Columbia, Mo. - The Cougar Softball team will kick off the 2014 American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament with a doubleheader against Benedictine University-Springfield on Friday afternoon, April 25^th. First pitch is set for 2:00 pm at Antimi Black Field in Columbia. Friday's matchup will be one of four quarterfinal contests in the conference and will consist of a best-of-three series, with an if-necessary game scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
 
The Cougars (26-13) are the No. 2 in the eight-team bracket after finishing as the conference runner-up in the regular season with a league record of 18-4. The Bulldogs (24-25) are the No. 7 seed after posting a 9-13 mark in the AMC. Columbia swept the regular season series against Benedictine-Springfield with a pair of victories back on April 12^th. The Cougars took game one by a score of 10-1 behind a complete game effort from freshman Lauren McCroskie and followed that up with a 5-3 comeback win in game two as Kristin Eiken delivered a go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
 
Columbia will enter Friday's doubleheader as the AMC's top offense with a team batting average of .356 (12^th-best in the NAIA). The Cougars also lead the conference in slugging percentage (.536), home runs (27), and runs scored per game (7.7). Jamie Holmes leads the squad with a league-leading average of .422 to go along with five home runs, 29 RBI, 17 stolen bases, and 40 runs scored out of the leadoff spot. Junior Brittiany Tjarks has connected on a team-leading six home runs, while Marli Hayes has driven in and scored 41 runs, both tops on the club. In the pitching circle, Amber Boehme and Paxton Welch have each posted a team-high six wins while Taylor Richter has a team-low 2.67 ERA.
 
The Bulldogs are hitting .307 as a team and are led by Monica Devault with an average of .421 and Kerri Beasley with an AMC-best 50 RBI. Katie Stapleton leads the Benedictine pitching staff with 13 wins, three shutouts, and a 3.90 ERA.
 
The winners of Friday and Saturday's quarterfinal games will advance to next week's conference tournament semifinal round, which will also be hosted by Columbia's Antimi Black Field. For the complete tournament bracket and latest results, visit www.amcsportsonline.com.