A-10 STANDINGS: The Billikens have moved into fifth place in the A-10; the top six teams at the conclusion of the regular season will compete in the A-10 Championship, the winner of which earns the league's automatic NCAA Tournament berth. Saint Joseph's (14-4) leads the conference, followed by George Washington (12-4), Fordham (13-5), Temple (13-5), SLU (11-7), Massachusetts (9-7), Dayton (10-9), Charlotte (7-9), Butler (7-9), St. Bonaventure (4-16), La Salle (3-17) and Rhode Island (2-13). The A-10 Championship, hosted by Massachusetts, is scheduled for Wednesday-Saturday, May 8-11.

LAST WEEK: The Billikens won three of four in Atlantic 10 Conference play on the road, sweeping Butler April 24 (6-4, 2-0 in eight innings) and splitting with Charlotte April 26 (lost 4-2, won 6-4). Lindsay Friedman tied a school record with five RBIs, including a game-winning grand slam with two outs in the seventh inning, in the opener at Butler. Friedman collected nine RBIs and hit .385 for the week. Laura Bohning and Kelsey Biggs batted .429 and .357, respectively, with Biggs driving in four runs. Laney Kneib was 2-0 with a 1.79 ERA, while Brianna Lore registered a win and two saves.

PUTTING OUT THE FIRE: Brianna Lore's two saves last week gave her four saves this year, tying Kelcie Matesa (2012) for the Saint Louis season record. Lore ranks 17th nationally in saves. The Billikens' seven team saves also are a school record.

TRIO APPROACHING SEASON RECORDS: Lindsay Friedman's two home runs last week gave her six for the year. Friedman needs two homers to break the Billiken season record held by Kara Sell (2006) and Caitlin Trevillyan (2010). Kelsey Biggs ranks second in putouts (342) and chances (374) on the Saint Louis season lists. Biggs needs 29 putouts and 31 chances to claim the school marks held by Beth Yagge (2001). Jessica Van Nostrand is fourth on the Bills' season chart with 125 assists and needs just 10 to pass record holder Kerri Higgins (2004).

BILLIKEN STATISTICAL LEADERS: Jessica Van Nostrand occupies the top spot on the Billikens' batting average list with a .305 mark. Van Nostrand also leads the squad in hits (40), doubles (10) and runs (23-tied), and she ranks third in RBIs (19), on-base percentage (.389) and slugging percentage (.443). Katie Kroeger is second with a .291 batting average, followed by Laura Bohning at .274. Bohning has a team-high two sacrifice flies and is second in slugging percentage (.443), tied for second in home runs (four), third in walks (16) and tied for third in sacrifice bunts (four). Lindsay Friedman has her average up to .268 and tops the Billiken charts in home runs (six), RBIs (24), on-base percentage (.413), slugging percentage (.485) and sacrifice bunts (six-tied). Friedman is second in stolen bases (12) and third in runs (20). Kelsey Biggs is hitting .258 and ranks second on the squad in hits (33) and RBIs (20). Erin Harcar also has a .258 average and is third in doubles (six) and stolen bases (11). Jessica Buschjost leads the team in stolen bases (25 in 27 attempts) and runs (23-tied), ranks second in walks (17) and is third in hits (31). Alyson Brand owns a team-high 23 walks, is tied for the lead in sacrifice bunts (six), ranks second in doubles (seven) and stands third in on-base percentage (.378). Elizabeth Everingham is tied for second in home runs (four) and tied for third in sacrifice bunts (four), and Olivia Roback is tied for third in sacrifice bunts (four). In the circle, Laney Kneib is 12-6 with a 2.69 ERA and two saves, while Brianna Lore is 11-13 with a 2.79 ERA and four saves.

BILLIKENS IN THE A-10 STATISTICS REPORT: Saint Louis leads the Atlantic 10 Conference in stolen bases (67) and assists (453) and is tied for the league lead in saves (seven), fielding double plays (19) and runners caught stealing (14). The Billikens are second in fielding percentage (.963); third in ERA (2.84), fewest walks allowed (101) and fewest home runs allowed (15); and fourth in walks (146). Jessica Buschjost is fourth in stolen bases (25), while Laney Kneib (2.69) and Brianna Lore (2.79) rank sixth and seventh, respectively, in ERA. In conference games only, the Bills are first in fewest home runs allowed (six) and assists (186); tied for first in stolen bases (26) and saves (two); second in fielding percentage (.974); tied for second in sacrifice bunts (16); third in fewest walks allowed (34) and runners caught stealing (five); tied for third in fielding double plays (eight); and fourth in ERA (2.61). Buschjost is fourth in stolen bases (11), and Kneib is fifth in ERA (2.25).

TRENDING UPWARD: Kelsey Biggs has hit safely in 19 of her last 24 games and has team highs in batting average (.351, 27-for-77) and RBIs (16-tied) during that stretch while raising her season batting average 131 points. Laura Bohning has hit safely in 12 of her last 13 outings (15-for-40, .375), upping her season batting average by 62 points. Bohning, whose current eight-game hitting streak is tied for the Billikens' longest this season, has struck out just eight times in her last 79 plate appearances. Lindsay Friedman has hit safely in five consecutive games (6-for-15, .400) with two home runs and nine RBIs. Friedman has fanned just three times in her last 31 plate appearances. Erin Harcar has at least one hit in 12 of her last 16 contests (17-for-46, .370) to raise her season batting average 101 points. Harcar has struck out just seven times in her last 70 plate appearances. In her last 17 appearances, Laney Kneib is 9-3 with one save and a 2.19 ERA, lowering her season ERA from 3.94 to 2.69. Brianna Lore is 4-1 with a 2.31 ERA, two saves and a shutout in her last seven outings. All four of her victories in that stretch were complete games. Lore has struck out 28, walked only eight and yielded 27 hits in 33 1/3 innings (just three extra-base hits) during those seven games. Jessica Van Nostrand is 13-for-30 (team-high .433) in her last 10 games, hitting safely in seven of those contests including six 2-hit games. Van Nostrand also is tied for the SLU lead in on-base percentage (.500) in that 10-game span.

BATS WARM UP IN APRIL: At the end of March, Saint Louis owned a .209 batting average. The Billikens heated up considerably in April, however, posting a solid .274 mark for the month. Katie Kroeger hit a team-high .391 in April, followed by Erin Harcar (.370), Kelsey Biggs (.358), Lindsay Friedman (.344) and Laura Bohning (.341).

DOUBLING UP: The Billikens collected 10 hits in game two at Charlotte, their fourth double-digit hit total of the season (all against A-10 opponents).

FLASHING THE LEATHER: The Billikens are averaging fewer than one error per game (15 errors in 18 games) in A-10 contests. Their .974 fielding percentage in conference games trails only Temple (.986).

THE PITCHER'S BEST FRIEND: The Bills have turned 19 double plays this season, easily surpassing last year's total of 13. SLU ranks 17th nationally in double plays per game (0.45).

BURNING UP THE BASEPATHS: Saint Louis ranks 34th in the nation in stolen bases per game (1.60). Jessica Buschjost, who is 25-for-27 in steal attempts, is 25th nationally with a 0.60 per-game average. The Billikens are 67-for-81 in steal attempts for an .827 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 (76), tied for first in sacrifice flies (six), second in RBIs (85), tied for third in home runs (14), fourth in chances (919) and fifth in putouts (759). Jessica Buschjost is second in stolen bases (93), fourth in runs (92), tied for fifth in games played (204), seventh in hits (148), tied for ninth in walks (47) and 10th in at-bats (524). Laura Bohning is second in home runs (15) and 10th in RBIs (63); Jessica Van Nostrand is third in assists (347) and seventh in hit by pitch (16); Lindsay Friedman is fifth in hit by pitch (20) and tied for ninth in home runs (eight); Brianna Lore is tied for third in saves (four); and Erin Harcar is 10th in stolen bases (33).

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 75 wins as the Billikens' mentor.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS:

Southeast Missouri State – Alexis Anderson boasts a .412 batting average to go with six home runs, and Xia Wilson is knocking on the door of .300 with a .297 mark. Simone Patterson has eight homers and 24 RBIs, while Taylor Cowan leads the club with 27 RBIs. Cowan paces the pitching staff with seven wins and a 3.90 ERA.

Rhode Island – The Rams host Massachusetts in an April 30 doubleheader before taking on the Billikens. Ashley Olson (.301), Courtney Prendergast (.288) and Kelly Coker (.288) are Rhode Island's top hitters. Prendergast has team highs of 10 doubles and 17 RBIs, while Jocelyn Mattison has four home runs and 16 RBIs. Sam Bedore, who tossed a no-hitter in a 2-1 loss at Saint Joseph's April 28, has five wins, and Erika Szymanski has four.