SAN ANTONIO – The Trinity softball team will finish off a six-game home stand with a Saturday doubleheader against No. 25 Piedmont University, which will also be the final opponent before the start of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference action next week.

The Tigers are 2-12 this season, though seven of those 12 losses have been by two runs or less. This will be Trinity's fourth doubleheader against a ranked opponent so far this season. The Tigers lost twice on the road against No. 13 East Texas Baptist University, then split a doubleheader at No. 18 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. The Tigers opened up the current home stand with a pair of losses to No. 20 Babson College. Next month, Trinity will also host Texas Lutheran University, currently ranked fourth nationally, in a three-game SCAC series.

Jessie Lloyd (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. / Trabuco Hills) and Carsyn Lee (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) are the top two hitters for the Tigers so far this season, with both players checking in with batting averages over .300. Both Lloyd and Lee have three doubles on the year, though Lee leads the team with seven RBI. Marina Delaluna (Concord, Calif. / Concord) is hitting just under .300 early in the season, though she has collected a team-leading 14 hits and also paces the team with seven runs scored.

Bella Gutierrez (Devine, Texas / Devine) tossed a three-hit shutout to defeating Hanover College (Ind.) last weekend, improving to 1-0 with the Tigers after her first start of the season. She also leads the team with a 2.74 ERA so far this year and is holding opponents to a .207 batting average. Jordan Arce (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Thousand Oaks) has recorded a team-best 24 strikeouts in 25.2 innings pitched across nine appearances.

On Deck: No. 25 Piedmont (Mar. 11)
Trinity and Piedmont have met just once in the SCAC era (since 1999), which was an 11-10 win by Piedmont at a neutral site during the 2008 season.

Piedmont University has started the season with a 7-3 record heading into this week's Texas trip that will include games against Texas Lutheran, Southwestern University, and Trinity. The Lions won the USA South Tournament last season and has advanced to the NCAA Playoffs each of the past two seasons. Piedmont is now competing in the Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS), and the Lions were picked to finish second in the league behind sixth-ranked Belhaven (Miss.) University. Piedmont was 31-11 last year, tying for the fourth-highest win total in school history.

Kennedy Votava is on fire to start the year, sporting a .611 batting average (11-for-18) in eight games played, scoring seven runs. Emma McBrayer leads the pitching staff with a 4-2 record and an ERA of 2.25 in six games pitched. She has struck out 19 batters in 36.0 innings of work so far this season.

In the Hole: Southwestern (Mar. 17-18) Starts SCAC Play
Trinity will open up conference play with a three-game series on the road against Southwestern, Friday-Saturday, March 17-18, in Georgetown, Texas. The Tigers are 26-32 against the Pirates since the 2009 season, including a 4-5 record under the direction of Head Coach Abby Martin over the past three seasons.