(EAST PEORIA, Ill., May 3) – McKendree softball is set to make their second-consecutive appearance in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Softball Championship Tournament. The Bearcats earned the No. 5 seed in the tournament following a 16-10 conference record. Opening round play of the double-elimination bracket begins the morning of Thursday, May 4 and concludes on Saturday, May 6 with the championship game at noon.

McKendree will open up the tournament against No. 4 Truman State (35-19, 18-10 GLVC) Thursday, May 4 at 10 a.m. at the EastSide Centre. The two teams split their regular season contest back on March 24 in Lebanon, Ill. when the Bearcats fell in game one 10-1, followed by an 8-2 victory in the night cap. McKendree second game on Thursday will be a 2 p.m. elimination game or a 4 p.m. in the winner's bracket contest, pending results of their opening round game.

McKendree Quick Hits

-McKendree reached the 30-win mark for the first time in seven years.

-In the recent NCAA DII Midwest Region rankings, McKendree came in at the No. 9 spot behind Truman State and Rockhurst. The Bearcats are 25-17 against MW Region opponents this season, while holding a 10th place ranking in the region RPI.

-McKendree is 0-2 in GLVC tournament play, following losses last year to UMSL and Bellarmine.

-The Bearcats are 5-5 against the GLVC field of eight teams. McKendree split their series with UMSL, Truman State, Bellarmine, Southern Indiana and Illinois-Springfield. The Bearcats did not square off against Rockhurst or William Jewell College in the final weekend of conference place due to inclement weather.  

-At the plate, McKendree is fourth in the conference for walks drawn with 131.

-Senior first baseman Rachel Hastings (Forsyth, Ill./Maroa-Forsyth ) collected her second-consecutive All-GLVC First Team accolades, while senior outfielder Jamie Doggendorf (Dittmer, Mo./Northwest) earned All-GLVC Second Team.

-Hastings has collected 14 multi-hit games this year for the Bearcats and leads the squad with a .367 batting average, .647 slugging percentage, 13 doubles, eight home runs and 44 RBI.

-Doggendorf continues to shatter records, following four stolen bases against Drury on April 24, she now has 40 on the season and 89 in her career. Her stolen base mark of 0.78 also ranks 14th in the nation. Scoring 42 times this year, Doggendorf currently boasts as the all-time runs scored leader with 147.

-Senior Hanna Bracnh is two doubles away from breaking the all-time record of 42 set by Kayla White between the 2006-08 seasons.

-Sophomore right hander Maci Ingram (Woodlawn, Ill./Nashville Community ) has made her mark as the top reliever in the country. With seven saves on the year, Ingram ranks second in NCAA DII, one save behind Truman State's Alyssa Hajduk.

-Senior Holly Magre (Festus, Mo./St. Pius X) picked up her 15th win in the circle on April 24 against Drury. With a new individual season-best mark, Magre has won five of her last six starts. Magre currently is second in the GLVC and 38th in the nation with a 7.1 strikeouts per seven innings mark.

-Freshman Kylee Silliman (Fremont, IA/Oskaloosa ) had her seven-game no walk allowed streak snapped on April 23 against Missouri S&T. Silliman ranks 30th in the nation and third in the GLVC with a 0.97 walks allowed per seven innings.