INSTITUTE, W.Va. — Softball faces their cross-county rival for the second time this season on Wednesday, hoping to avenge the sweep that the Golden Eagles put on the Yellow Jackets on the road. WVSU had their six-game winning streak broken at UC back on April 6. During the intermission between the games, the three WVSU seniors who are playing their final game at Lady Jackets Field will be honored. The seniors to be honored are Emily Moore, Paige Scruggs and Emilee Walker.

THE BUZZ ON THE YELLOW JACKETS

WVSU and UC are currently tied for third in the MEC South Division, behind WV Wesleyan and Davis & Elkins, both of whom the Yellow Jackets split with at home on April 9 and 10 respectively. 

WVSU's pitching staff currently ranked seventh in the league in ERA, posting a 4.61 as a team. The pitching staff is tied for giving up the fewest home runs in the conference with Notre Dame College, at 14. WVSU is ranked ninth in the conference in batting average at .272.

Kasey Murphy and Autumn Thompson will likely get the call to start for the Yellow Jackets. Murphy is 7-8 on the season, posting a 4.04 ERA while Thompson boasts a 4.59 ERA. Murphy is 7-8 and Thompson is 4-4. If a reliever is necessary, look for Megan Shoemaker to get the nod. She's made 12 appearances on the season, posting a 5.25 ERA.

Murphy is also the team's batter with the best batting average, posting a .351. She's wrecked eight home runs and has 18 total extra base hits. Scruggs posts a .337 batting average with two home runs.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES

UC's pitching staff boasts a 2.90 ERA, good enough for third in the conference. Morgan Hoppe and Danielle Bauer have started 36 of the Golden Eagles's 38 games. Hoppe has posted a 2.67 ERA and Bauer has a 2.72 ERA. Hoppe is 9-6 on the season, fanning 57. Bauer is more of a strikeout pitcher, posting 124 strikeouts in 128 2/3 innings of work. Bauer is 12-10 on the season.

UC's bats have posted a .285 batting average, good enough for fifth in the conference. Hannah Roses hits at a .438 clip, tagging one out of the park. She has drawn 24 walks and gets on base over half of the time with an on-base percentage of .543. Allysa Lake posts a .314 batting average.

Live stats and live video will be available at wvsuyellowjackets.com.