LIBERTY, Mo. - The William Jewell softball team will open the 2021 season this weekend at the Lewis Dome Invitational. The Cardinals will take on four opponents beginning with Saginaw Valley and Ashland on Saturday followed by No. 24 Grand Valley and Parkside on Sunday.

ADMISSION ❌
A limited amount of spectators will be permitted inside the Parkway Bank Sports Complex. Weekend passes are available for $25. Information regarding tickets and spectator policies and expectations can be found HERE.  

BROADCAST 🎥 
No live video available

LIVE STATS 📊
No live stats will be available. Box scores will be posted to jewellcardinals.com as soon as possible. 

SERIES INFORMATION - SATURDAY OPPONENTS

• Jewell and Saginaw Valley met for the first time last season with SVSU winning 8-3 at the Dome Invitational. Lindsay Glynn homered in the first inning and the Cardinals added a run in the third but Saginaw scored seven unanswered to win. Sarah Lewis took the loss, allowing six runs over four innings. 
• The Cardinals and Ashland have met four times, all at the Dome Invite, with Jewell taking three of four. The lone Eagle win, 5-2, was the most recent in 2019. The Cardinals were limited to six hits by six different players.      

CARDINAL NOTES

• The Cardinals open the 2021 season with four games at the Lewis Dome Invitational in Rosemont, Illinois. This is the first game for Jewell in 346 days as they last took the field on March 10, 2020 in a split with Emporia State. Just three days later the season was canceled and classes moved to virtual instruction due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
• Jewell had high expectations going into last season as they boasted one of the more experienced senior classes in recent memory. The Cardinals had five seniors who had combined for more than 500 games played over their first three years. While the NCAA did grant an additional year of eligiblity for spring sports, all five were on track to graduate. Among those lost was 2019 All-GLVC outfielder Lindsay Glynn who finished second all-time in career stolen bases. 
• Despite the big shoes to fill from the 2020 senior class, the cubard is far from bare. Highlighting the returners on offense is junior Abby Dubinski, senior Allison Rawls and sophomore Lauren Ledbetter. Dubinski led Jewell with a .376 average and 11 RBI while Rawls is the top returning run scorer with nine. Ledbetter burst out of the gates with 10 RBI in her first 14 career games. 
• The battle behind the dish is a fierce one with Dubinski and Ledbetter both showing power and pop on both sides of the ball last spring. The duo split majority of the catching duties with their counterpart sliding in as the designated hitter in many lineups. They combined for 21 RBI on 19 hits, including five doubles and three home runs. Defensively, the pair caught three runners stealing. 
• The Cardinals will be breaking in new faces up the middle of the field as the graduation of four year starters Emily Hoover at shortstop and Ashlyn Sutton, who after moving around the lineup, spent her final two seasons as the every day second baseman. That pair was as solid as they come, posting a fielding percentage of .953, committing just 20 errors, over the last two seasons combined. A slew of players could see time up the middle including freshmen Kenzie Stahl, Sophia Lopez and Brooke Green, along with sophomore Kelli McCallister and others.  
• In the circle, Jewell returns two of three arms from a year ago in juniors Kenzie Jones and Aly Manhart. Lost was workhorse Sarah Lewis, who made more than 70 career appearances. Jones shined in the early going last season appearing in 19 games with seven starts and boasting a 2.95 ERA while her six complete games was tied for sixth in the GLVC. Meanwhile, Manhart was the winning pitcher in the Cardinals' victory over No. 3 Grand Valley State, their highest ranked opponent win in the Dustin Combs era. 
• Three new faces could see time on the mound this season, including sophomore Aliyah Santiago who did not see time in her first season due to injury. Freshmen Abby Vandiver and Sammie Welt come in with high expectations. Vandiver played at Richmond High School and was a three-time All-Conference pick while Welt comes to Jewell from Arizona where she was a two-time All-Region honoree. 
• Despite the long layoff the Cardinals will look to build off momentum they ended last season with as they won seven of their last 10 games, including six straight. During that stretch of wins, Jewell outscored their opponents 48-18, including shutouts over Wayne State and Central Missouri. 
• This will be the sixth straight year Jewell has traveled to Rosemont for the Dome Invitational. Over that stretch they have gone 11-9, including 2-2 last season with wins over No. 3 Grand Valley, 4-3, and Wisconsin Parkside, 7-5. 

ABOUT SAGINAW VALLEY 

• Saginaw Valley State will also be opening their season this weekend at the Dome Invitational but will take on Quincy and Ursuline on Friday before meeting with the Cardinals Saturday morning. 
• Last season, SVSU were an impressive 16-2 before the abrupt end to the season, including an 8-3 win over Jewell. 
• Saginaw Valley led the GLIAC with 33 total doubles, 166 total hits, 1.61 stolen bases per game and were the league's top scoring team with 6.78 runs per game. 
• Two players were hitting above .400 at the end of the season in 2020, in Sarah Gersch (.477) and Jackie Popko (.407) and are both back. Popko led the team with seven home runs through 18 games. 
• Emily Depew is back after going 7-0 with 34 strikeouts and a 1.47 ERA over 33.1 innings. As a staff, the Cardinals boasted a 2.80 ERA.
• The Cardinals are under the direction of a new head coach, Christie Ambrosi, who took over just three months ago in December, 2020. 

ABOUT ASHLAND

• The meeting with Jewell with be the season opener for Ashland who went 6-7 last season, including their final two games. 
• The Eagles were led offensively by freshman Cat Lohse who boasted a .361 average with 13 hits and five runs over her 13 starts. 
• Another freshman in 2020, Lauren McMillin hit .250 over 10 games and was the fifth toughest player to strikeout in the GLIAC. 
• Freshmen were the theme all around last year as Kayla Ruperto finished with a 2.27 ERA with 18 strikeouts over 24.2 innings over work in her debut season. 
• Fourth year head coach Emlyn Knerem owns a 62-55 career record at the helm and is the Eagles' all-time leader in wins, saves and innings pitched as a player.