SIUE COUGARS (17-22, 4-9 Ohio Valley)
VS. EVANSVILLE PURPLE ACES (21-21, 7-10 Missouri Valley)

Tuesday, April 18, 6 p.m.
Evansville, Ind./ Cooper Stadium

Follow the Game
Video: ESPN+
Audio: None
Live Stats: gopurpleaces.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary

UNDER THE LIGHTS: SIUE just returned from a three-game series in Evansville, Indiana, at Ohio Valley Conference rival Southern Indiana. Now the Cougars return to Evansville for a 6 p.m. contest at Cooper Stadium.
CONFERENCE WINS: The Cougars took two of three games, including a 10-inning marathon, from Southern Indiana. SIUE is in eighth place in the OVC race with the top eight headed to the OVC Championships. SIUE is 4-9 in the OVC and has nine games left in the league with three each against Tennessee Tech, Morehead State and Lindenwood.
.400 CLUB: Paige Rocha leads the squad with a .403 batting average. Rocha and Lexi King are tied for the team lead in hits with 48. Rocha and King are Nos. 3 and 4 in hitting in the OVC. King is batting .381.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: King leads the OVC in doubles this season with 13. She is ranked 14th nationally in doubles.
TOTAL GAME: Rocha is second in the OVC in total bases (72) after hitting her team-leading fifth home run earlier this week at Purdue.
DRIVING THEM HOME: SIUE has five players with 10 or more RBIs this season. King and Emma Neuman lead the way with 19 each.
IMPROVING PITCHING STAFF: SIUE's pitching staff holds a 3.19 earned run average for the season. However, over the last 10 games, the Cougars' pitching staff has a team ERA of 1.57. Sydney Baalman, Kelsey Ray and Rylie Pindel all have ERAs less than 2.00 over the last 10 games.
SHOUT OUT SHUTOUT: SIUE leads the OVC in shutouts with seven.
DOING IT ALL: Ten different players have recorded at least one stolen base. King leads SIUE with 12. Eleven different players have recorded a sacrifice as the team successfully has utilized the sacrifice twice as much (32-16) than its opponent.
WHAT A SAVE: Ray has three saves this season and is ranked 26th nationally in saves.
SERIES VS. EVANSVILLE: SIUE is 11-6 overall against the Purple Aces. The two schools have met for just four games since SIUE joined the Division I ranks in 2009. SIUE won games in 2009 and 2017 but have lost the last two contests in 2021 and 2022.
START OF AN ERA: After spending nearly the last decade as an assistant coach in the Big Ten Conference, Ben Sorden was tapped as the new leader of the SIUE softball program. Sorden comes to SIUE after holding positions at Michigan State and Indiana, helping the pitching staffs to national honors and top-notch results. The Lone Tree, Iowa, native most recently spent five seasons at Michigan State, where the Spartans sported a 2.38 earned run average and a 1.11 WHIP over 350 innings of play.