LIBERTY, Mo. - The William Jewell softball team is back in action this weekend as they travel south for the Drury Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

ADMISSION 🎟
Limited spectators will be permitted at Meador Park but will be expected to maintain masks and proper social distancing at all times per local health guidelines.  

BROADCAST 🎥 
• There will be no live video available. 

LIVE STATS 📊
• There will be no live stats be available.

CARDINAL NOTES

• The Cardinals continue tournament play this weekend with a trip to the Drury Invitational. Jewell will take on MIAA opponents Nebraska-Kearney and Northwest Missouri State on Friday before matching up with Upper Iowa and Midwestern State (TX) on Saturday. 
• After dropping the first three games of the season, Jewell knocked the chip off with a 6-5 come-from-behind win over Parkside. After the Rangers took a 4-1 lead Allison Rawls blasted her first home run of the season, a grand slam, to make it a 5-4 game. The senior Rawls added another RBI in the seventh to win the game
• Freshman Abby Vandiver made two appearances in the circle in her debut weekend, tossing a perfect 2.2 innings. Against Parkside, the rookie struck out three of the six batters she faced. 
• It was no secret going into the 2021 season that the Cardinal lineup would look different with multiple new faces around the diamond. In Jewell's 6-5 win over Parkside, head coach Dustin Combs utilized five freshmen, including three in the opening lineup at key positions. Of the 14 players who appeared in the game, eight were freshmen or sophomores. 
• Jewell will be looking to recapture some of the magic they found in Springfield last season as they went 4-0 at the Drury Invitational in 2020. During those four wins, the Cardinals outscored their opponents 41-13 with three run-rule victories. Overall, Jewell is 8-4 in games at Meador Park since 2012.
• Kenzie Jones was sensational at last year's Drury Invite, earning two wins after giving up just one earned run and seven hits over 11 innings. The then-sophomore struckout seven total, including a career-best five against Lincoln. 
• The Lewis Dome Invite is one of the best tournaments in the area, bringing together teams from the GLVC, GLIAC, NSIC, and GMAC for a matchup of some of the top programs in the Midwest and Central Regions. The Cardinals faced off with then-No. 24 Grand Valley as well as Saginaw Valley who is now ranked No. 25 nationally in addition to strong Ashland team. Jewell looks to continue their momentum, this weekend, following the win over Parkside to wrap up the Dome Invite, with four new opponents of which they are a combined 9-3 against in the NCAA era. 
• Dustin Combs is now in his 15th season at the helm for the Cardinals. He entered the season needing 29 wins to reach No. 400 for his career and has led Jewell to 10 conference tournaments in the last 13 seasons.

ABOUT NEBRASKA KEARNEY 

• Nebraska Kearney enters the week at 4-6 on the season after winning their last two over Colorado Christian (11-7) and Southern Nazarene (2-1). 
• C. Leisch lead the Lopers offensively with a .425 clipe over the first 10 games, with a team-leading 17 hits, seven runs and six stolen bases. 
• As a team, UNK hit .292 and has swiped 11 bases while pounding out 15 doubles and 11 home runs. Katie Gosker leads the way with four long balls in just 31 at bats while she and two others share the RBI lead with nine. 
• In the circle, four pitchers have won at least one game with Melissa Gellermann boasting the best ERA on the staff at 3.55 over five appearances and 23.2 innings. 
• Defensively, the Lopers have struggled a bit, committing 21 errors, averaging more than two per game, and have a fielding percentage of .927. 
• The Lopers are led by Katie Ackermann in her second season after spending three years as an assistant/interim head coach at McCook Community College.

ABOUT NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE

• Northwest Missouri State will be opening their season this weekend after their eight games were canceled. The will take on Southwest Baptist prior to the matchup with Jewell. 
• Olivia Daughtery was the top hitter in the shortened 2020 season for the Bearcats, boasting a .390 average over 22 games with a team-leading six doubles and 18 runs. 
• Kaitlyn Weis, who was a senior last season but has returned for her fifth year, blasted eight home runs with 20 RBI through the same time period which was first in the MIAA and seventh nationally. 
• Weis was also Northwest Missouri's top pitcher last season, with a 3.60 ERA over 10 relief appearances. 
• As a team in 2020, the Bearcats hit .319 while going 9-13, including winning six of their final eight games.  
• The Bearcats are coached by Ryan Anderson, now in his 16th season. He is the program's all-time winningest coach with more than 325 wins.