PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- The fifth-seeded University of Pikeville softball team starts its quest of a Mid-South Conference Tournament Championship at Noon ET on Friday against No. 4-seed Shawnee State (Ohio) at Michael O. Buchanon Park in Bowling Green.

UPIKE and SSU are the first game of the conference tournament which is double elimination and lasts through Sunday with a championship game scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

With a win on Friday, the Bears would play top-seeded Lindsey Wilson at 4 p.m., the same day, while a loss in the opening game would send UPIKE to a win-or-go-home contest at Noon on Saturday.

Live video is available of all tournament games through the Mid-South Conference, while live stats are available on the NAIA DakStats site.

UPIKE enters the postseason with a 17-29 record, while Shawnee State is 23-22. In the four regular-season matchups between the two teams, SSU won all four by scores of 5-2 and 4-1 in Pikeville and 4-0, 2-0 in Portsmouth, Ohio.

Shawnee State is led by Ashtyn Saunders and her .454 batting average to go along with 19 stolen bases and Kayla Koch who has hit seven home runs on her .343 average. In the circle, Brooke Blevins is 12-11 with a 3.32 ERA as she has struck out 80 batters against 23 walks.

UPIKE is led by Jillian Bohnert and her .380 batting average with 10 home runs and 38 RBIs. Logan Cline at .355 and Kitty Raymond at .338 with seven home runs back her up. Hannah Skaggs has emerged as the leading pitcher with a 3.52 ERA and 6-7 record in just over 77 innings pitched.  

-UPIKE-