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GLVC SOFTBALL STATISTICS

(LEBANON, Ill., May 2)—The McKendree University softball team will be one of eight teams in a solid field for the 2018 Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship Tournament, which begins Thursday at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Ill.
 
The Bearcats, who are ranked No. 25 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II poll, hold the No. 2 seed in the GLVC Tournament. McKendree will begin its quest for a post-season title Thursday at noon against seventh-seeded William Jewell College. The Bearcats and Cardinals will tangle on Field 2 at the EastSide Centre, which is the long-time host of the GLVC Tournament. All games will have live video courtesy of the GLVC Sports Network at www.glvcsn.com. 
 
McKendree enters the 2018 GLVC Tournament with an overall record of 37-14. The Bearcats compiled a 20-8 record against conference foes this season, which is a program record. In addition to being ranked No. 25 in the NFCA poll, McKendree holds down the No. 4 spot in the Division II Midwest Region rankings.
 
As a team, McKendree leads the GLVC in team ERA heading into the GLVC Tournament at 2.45. Freshman Miranda Gajewski (Kronenwetter, WI/D.C. Everest) leads all conference qualified pitchers with a 1.76 ERA while posting a 20-5 record in the circle. Gajewski is tied for second in the league in victories, and she is just the second hurler in McKendree history to register 20 wins in a single season.
 
Offensively, McKendree is fourth in the GLVC with a .300 team batting average. The Bearcats have smashed a league-high 45 home runs in 2018, with 14 coming off the bat of senior Brooke Gajewski (Kronenwetter, Wis./D.C. Everest). Her 14 homers are second on the Bearcats' single-season chart, trailing only the 16 that Angie Maue smashed in 2006. Gajewski is second in the GLVC in home runs, third in slugging percentage at .673 and fifth with 46 RBI.  She also leads the league with 35 walks.
 
Senior Rebecca Franke (Trenton, Ill./Wesclin) sits near the top of the GLVC league leaders in eight different statistical categories. Franke is third in the conference with a .420 batting average, and is second among all GLVC players with 66 hits, 44 runs scored and a .500 on-base percentage. She is tied for third in the league with 26 walks, is tied for seventh with 96 total base, is tied for eighth with 37 RBI and is ninth in slugging percentage at .611.
 
The 2018 GLVC Championship Tournament is an eight-team event set up in a double-elimination format. All eight teams are scheduled to play two games on Thursday, weather permitting. All four first-round games will be played at 10 a.m. and noon in East Peoria. Winners from the opening-round games will play again on Thursday at 4 p.m., while the losers from the first-round contests will square off at 2 p.m.
 
The two surviving teams will meet in the tournament championship contests slated for Saturday. The GLVC Tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Softball Tournament.