FLORENCE, Ala. (April 3, 2025) – Due to expected weather in the Shoals area, the University of North Alabama softball team announced changes to this weekend's series against Lipscomb at Hilda B. Anderson Softball Stadium.
 
The series will begin with a doubleheader on Friday, April 4 at 1 p.m. The final game of the series is set for Saturday, April 5 at 11 a.m.
 
This will be the second series of the season between the Atlantic Sun Conference foes, as this year's schedule includes inter-divisional play. The Lions and Bisons are both members of the ASUN Gold Division along with EKU, Bellarmine, Austin Peay and Central Arkansas.
 
UNA took two of three from Lipscomb last month in Nashville.
 
All three games this weekend will be streamed on ESPN+ with "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray and UNA Hall of Famer Ande Jones on the call. All three games will also have live stats available via StatBroadcast. Tickets can be purchased at this link or by calling 256-765-5466.
 

SERIES INFO
North Alabama vs. Lipscomb
Friday, April 4 at 1 p.m. (DH)
Saturday, April 5 at 11 a.m.
Location: Florence, Alabama
Venue: Hilda B. Anderson Softball Stadium
 
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: North Alabama took one of three at ASUN Gold Division leader Eastern Kentucky last weekend, winning the opener 2-1 before falling 2-1 in game two and 6-0 in the series finale. The Lions are the only team to defeat EKU at home in the last two seasons, as the Colonels are 32-2 in home games in that span. The Lions also took one of three in Richmond last season.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS: UNA has a 23-12 overall record with a 3-6 record in conference games. Two of the three wins came against Lipscomb on the road on March 16-17. The Lions lead the ASUN with a 2.34 ERA, which also ranks 18th in the NCAA. At the plate, the Lions have also experienced success with the third-best batting average in the ASUN at .301.
 
CIRCLE CONQUERERS: The Lions set a new Division I era school record for season ERA last season with a 2.17, giving up 113 earned runs over 364.1 innings. This year's 2.34 ERA comes from the efforts of starters Emily Simon, Katie Simon and Alivia Wilken. Another player to watch in the circle is freshman Kaylee Snyder, who pitched in each of the last four games as a reliever and now possesses a 1.80 ERA over 11.2 innings. Another Wallace State transfer, sophomore Lily Boswell recorded outs on both batters she faced  in her UNA debut last weekend at EKU.
 
SHOW-STOPPER AT SHORT: Sophomore Briley Dover, who was an all-conference selection last season, was named the ninth-best shortstop in the country by D1Softball in their Week 8 Power Rankings. Dover is batting .374 this season with a team-high 38 runs, .426 on-base percentage and .667 slugging percentage. She is also tied for the team lead in triples (4) and home runs (7) and ranks second in hits (46) and doubles (7).
 
TRIPLE THREATS: The Lions rank 11th in the nation with 14 triples this season. Dover and senior Hailey Jones have four triples apiece, which ranks second in the ASUN.
 
KEEPING IT 600: UNA head coach Ashley Cozart won her 600th career game last weekend at EKU, owning a career record of 600-232-1 over 16 seasons as a head coach. She has a 409-186-1 record in 12 seasons at UNA. She also coached four seasons at NAIA Lindsey Wilson College from 2010-13.
 
RANKING RISERS: One of the top mid-major leagues in the country, the ASUN has six teams in the top 100 of the NCAA RPI Rankings. The Lions are one of the six at No. 80, while FGCU and Lipscomb are just on the outside looking in at No. 115 and No. 121, respectively. North Florida is the highest-ranked ASUN team in the RPI at No. 45. There are 309 teams included in the RPI.
 
CROWD IN THE THOUSANDS: North Alabama hosted nationally-ranked Alabama game at the Florence Sportsplex on March 26, drawing the second-largest crowd in program history with 3,058 fans. UNA hosted a live concert before and after the game featuring Shoals artists Austin Bohannon and Gary Nichols. Both teams hosted a post-game autograph session after the game.
 
SCOUTING THE BISONS: Lipscomb owns an 18-17 overall record and are 5-4 in league play with a series sweep of Bellarmine and one win against both UNA and Austin Peay. On Tuesday, the Bisons were defeated 8-3 by Western Kentucky at home. Lipscomb is led by reigning ASUN Player of the Week Alyssa Hastings with a .410 batting average, 43 hits, 29 runs, 31 RBIs, 16 doubles and six homers. As a team, Lipscomb sports an even 5.00 ERA led by redshirt senior Laine Barefoot with a 9-8 record and 3.93 ERA. Kristin Ryman is in her 19th year as head coach.
 
SERIES HISTORY: The Lions are 9-7 against Lipscomb. All 16 games have come during the Division I era, including five separate three-game series and one postseason game in 2019. Lipscomb owns claim to the 2019 series win, as well as a 1-0 victory that took 12 innings to decide in the 2019 ASUN Championship. Since then, UNA has won each of the last four series against Lipscomb, including three in Nashville. Neither team has swept the other in a three-game set.
 
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.