CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (March 20, 2026) – The University of North Alabama softball team continues Atlantic Sun Conference play against one of the preseason favorites in the league and one of the better overall records as the Lions travel to Austin Peay for a weekend series.
The series begins with a doubleheader Saturday at 2 p.m. The series finale is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games will be at Cathi Maynard Park in Clarksville, Tenn. UNA will look to become the first team to win at Austin Peay this season, as the Govs are 9-0 at home.
All three games will stream on ESPN+ and will have live stats available.
Tickets are available at this link.
SERIES INFO
Teams: North Alabama vs. Austin Peay
Dates: March 21-22 (Saturday & Sunday)
Location: Clarksville, Tennessee
Venue: Cathi Maynard Park
Game 1 — ESPN+ | Live Stats | Tickets | Game Notes
Game 2 — ESPN+ | Live Stats | Tickets | Game Notes
Game 3 — ESPN+ | Live Stats | Tickets | Game Notes
NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: UNA opened conference play with a stellar series win over Central Arkansas last weekend, taking both games Saturday on a pair of walk-offs. Junior Emma Kate Wright hit a sac fly in the first game to win it 6-5, then senior Laura Leigh Wheeler hit a game-ending homer in extra innings for a 7-5 win in the nightcap. UCA salvaged the series with a 8-6 win on Sunday.
WEEKLY AWARDS: UNA has won a weekly award from the Atlantic Sun Conference in three of the last five weeks, including Holly Merritt winning Player of the Week on Feb. 17 and Katie Simon winning Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 23. Two weeks ago, Dover was named the ASUN Player of the Week following a week where she batted .692 with nine hits, including two homers and two doubles, six runs, seven RBI, three stolen bases and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
ASUN RECAP: All three host teams in the Gold Division took two of three last weekend, as Bellarmine defeated Lipscomb, North Alabama defeated Central Arkansas and EKU took two from Austin Peay. This week, Lipscomb will host UCA and EKU will welcome Bellarmine. In the Graphite Division, Stetson stunned defending champion North Florida with a three-game sweep last week and Jacksonville took the first game from UNF on Thursday. The Ospreys are 24-9 overall but 0-4 in ASUN play.
LIONS ON STREAKS: The Lions have won nine of the last 10 games. A key reason for this is UNA's consistent offense, as junior third baseman Bayleigh Rouse has reached safely in 21 straight games. Senior centerfielder Gyvan Hammons has reached in 20 straight from the leadoff spot, while true freshman infielder Livy Huter reached in 16 straight before the streak ended on Sunday. Dover is on a 10-game reach streak.
LEAGUE LEADERS: UNA currently leads the ASUN with a .323 batting average and ranks second behind defending champion North Florida with a 3.61 ERA. Dover ranks second in the ASUN with 31 runs scored — just one run off the league lead. In conference play, Huter is the only player in the ASUN with more than one sacrifice bunt, while Merritt is the only player in the league to draw an intentional walk.
WINNING WELL: UNA has one of the top 25 winning percentages in the nation, leading the ASUN with a 19-6 record for a 76.0 win percentage. Only five of the 25 top win percentage teams are not from a power conference — Grand Canyon (96.8), Wofford (83.3), Miami Ohio (80.0) and FIU (78.6).
SIMON SHUTS IT DOWN: Senior Katie Simon has had a stellar start to the season with an 8-1 record and her only loss being to SEC opponent Ole Miss. This gives her more wins than she had the entire last season. She has a 2.88 ERA and ranks sixth in the ASUN and has an opposing batting average of .224, ranking her fifth in the ASUN. She is also coming up on her 100th strikeout as a Lion, sitting at 92 entering the APSU series.
RAISING THE BAR: So far, the Lions are batting .323 as a team after batting .297 last year. Also last year, the Lions finished with 35 home runs, and this year, they already have 34. A key contributor in the home run column has been Holly Merritt, as she already has 10 on the season. UNA has also raised its slugging percentage from .449 to .533.
WHEELING ON TV: Wheeler made the No. 5 top play on SportsCenter Top 10 two weeks ago, making a diving catch in the gap against Detroit Mercy. SportsCenter also included her walk-off home run as the cherry on top. This marks the second time in two years UNA's softball team has appeared on SC Top 10. Last year's play was Bayleigh Rouse's game-ending double play to beat Memphis. The Lions return to Memphis on Wednesday.
SCOUTING THE GOVS: The Governors enter the weekend 18-11 and are currently undefeated at home. They are coming off of a series loss at EKU. Austin Peay followed that with a midweek win over Tennessee Tech on Wednesday by a 9-6 final in Cookeville. The Govs are batting seventh in the conference with a .297 batting average and rank fourth in the conference with a 3.85 ERA. Senior ace Alanah Jones has thrown for 11 wins and has a 2.75 ERA — third in the conference. Junior outfielder Brie Howard is the ASUN's Preseason Player of the Year and is batting .323 with 13 homers and 42 RBI — the second-most in the ASUN.
SERIES HISTORY: UNA has a 9-7 record in the all-time series with Austin Peay. The Lions and Govs started the series in 1990 during UNA's Division II era and did not renew the series until 2019. The 2019 season marked UNA's first as a member at the NCAA Division I level. The two also met as non-conference foes in 2022 at a neutral site tournament in Birmingham. In 2023, APSU joined the ASUN. UNA swept the 2023 series in Clarksville, but Austin Peay took two of three in Florence in 2024. This spilled over into the 2024 ASUN Championship, where UNA won 3-0 in a single elimination game vs. APSU. In the 2025 season, the Lions and Govs split the first day of the series, but Austin Peay took the final game 8-4.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
