FAYETTE, Iowa - Upper Iowa softball (3-15) heads to Shawnee, Kansas, to compete in the Midwest Classic on Feb. 26-28. The team begins the tournament on Thursday, playing against Fort Hays State (Kan.) (4-5) at 4:30 p.m. and Augustana (S.D.) (3-2)at 6:45 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Peacocks were 2-4 in last week's Lewis Flyers Invitational. UIU beat Bemidji State (Minn.) (2-8), 9-2, and Concordia St. Paul (Minn.) (6-3), 8-4. Upper Iowa's losses were to Wisconsin Parkside (1-5) in five innings, 12-0, Purdue Northwest (Ind.) (3-2), 3-1, Roosevelt (Ill.) (5-3), 9-8, and Hillsdale (Mich.) (5-5), 4-3. 

Reagon Proud posted nine hits with three doubles, three walks, two RBIs and scored seven runs in last week's contests. She also slashed .429/.500/.571. The sophomore's best performance came in the win over Concordia-St. Paul, when she went 4-for-4 at the plate, drove in an RBI and scored four runs.

Dani Laughlin recorded 10 hits, four RBIs, two walks and scored four runs. The Riverside native slashed .500/.545/.500 in the tournament. Sara Reid went 2-1 on the mound, pitching 22.1 innings, striking out 17 batters. She allowed four earned runs on 16 hits and three walks.

AROUND THE GLVC
Brooklyn Willis of UIndy (10-0) earned GLVC Player of the Week after guiding the Greyhounds to a 4-0 record at the Highlands Classic. She blasted two home runs and a double on a 1.071 slugging percentage. The sophomore also went 7-of-14 at the plate with two walks, getting a .563 on-base percentage.

Calista Stahlhut of Illinois Springfield (10-4) took home the conference Pitcher of the Week award. The pitcher/first baseman pitched two complete games, giving up zero earned runs in 15 innings. Her best performance came in the win over Ohio Dominican (3-5), throwing eight straight shutouts and striking out six opponents at the plate. 

No. 11 Indianapolis received 169 votes and moved up four spots from last week's National Fastpitch Association (NFCA) poll. No. 25 McKendree (Ill.) (8-4) received 31 votes, dropping down a spot from last week. 

ABOUT THE TIGERS - Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
Fort Hays State split last weekend's Washburn Invitational, 1-1. The Tigers beat Montana State-Billings (2-12), 12-2 and Minnesota State (3-7), 7-4, before succumbing to Minnesota Crookston (2-12), 9-5, and Drury (Mo.) (5-8), 3-1.

Hannah Green leads the team, slashing .485/.514/.606, while Abbey Duarte slashes second-best .481/.500/.889 and Audrey Gillespie slashes a third-best .400/.400/.567. Durarte and Gillespie have each hit a team-high five doubles. Duarte also leads the team with two home runs and 14 RBIs

Solana Carpenter has been at the mound for a team-high 26.2 innings, giving up seven earned runs on 27 hits and 13 walks. The freshman also has an ERA of 1.84 and 19 strikeouts.

Adrian Pilkington is in her 12th season at Fort Hays State. She is the winningest coach in program history with 249 wins.

ABOUT THE VIKINGS - Thursday at 6:45 p.m.
Augustana last competed in the Lone Star Invitational on Jan. 30-Feb. 1, ending the event with a record of 3-2. The Vikings' victories came against Lubbock Christian (Texas) (8-8), 7-3, Midwestern State (Texas), 8-4 and Cameron (Okla.) (6-9) in nine innings, 16-15. The team fell to Eastern New Mexico (6-7) in nine innings, 10-9 (6-7), and Southern Arkansas (15-2), 11-4. 

Susie Tollefson slashes a team-best .500/.556/.750, followed by Andrea Cain slashing .471/.609/.824 and Sidney Smart slashing .467/.479/.600. Cain and Kierra Lubovich have a team-high three doubles. Claire Wynja leads the team in RBIs with eight. 

Teya Speltz has pitched a team-high 16.2 innings, allowing 13 earned runs on 15 walks and 15 hits. She has an ERA of 5.46 and has struck out 18 batters.

Gretta Melsted is in her 19th season with Augustana. She has an overall record of 769-285.

ABOUT THE JENNIES - Friday at 3 p.m.
Central Missouri (9-2) beat all three of its opponents in the Washburn Invitational. The Jennies beat Minnesota State in six innings, 12-3, Montana State-Billings, 7-0, and Minnesota-Crookston, 9-4. 

Kyrsten Morgan slashes .394/.524/.394. Cydney Fullerton leads the team with three doubles. Marisa Johnson has a team-high four home runs and a team-high 11 RBIs. She also has a slugging percentage of .846. 

Andi Siebeneck has the most experience at the mound for the Jennies with 24.1 innings pitched. She has allowed 11 earned runs on 25 hits and nine walks. The senior also has 11 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.16.

UCM is coached by 20-year head coach Susan Anderson. She has an overall record of 567-427.

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS - Friday at 5:30 p.m.
No. 17 Central Oklahoma (13-4) competed in the Washburn Invitational this past weekend, winning both contests. The Bronchos beat Minnesota State, 4-2, and Rockhurst (Mo.) (2-5) in five innings, 5-2. 

Kennedy Clark slashes a team-best .451/.533/.588, while Brooklyn Ryan slashes a second-best .434/.475.604 and Jenna Jobe a third-best .426/.466/.630. Jobe leads the team in doubles. Rylee Lemos has a team-high 26 RBIs. Haley Gallo leads the team in home runs with three. 

Shelby Beard boasts a team-most 51.2 innings, giving up 23 earned runs on 56 hits and 17 walks. She's also struck out 47 batters at the plate and has an ERA of 3.12. 

First-year head coach Sam Maples has led her team to a 13-4 record. Her previous coaching stint was at Oklahoma Baptist, where she led the team to a 41-24 record, won the Great American Conference title and earned an NCAA Tournament berth.   

ABOUT THE WILDCATS - Saturday at 10 a.m.
Wayne State (Neb.) (8-1) won three games in last week's Washburn Tournament. The Wildcats won, 9-1, over Newman (Kan.) (3-4), 5-0, over Washburn (17-3) (Kan.), and 2-1, over Emporia State (Kan.) (10-5) in 10 innings.  

Kennadi Borngrebe slashes a team-best .517/.515/.655, followed by Taylor Coleman with .444/.444/.519 and Emilee Marth with .444/.559/.630. Borngrebe has pitched a team-most 33.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on 12 hits and 18 walks. She also has an ERA of 0.63 and has struck out 43 opponents. Sophomore Maddie Scobee has hit a team-high four doubles, a team-high 10 RBIs and has recorded the team's only triple.  

Christy Warnock is in her fourth year as head coach at Wayne State. She has compiled an overall record of 60-104. 

ABOUT THE JETS - Saturday at 12:20 p.m.
Newman recently competed a week ago in the Washburn Tournament, dropping its two contests. The Jets were beaten by Wayne State in five innings, 5-1, and by Minnesota-Crookston, 9-2.

UIU and NU last played each other on Feb. 1, with NU winning, 8-7, in eight innings. Elliott Pomery posted two hits, an RBI and scored a run, while Cara Farnam started at the mound for the Peacocks, pitching four innings, allowing six earned runs on 10 hits and a walk.

For Newman, Emma Taylor scored three runs and connected for two hits, while MaKenna Majors pitched 5.2 innings, giving up four earned runs on five hits and three walks. Majors also recorded a strikeout. 

Malie Noda leads the team in slashing with .458/.480/.750. The Highland, California native also leads the team in doubles with four and RBIs with seven. Hannah Nordby and Taylor have each scored a team-high five runs. 

Majors has a team-most 15.1 innings at the mound, allowing 11 earned runs on 18 hits and 10 walks. She's mustered a strikeout and a 5.02 ERA. 

Brittany Henning is in her inaugural season as the head coach of NU. Her team thusfar has a record of 3-4. 

UP NEXT 
Upper Iowa begins conference play on March 13-14. The Peacocks travel to face Lewis on Friday, March. 14 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., before returning home the following day to face No. 11 UIndy at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.