13-21 (10-5 Ohio Valley Conference), recently seeing its nine-game OVC win streak end but still having won eleven of its last fifteen games. Paderez leads the team batting at .418 with Ashley Capelouto providing seven home runs and Olivia Evans leading in stolen bases (16). On the mound, Addison Abell has recorded the team’s best ERA at 3.54 over more than sixty innings pitched.
Following Wednesday’s matchup against North Alabama, Tennessee Tech will continue its homestand by hosting Southern Indiana over the weekend before facing Bellarmine next Tuesday.
