As the Mount Mary University softball season winds down, the Blue Angels (5-21) are getting ready to continue the season series with Association of Division III Independents rival Maranatha Baptist University (1-18). The doubleheader between the two will be held April 18th in Watertown, Wis. with first pitch set for 12:00 pm.

Earlier this season, MMU swept the two game series in convincing fashion. The Blue Angels bats came alive as they knocked in 23 runs, and came away with a stretch of back-to-back-to-back homeruns a first for the Blue Angels in the NCAA era.

A pretty even series since 2009, MMU leads 10-8 at this point. Last season, the teams split dead even 3-3 on the year's series. This season, the Blue Angels have buckled down a solid pitching rotation. Nikki Festge (Jr./Menomonee Falls, Wis.) has gone 64.1 innings and has 8 complete games on the season. Ashley Contreras (Fr./College Station, Texas) has also been throwing well with the same amount of complete games, 79 innings pitched, and a team leading 6.38 ERA.

Compared to last year's team ERA of 14.97, this season has been a giant step up defensively. On the other side, with six games left on the schedule, the Blue Angels have 40 more hits than they did in the entirety of last year. Along with more hits, the Blue Angels have also increased their team batting average by 63 points from last season.

After some tough pitching against the Milwaukee School of Engineering, the Blue Angels are looking to get the bats going again against the Sabercats. Along with their bats, the Blue Angels have focused their efforts on shoring up their defense, after surrendering 12 errors in a doubleheader against Lakeland College, MMU gave up only four against a strong hitting MSOE team.

Following Saturday's games, the Blue Angels will get ready to host Rockford University on Wednesday April 22nd. The location is TBD, but first pitch will be set for 3:00 pm.