COLUMBUS, Ga. — Griffon Softball continues its road swing to begin the season, starting the NFCA Leadoff Classic against Ohio Dominican and Bridgeport on Friday at the South Commons Softball Complex.

WHERE TO WATCH
The games will be broadcast live on YouTube and can be found here. 

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Griffons (5-3) have been playing fantastic on the defensive side, only allowing four runs over the last four games. The defense led to four wins at the Alvy Early Classic, helping the Griffons bounce back after a 1-3 start. 

DEADLY DUO IN THE CIRCLE
Missouri Western has had excellent pitching, with freshman Harley Pruetting and senior Sam Pederson combining for a 5-1 record. Pruetting has been especially good, boasting an ERA of 0.68 through 20.2 innings pitched. 

TAKING BATTING PRACTICE
The bats have been hot for the Griffs as well. So far, Missouri Western is batting .303 as a team, compared to .230 for opponents. Sydni Hawkins is leading the charge for MWSU, batting .483 on the season with 14 hits and six RBI. As a team, the Griffons have 19 extra-base hits and eight home runs, compared to 12 extra base-hits and no home runs for their opponents. 

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Ohio Dominican (2-7) | Feb. 24, 10 a.m.
The Panthers are scoring 4.7 runs per game while giving up 7.1. They have five home runs on the season, with four of those coming in one game against Miles. Ohio Dominican has recorded 10 or more hits in a single game four different times this year and are 2-2 when they hit that mark. Alli Madden leads the Panthers in hits, as she has 13 hits in 32 at bats, giving her a batting average of .406. Kaleigh Golden is batting .416. 

Addison Smodilla has the most innings pitched for ODU, with 19.2 innings under her belt so far. She has a 6.41 ERA, as no pitcher for the Panthers has an ERA less than 5.25, and every pitcher besides Samantha Schaefer has an ERA over six. Smodilla is the only pitcher that has a complete game, going the distance just once this year. 

Bridgeport (0-0) | Feb. 24, 12:30 p.m.
The Knights have yet to take to the field this season, with the game against the Griffons marking their first. Last season, they went 36-16 games, including winning the ECC Championship. They went on to drop their two opening games in the East Regional. Leading hitter Madison D'Amato returns for her second year for UB. She hit .428 last season with 68 hits and 20 RBI. 

Samantha Schiebe is the most experienced pitcher returning from last season. She went 7-6 overall with a 5.39 ERA, getting a decision in 13 of 18 appearances, with 12 of those 18 appearances coming in starts. She threw 72.2 innings, giving up 105 hits and 56 earned runs. 

ON THIS DAY IN GRIFFON SOFTBALL HISTORY: FEB. 24
Box Score
The Griffons threw a shutout against Southwestern Oklahoma on this day in 2012. Southwestern only managed three hits, while the Griffons had nine. Maegan Roemmich led MWSU with four hits and two RBI, helping the Griffs win, 5-0.