LIVINGSTON, Ala. - The University of West Alabama Softball Team continues their conference slate this weekend as the Tigers travel to Montevallo for a three-game series with the Falcons.

Game One and Two will be played as a double header, beginning on Friday at 2:00 PM with Game Three slated for Saturday at 12:00 p.m.

No. 24 West Alabama (14-9, 7-5 GSC) comes into the weekend after a series loss to Valdosta State while Montevallo (10-15, 4-8 GSC) enters after dropping two out of three to Alabama Huntsville.

The 24th ranked Tigers look to bounce back after a tough road trip to Valdosta last weekend. UWA was without their leadoff hitter, Haley Shannon but Shannon's potential return to the lineup this weekend will provide the Tigers a spark at the top of the order. Shannon is a pure contact hitter that's batting .327 on the year along with a team-high nine stolen bases. In the midst of Shannon's absence, Marissa Mitchell continued to hammer the ball at plate. West Alabama's star Second Baseman hit two more home runs this past weekend and now brings Seven Home Runs along with a .429 batting and 20 RBIs into this weekend's play. When looking at the GSC Statistical Leaderboards, Mitchell's name is scattered all over it as the senior leads the league in Slugging Percentage and OPS, while sitting in second in Walks and Home Runs.

On the pitching side of things for UWA, the Tigers team ERA rose a bit after the Blazers' series but West Alabama still ranks fourth in the conference in that category and possess two of the best arms in the GSC. Eleanor De Block remains in the top-five in ERA with a 1.93 mark while Wright sits right outside of the top-10 with a 2.69 ERA. Both De Block and Wright are holding opposing batters to a batting average well under .250 in a combined 136.0 innings of work. 

Pitching and defense remain the strength of the Tigers' team while their lineup consisting of Mitchell, Shannon, Ann Marie Stanbridge, Taylor Clegg, etc. look to jumpstart the offense this weekend against Montevallo.

Standing at 4-8 in GSC, the Falcons have had a rocky start to conference play in 2025, but hold a series win over West Florida. Montevallo has a solid pitching staff, holding a team ERA of 3.97, but the Achilles Heel for the Falcons this year has been their offense. Montevallo comes into this weekend's play, hitting .224 as a team, putting them second to last in that category amongst the league. 

Becca Benton is the only Falcon that's batting over .300 as the junior carries a .328 batting average along with a team-high two home runs and 12 RBIs. Amongst the rest of Montevallo's roster, Bentley Stiner is the only other player besides Benton that has an on-base percentage over .300. Stiner, a junior Outfielder, has accumulated a .319 on-base percentage through 25 games while Riley Tyree is just under .300 but brings a .278 batting average into the weekend.

The strength of this year's Falcons' team lies on the mound as Taylor Lloyd and Berkeley Mooney have both put together great campaigns. Lloyd leads Montevallo and ranks ninth in the conference with a 2.59 ERA. Lloyd has registered a team-high four wins this year and will most likely get the start in Game One on Friday. As for Mooney, she carries a 3.00 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .184 average through 28.0 innings of work. Out of the bullpen, freshman Kinsley Byrd has been nearly untouchable as she boasts a 0.88 ERA in 16.0 innings of work.

First pitch for Friday's double header is set for 2:00 p.m. while Game Three on Saturday is slated for 12:00 p.m. from Orr Park in Montevallo, Alabama.