KIAC Softball Games of the Week: Asbury at Rio Grande
RIO GRANDE, Ohio -- Rio Grande plays Asbury in the early part of the conference schedule in this week's installment of the KIAC Softball Games of the Week.
Rio Grande (18-6, 5-1 KIAC) is currently tied for first place in the KIAC standings. Asbury (11-15, 1-1 KIAC) is one of many teams 2.0 games back in the standings as many teams are battling for positioning in the first part of the season.
The Eagles travel to the Red Storm for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 2 at 1 p.m.
Rio Grande won three of four last year in the season series versus Asbury. So far this year, Rio Grande is out to the best overall record in the KIAC. The RedStorm has doubleheader sweeps over Brescia and Ohio Christian and a split with co-first place team IU Southeast (5-1 KIAC).
Asbury enters the weekend at .500 in the conference after splitting two games with WVU Tech. The Eagles play at Ohio Christian on Friday. Rio Grande is also in action Friday with home games versus Midway.
Rio Grande is the top pitching and defense team in the KIAC ranking first in the conference in team ERA (2.13), opponent batting average (.217) and fielding percentage (.970). The RedStorm hits .285 as a team led by Ariel Roder at .431 with five home runs and 14 RBIs and Tayler Arndt at .363 with three homers and 22 RBIs.
Asbury has Kateland Hunter hitting .379 with five home runs and 24 RBIs. Tisha Lane is another top hitter with an average of .353 to go along with a home run and 10 RBIs. The pitching relies on Summer Ratliff with 124.1 of the Eagles' 151.1 innings pitched this year. She has 65 strikeouts and 17 complete games in 18 starts.
Follow the KIAC Softball Games of the Week on Twitter @KIACSports and @KIACScores hashtags #KIAC and #KIACgotw. Look for live stats via Dakstats and possible broadcast on Stretch Internet.