INSTITUTE, W.Va. — The Yellow Jacket softball team hits the road this weekend for a Friday afternoon doubleheader against Notre Dame College followed by a Saturday afternoon meeting with Alderson Broaddus University. 

THE BUZZ ON THE YELLOW JACKETS

West Virginia State is currently ranked second in the Mountain East's South Division with a record of 16-14, 13-5 in the MEC. The Yellow Jackets are coming off of doubleheader splits with West Virginia Wesleyan on April 10, and Davis & Elkins on April 11. 

The Yellow Jackets are ranked ninth in the Mountain East in batting average and third in the conference in home runs. 

Senior Kasey Murphy stands at 19th in the conference at the plate with a .359 batting average. She's hit six jacks and has 20 RBIs. 

Murphy and sophomore Autumn Thompson are the probable starters for this weekend. Murphy has started 12 games and holds a 6-6 record with a 3.98 ERA, striking out 59 and allowing 34 walks on the season. Thompson has started 13 games, holds a 4-4 record with a 4.54 ERA. Thompson has struck out 44 and allowed 20 walks.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS

Notre Dame College is currently ranked fourth in the MEC North with an overall record of 12-20, 5-11 in the conference.

The Falcon batters are ranked third in the conference in team batting average, .293. Senior Daniele Rivera is ranked seventh in the conference in batting average, hitting pitchers at a .420 clip. Senior Alexi Maciejowski is ranked ninth in the conference in batting average (.404) and third in the conference in slugging percentage (.820).

Allison Weiland and Chloe Vance will be the likely starters for the Falcons this weekend. Weilnau has started 14 games and made appearances in 20. She is 5-7 with a 4.44 ERA. She's fanned 42 and allowed 42 walks on the season.

SCOUTING THE BATTLERS

The Battlers come into this weekend's doubleheader ranked fifth in the MEC North with a 14-24 overall record and a conference record of 3-15. The Battlers have scored the most runs in the conference, scoring 212 runs. Their pitching staff is also ranked last in the conference for earned runs allowed, 10th in ERA.

Freshman Neveah Unzueta leads the bats for the Battlers, hitting at a .369 clip, sporting an impressive 1.014 OPS rating. 

The Battlers have spread their pitching duties all around the staff. Senior Caitlin Winkler sports the best ERA on the staff with a 3.15 in three appearances. Senior Jordyn Kenneally boasts the most whiffs, with 39 in her 16 appearances, but junior Meadow Uncapher isn't far behind with 38 over 16 appearances.

Live stats and live streaming will be available for both sets of games.