MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The University of Montevallo softball team plays their first Gulf South Conference games of the season as they take of the Christian Brothers Buccaneers on Saturday, Feb. 24 and Sunday, Feb. 25.
 
Last Time Out
Montevallo split against Georgia Southwestern on Tuesday, Feb. 20. The Falcons came out hot as they took the first game behind a season-high of nine runs scored as they run ruled the Hurricanes in five. GSW came back the next game and defeated the Falcons 6-1.
 
How To Follow
Montevallo vs. Christian Brothers / Feb. 24 at 1:00 PM CT
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Montevallo vs. Christian Brothers / Feb. 24 at 3:00 PM CT
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Montevallo vs. Christian Brothers / Feb. 25 at 12:00 PM CT
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About Montevallo
Hitting
The Falcons enjoyed their home turf as they started off the 2024 home slate with a run rule. It didn't take long for Montevallo to get out to a controlling 6-0 as Ariana Pinder and Kendall Channell both hit three-run homers in the second inning. Pinder, Channell and Bentlee Stiner all had two hit games.
 
Ariana Pinder continues her hot month of February as she leads UM with a .447 batting average which is 12^th in the conference. Pinder is tied for 11^th in the Gulf South with 17 hits. Sydnee Reaves leads the Falcons with 10 RBI on the year and she is tied for first in the GSC with three triples. Molly Pendley picked up another RBI on Tuesday and she now has an RBI in five out of her last seven games played.
As a team, Montevallo is batting .273 but leads the Gulf South in triples with six on the season. The Falcons have the third-lowest stolen base attempts in the conference but they are successful when they do as they are 16-19 on the base paths.
 
Pitching
The Montevallo pitching staff has now lowered the team ERA under four at 3.92. Sophomore Taylor Lloyd is the hottest pitcher in the Gulf South as she has only allowed one earned run in her last 15 innings pitched. Lloyd has 25 strikeouts in her last four outings. She is fifth in the conference with 35.2 innings pitched, fourth with 36 strikeouts and has only walked seven batters this season.
 
Mya Young is coming off her best outing as a Falcon as she pitched a season-high 5.1 innings against Georgia Southwestern. Young scattered five hits and allowed three earned runs while she struck out three. Rachel Whiddon continues to lead the conference with three saves this season.
 
Scouting Christian Brothers
The Buccaneers come in with a 7-4 record overall and 2-1 in conference play this season. CBU is winners of their last three. They swept Lane College in a two-game series on Tuesday, Feb. 20 and they took their lone GSC series against West Georgia last weekend 2-1.
 
Christian Brothers comes in with one of the most potent offenses in the Gulf South as they have the second highest batting average at .319, the fifth highest slugging percentage at .470 and walk the third most in the conference at 43. CBU is hard to keep off base as they have the second highest on base percentage in the GSC at .418. Kylie Burks leads CBU with a .455 average with three home runs and eight RBI. Riley Simpson and Kate Candies both lead the Bucs with 11 RBI.
 
Emily Schooler is Christian Brothers top arm as she leads the team with a 3.08 ERA. Schooler is fourth in the Gulf South with 36.1 innings pitched, leads the conference with 50 strikeouts on the season and has only allowed two long balls on the season.  The staff as a whole is tough to string hits off of as they have the fifth lowest batting average in the conference at .265.