The Temple College softball team, ranked seventh in the latest NJCAA Division Top 25 poll, will travel to Denison to take on No. 7 Grayson College in a North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference doubleheader on Wednesday.
Game one is slated for a noon first pitch, with the second game commencing 30 minutes after the completion of game one.
Temple (28-4 overall, 9-3 away, 8-0 NJTCJAC) is on a 16-game winning streak, eight of those in conference play after a four-game sweep of Cisco in which they outscored the Wranglers 45-11 in 22 combined innings. The Leopards are currently tied for first place with No. 5 McLennan Community College and entering a stretch in their schedule in which they will play 12 of their next 20 games against ranked opponents.
Grayson (30-4 overall, 14-0 home, 9-3 NTJCAC), while the No. 1 team in the nation last week, split a doubleheader with North Central Texas College, having dropped two games in Gainesville and won two games in Denison.
The match has plenty of intrigue, with both teams that can hit in all aspects, are disciplined in the field, and have stingy pitching staffs.
Through 32 games, Temple is hitting .398 with an on-base percentage of .467 and slugging percentage of .629. The Leopards have homers 31 times, driven in 246 runs, scored 280 times on 338 hits, 65 doubles, 19 triples, have walked 105 times and have stolen 128 bases.
Izzy Garcia (.500 BA, .533 OBP, three HR, 17 RBI), Lexi Dudeczka (.486 BA, .545 OBP, HR, 23 RBI, 15 SB, 15 walks), Reese Cottrell (.467 BA, .532 OBP, six HR, 41 RBI, 16 walks, 16 doubles), Brooklyn Walton (.420 BA, .455 OBP, HR, 13 RBI, 15 SB), Kaiyah Ratu (.418 BA, .508 OBP, six HR, 24 RBI, ten walks), Jasmine Benavidez (.408 BA, .496 OBP, four HR, 39 RBI, six triples, 15 SB, 14 walks), and Marli Kennedy (.369 BA, .417 OBP, two HR, 19 RBI, 23 SB) are amongst the key contributors in the Temple offense.
Through 34 games, Grayson is hitting .362 with an on-base percentage of .444 and slugging percentage of .576. The Vikings have homers 36 times, driven home 244 runs, scored 275 times on 336 hits, 71 doubles, 10 triples, walked 121 times and have stolen 52 bases.
Aniyah Pequeno (.475 BA, .53 OBP, 15 RBI, 12 walks, 15 SB), Mia Krueger (.457 BA, .557 OBP, seven HR, 36 RBI, 21 wallks, nine doubles), Matti Matthews (.446 BA, .460 OBP. 38 RBI, 18 doubles), Addyson Cox (.369 BA, .471 OBP, two HR 18 RBI), Jaclyn Draeger (.317 BA, .387 OBP, six HR, 34 RBI), and Willa Ford (.286 BA, .419 OBP, eight HR, 27 RBI, 19 walks) are amongst the leaders on offense.
Defensively, the Leopards are tops in the country in fewest errors with 16 in 745 total chances (.979 fielding percentage), while the Vikings are nearby with 29 errors in 759 total chances (.962 fielding percentage).
In pitching, Grayson has a team earned run average of 1.45 and have 23 complete games in 208 innings pitched. They have allowed 63 runs (43 earned) on 120 hits, struck out 244 batters, have walked 55 and hit 17 batters. Teams hit just .154 against Vikings pitching.
Natalie Moreaux (13-2, 0.83 ERA, 101 IP, 15 runs, 12 earned on 34 hits, struck out 149, walked 32, hit 11 batters), and Riley Mays (16-1, 2.03 ERA, 89 2/3 IP, 34 runs allowed, 26 earned on 72 hits, struck out 84, and walked 17) carry the workload in the circle for Grayson.
Temple has a team ERA of 2.41 with 12 shutouts, and 11 complete games in 192 innings pitched. The Leopards have allowed 79 runs (66 earned) on 132 hits, struck out 191 hitters, walked 68, and hit 11 batters. Teams hit just .191 against the Leopards staff.
Garcia (12-1, 2.09 ERA, 6 CG, 73 2/3 IP, 27 runs allowed, 22 earned on 44 hits, struck out 93, walked 23), Kat Kram (8-2, 3.08 ERA, 50 IP, 26 runs allowed, 22 earned on 37 hits, struck out 60, walked 19), and Cottrell (6-1, 2.07 ERA, 44 IP, allowed 16 runs, 13 earned on 29 hits. Struck out 30 and walked 18) carry the workload for the Temple staff.
Following the Wednesday doubleheader, the Leopards will host Grayson in a Friday doubleheader at noon at the Danny Scott Sports Complex.