COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (April 7, 2026) – The University of North Alabama softball team will take a short break from Atlantic Sun Conference play this week with a midweek matchup at Tennessee Tech set for Wednesday, April 8 at 4 p.m. in Cookeville, Tenn.
The Lions are scorching hot with a 27-8 overall record and a 10-2 record in ASUN play that includes eight straight wins over ASUN foes. UNA completed back-to-back sweeps of Bellarmine and Lipscomb the past two weekends.
Tennessee Tech, who enters with a 13-21 overall record and a 10-5 record in the Ohio Valley Conference, will represent the fifth of six midweek games on the schedule this season. UNA is 2-2 in such games with a sweep of Oakland and losses to SEC opponents Ole Miss and top-ranked Alabama.
The Lions and Golden Eagles will begin at 4 p.m. The game will air on ESPN+ with live stats available on StatBroadcast. Admission is free of charge.
SERIES INFO
Teams: North Alabama vs. Tennessee Tech
Date: Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Location: Cookeville, Tennessee
Venue: Tech Softball Field
Watch:
ESPN+
Stats:
StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
Click Here
NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: UNA completed a three-game sweep of Lipscomb with an 8-3 win in the opener, a 3-0 shutout to clinch the series and a 3-1 win in the finale. The trio of
Alivia Wilken,
Katie Simon and
Rylee Tittle pitched three complete games with just four runs allowed combined. Simon led the way with a 7.0 inning shutout, while Tittle set a new career high with her 7.0 inning victory.
SCOUTING THE LIONS: UNA has a 27-8 overall record for the highest win percentage in the ASUN and the fewest losses overall. Nationally, UNA ranks 19th in the NCAA with a 77.1 win percentage. This is tied for the fourth-best win percentage among mid-major schools in the country. The Lions are atop the ASUN Gold Division standings with a 10-2 record, owning a 2.5 game lead on EKU and Central Arkansas in second. The Lions are second in the league in batting average (.311), ERA (3.57) and fielding percentage (.969) while leading the ASUN with 6.62 runs per game.
MOVING UP THE RANKS: UNA was ranked in two national mid-major polls this week, moving up two spots to No. 22 in the D1Softball rankings. The Lions also debuted at No. 18 in the Softball America rankings this week, one spot ahead of Stetson. The top ranked team in both polls is Belmont, which UNA split with back in February with a 9-5 win and a 4-3 walk-off loss.
SOUCTING THE OPPONENT: Tennessee Tech has a 13-21 record with a 10-5 mark in OVC play, good for third place in the standings. Tech is coming off a series loss to Western Illinois, but won 12-4 in the finale. Sophomore Jailynn Paderez is batting .418 to lead the squad, driving in four runs in her last game against Western Illinois. Senior Addison Abell leads the team with a 3.54 ERA over 61.1 innings.
SERIES HISTORY: UNA and Tennessee Tech each have four wins in the all-time series. Tennessee Tech took two of three in 1987 despite UNA winning the Gulf South Conference title that season. The other five meetings have all happened since 2019 when UNA moved up to Division I. UNA has a 3-2 record against TTU since then with doubleheader losses in 2019 and three straight wins since then with two in 2021 and one in 2025.
LAST YEAR'S MEETING: UNA welcomed Tennessee Tech to Florence on March 18, 2025 and won 10-2 in six innings. The Lions scored six runs in the final frame to clinch the run rule. Wilken pitched all six innings and allowed just two runs in the first with one earned, but nothing else. She also gave up just three hits, while UNA totaled 13 as an offense. Former Lion
Hailey Jones and current players
Laura Leigh Wheeler and
Bayleigh Rouse combined for seven RBI. Rouse hit a walk-off two-run homer to win it.
CIRCLE THIS GROUP: UNA's pitching efforts have come from four players so far, including seniors Simon and Wilken with most of the innings. Wilken leads the staff with an 11-4 record and 2.68 ERA over 86.1 innings with 16 walks to 56 strikeouts. Simon has a 3.47 ERA and a 10-2 record. Tittle, another senior, has 37.1 innings pitched with a 3.75 ERA, while sophomore
Kaylee Snyder has been strong in relief with a 4-2 record and a save in 27.0 innings.
STRIKEOUT QUEENS: Simon notched her 100th career strikeout as a Lion in the complete game shutout of Lipscomb on Friday. Wilken is also closing in on her own new milestone, as she has 287 strikeouts over three seasons entering this week.
OFFENSIVE BALANCE: All five hitters at the top of UNA's lineup are batting over .300 this season, led by junior
Briley Dover at .393 and sophomore
Holly Merritt at .380. Those two have combined for 20 homers, 15 doubles and 77 RBI this season. Seniors
Gyvan Hammons and
Laura Leigh Wheeler and junior
Bayleigh Rouse round out this part of the order and are all over 30 hits this season. The bottom of the order has been just as productive this season, including the emergence of freshman
Karley Moreland with a .300 average over 18 starts. Senior catcher
Natalie Shaw is typically in the nine-hole but leads the team in on-base percentage at .494 and walks with 23. Shaw is also batting .276.
ASUN ROUNDUP: UNA and Austin Peay completed three-game sweeps in the ASUN Gold Division, while Central Arkansas took two from EKU in a shortened two-game series ended by weather. In the other division, North Florida took two of three from Queens, while Stetson maintained its lead in the ASUN Graphite Division with a dominant sweep of West Georgia. Jacksonville took two of three from FGCU to wrap up last week's action.
ON THE HORIZON: The Lions will play three at EKU this weekend, beginning Saturday at 12 p.m. CT. Bellarmine will host Central Arkansas, while Lipscomb makes the short trip to Austin Peay. West Georgia will welcome FGCU, JU will head to Queens and Stetson will battle North Florida in Jacksonville.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
