Western Kentucky infielder Brittany Vaughn at practice Tuesday, February 14, 2017, during practice at WKU's Softball Complex. (Bac Totrong/photo@bgdailynews.com)

Following two weekends of tournaments at the WKU Softball Complex, the Hilltoppers are back on the road and heading to Norman, Okla., for the Courtyard Marriott Tournament this weekend.

Joining WKU (9-5) at the three-day outing are Northwestern State, Evansville and the host Sooners. The Hilltoppers will play two games both Friday and Saturday and conclude action from the OU Softball Complex with a Sunday finale.

WKU will kick off the weekend slate in search of the program’s first victory over Northwestern State. The Lady Demons have claimed both previous meetings that took place in 2013 and 2016, both times in Starkville, Miss. Northwestern State enters the weekend with a 7-8-1 record.

In the second half of Friday’s doubleheader, the Hilltoppers will look to take the advantage in the all-time series against Evansville that is currently knotted at 9-9-1. The Purple Aces enter weekend play with a 4-5 record.

The third weekend opponent for WKU will be the reigning national champion, Oklahoma. The Hilltoppers and Sooners have never met on the diamond.

Remaining weekend play will be determined by the initial round-robin play. Saturday’s second game will either be the 1 vs. 4 game or 2 vs. 3 contest. Sunday’s action will conclude with play in either the consolation or championship tilt for WKU.

With home runs in each of the team’s last four games, WKU will look to keep the bats hot, owning a Conference USA-leading 15 home runs on the early season. The squad has also registered 14 doubles and two triples already, producing a team slugging percentage of .410 after three weekends of play.

Hilltoppers have also continued to find a way onto the bases as the team owns a .357 on-base percentage with eight players posting OBPs of .300 or better. With 22 hit by pitches, WKU leads C-USA in the category behind a nation-leading nine from Taylor Proctor alone. Additionally, the Hilltoppers have also tallied 49 walks.

The Courtyard Marriott Tournament marks the fourth and final regular-season tournament that WKU will compete in during the 2017 campaign. The Hilltoppers will be back in Bowling Green for a Wednesday double feature against the visiting Bowling Green Falcons out of the MAC.