RICHMOND, Ky. - After three weeks on the road, the Eastern Kentucky University softball team returns to Gertrude Hood Field as they welcome Austin Peay in a pivotal ASUN series that could go a long way towards determining the winner of the Gold Division.

The Colonels (30-11, 11-3 ASUN) come into the weekend after capturing their fifth-straight ASUN series win, 2-1 against Lipscomb.

EKU and the Govs are neck and neck at the top of the Gold Division as the Colonels sit first place at 11-3 with Austin Peay trailing by 1.5 games at 10-5. The closest competitor to the two squads is Central Arkansas at 8-6 with just six games remaining in conference play after this weekend's series.

This weekend's matchup brings a showdown between two teams ranked in the D1Softball Mid-Major Top 25, with the Colonels coming in at No. 17 and Austin Peay placing No. 21 in the most recent rankings.

The two teams' series history spans more than 30 years, with the first meeting of the schools coming in 1993. The Colonels hold a commanding 67-19 lead in the series and have won the last four.

The action kicks off with a Friday doubleheader at 1 PM and 3:30 PM. A free long-sleeved t-shirt will be given out to the first 100 students in attendance at the 1 PM game. The series concludes on Saturday with a final game at 1 PM.

Both of Friday's games will be available for streaming on ESPN+ and live stats will be available for all three games.

SCOUTING THE GOVS

Austin Peay (32-9, 10-5 ASUN) has recorded a historic season so far, tallying a program-record 22 consecutive wins in the opening stages of the season and into the start of conference play. However, the Govs are an even 5-5 in their last ten games, dropping a game apiece to Bellarmine and North Alabama as well as a series loss to UCA.

The Govs' pitching staff has spread the work this season, with Samantha Miener and Ashley Martin both totaling 30 appearances on the season. Emberly Nichols has also made 20 appearances so far. Miener holds the lowest ERA on the staff at 2.94 while Martin leads in strikeouts by a wide margin with 72. Nichols has allowed the lowest opponent batting average at .263.

In the batter's box, eight different Govs hold a batting average above .300, led by Kylie Campbell at .398. Campbell leads the team in most offensive categories, including OPS, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, walks, and total bases. Sam Leski leads APSU in RBIs with 44 and ties Katie Raper in home runs at 10.

LAST TIME OUT

The Colonels walked away with another ASUN series victory after sweeping a doubleheader against Lipscomb but dropping the series finale.

In game one, the Colonels moved to 3-0 in extra-inning games, winning 2-1 after nine innings. Maddi Rutan has pitched a complete game in all three extra-inning games this year, winning all three.

The offense was firing on all cylinders in game two as the Colonels steadily built an 8-0 lead into the final inning with six Colonels recording an RBI. The Bison staged a furious comeback attempt, putting up six runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Colonel defense was able to regroup and take the win, 8-6.

The Bison took the final game of the series, winning 11-3 in six innings. Kennedy Drafton opened the game with her eighth home run of the season in the top of the first, but the Bison posted three consecutive three-run innings to end the game early.