SENIORS TO BE HONORED SUNDAY: Billiken seniors Laura Bohning, Alyson Brand, Jessica Buschjost and Erin Harcar will be honored Sunday, April 21, prior to the beginning of the SLU-Saint Joseph's doubleheader.

LAST WEEK: The Billikens registered a 3-1 mark in A-10 home contests against Fordham and La Salle. SLU split with Fordham, dropping the first game 4-3 and winning the second 2-1 on Erin Harcar's walk-off hit. In game one against La Salle, the Bills rallied from a four-run deficit to win 6-5. Saint Louis completed the doubleheader sweep with a 6-0 triumph in the nightcap, with Brianna Lore tossing her first collegiate shutout and striking out a season-high 11 batters.

CONNOYER REACHES CENTURY MARK: The Billikens' 6-0 win over La Salle April 14 was Christy Connoyer's 100th victory as a collegiate head coach. Now in her third season at SLU, Connoyer has 69 wins as the Billikens' mentor.

BILLIKEN STATISTICAL LEADERS: Katie Kroeger has risen to the top of the Saint Louis batting average chart with a .300 mark, while Jessica Van Nostrand (.271) and Erin Harcar (.270) are battling for second place. Van Nostrand leads the team in hits (29), RBIs (16) and doubles (eight) and ranks second in runs (17) and slugging percentage (.393). Harcar stands second with six doubles. Lindsay Friedman owns team highs of four home runs, a .398 on-base percentage, a .415 slugging percentage and five sacrifice bunts (tied); is second with 12 stolen bases (13 attempts); and tied for second with 15 RBIs. Kelsey Biggs and Alyson Brand also have 15 RBIs, and Brand leads the squad with 18 walks and five sacrifice bunts (tied). Jessica Buschjost has team highs of 22 stolen bases (24 attempts) and 18 runs. In the circle, Laney Kneib is 9-5 with a 2.64 ERA, while Brianna Lore is 8-12 with a 2.76 ERA.

BILLIKENS IN THE A-10 STATISTICS REPORT: Saint Louis leads the Atlantic 10 Conference in stolen bases (60) and runners caught stealing (14). The Billikens are second in fielding double plays (15) and assists (370); tied for second in saves (five) and fewest home runs allowed (11); third in ERA (2.83), fielding percentage (.959) and walks (123); tied for third in fewest walks allowed (2.59 per seven innings); and fourth in sacrifice bunts (26). Jessica Buschjost leads the league in stolen bases (22), while Laney Kneib (2.64) and Brianna Lore (2.76) rank sixth and seventh, respectively, in ERA. In conference games only, SLU tops the A-10 in fewest home runs allowed (two) and is tied for first in stolen bases (19) and sacrifice bunts (12). The Billikens are second in fielding percentage (.969), tied for second in fewest walks allowed (2.00 per seven innings) and third in ERA (2.40). Kneib's 1.71 ERA is good for fourth.

TRENDING UPWARD: Erin Harcar is riding an eight-game hitting streak (12-for-23, .522) that has raised her season batting average from .157 to .270. Harcar has four doubles and a triple during the streak. Kelsey Biggs has hit safely in 13 of her last 16 games and has team highs in batting average (.353, 18-for-51) and RBIs (11) during that stretch. Laura Bohning is 5-for-15 (.333) with three RBIs and just one strikeout in her last five outings. In a current four-game hitting streak, Elizabeth Everingham is 4-for-11 (.364) with just one strikeout. Lindsay Friedman is 9-for-27 (.333) with seven RBIs in her last 11 games. In her last 12 appearances in the circle, Laney Kneib is 6-2 with one save, a 1.81 ERA, three complete games and just 2.09 walks per seven innings. Kneib, who struck out a season-high nine vs. La Salle, has lowered her season ERA from 3.94 to 2.64 in those 12 outings. Katie Kroeger is 5-for-6 (.833) in her last three games.

BURNING UP THE BASEPATHS: Saint Louis ranks 28th in the nation in stolen bases per game (1.76). Jessica Buschjost, who is 22-for-24 in steal attempts, is 17th nationally with a 0.65 per-game average. The Billikens are 60-for-72 in steal attempts for an .833 success rate.

CLIMBING THE CAREER LADDER: Several current Billikens rank among the top 10 on various SLU career statistical lists. Alyson Brand is first in walks (71), tied for first in sacrifice flies (six), third in RBIs (83), tied for fourth in home runs (13), and fifth in chances (890) and putouts (732). Jessica Buschjost is second in stolen bases (90), fifth in runs (87), tied for ninth in hits (141) and tied for 10th in walks (46). Jessica Van Nostrand is third in assists (325) and seventh in hit by pitch (14). Laura Bohning is tied for fourth in home runs (13), Lindsay Friedman is fifth in hit by pitch (20) and Erin Harcar is 10th in stolen bases (32).

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS:

Butler – The Bulldogs have won five of their last six games, including three of four in A-10 action. Kristen Boros leads the team in batting average (.319), home runs (six), RBIs (22) and doubles (eight), while Krosley Ogden carries a .299 batting mark. Butler has employed four pitchers. Jenny Esparza (4-3) owns the staff's best ERA (1.89) and averages 10.9 strikeouts per seven innings. Leah Bry and Kristin Gutierrez have five wins apiece, and Taylor Lockwood is 3-2 with a 3.03 ERA.

Temple – The Owls, who play a non-conference doubleheader at Monmouth Wednesday before coming to St. Louis, have won 12 of their last 15 games. Stephanie Pasquale and Sarah Prezioso are back after earning first-team All-Conference plaudits last year. Pasquale leads the A-10 and ranks fourth nationally with a .491 batting average, and she also is the toughest in the nation to strike out, fanning just once in 123 plate appearances. In addition, Pasquale has 10 home runs and leads the nation in doubles per game (0.49, 17 total), ranks second in RBIs per game (1.4, 49 total) and stands seventh in slugging percentage (.918). Prezioso bats .398 (fifth in the A-10) and has eight homers, 41 RBIs (1.17 per game, 18th nationally) and 17 stolen bases in 18 attempts. Lacey McKeon and Annie Marcopolus hit .350 and .311, respectively. Ali Robinson has eight home runs and 31 RBIs, while Leah Lucas has eight home runs and 24 RBIs. Kelsey Dominik leads the pitching staff with an 8-2 record and a 3.96 ERA.