Scene Setter...The Jennies softball team (25-17, 12-8 MIAA) will play make their final regular season road trip to Emporia, Kansas to take on the fifth-ranked Lady Hornets on Tuesday, April 15 in a 4 p.m. doubleheader.
UCM split four games with Southwest Baptist last week, remaining eight games above the .500 mark. The Jennies enter the week fifth in the MIAA standings, a full game ahead of Washburn. The team's 25 wins passes the 24 victories from a season ago.
Junior utility player
Jakki Prater delivered three homeruns and drove in seven RBI last week, becoming the program's all-time leader in both categories. Through two-plus seasons at UCM, Prater owns 31 homeruns and 127 RBI. Another single-season record is also in reach, as she needs four RBI to pass Beth Savage's 60 in 1995.
Sophomore
Ali Jo Rogers enters the week with 19 stolen bases in 20 attempts, most among Jennies. Her 19 stolen bases are tied with Sara Pilcher for 10th-most in a season in Jennies' history.
Junior hurler
Katie Shockley recorded the 21st no-hitter in Jennies' history in a 9-0 victory at SBU last week. It was the first no hitter for UCM since Lacey Dixon's against Missouri Western on April 20, 2011.
Should UCM win both games at Emporia State, they would finish with 12 road victories, the most since 2009 when they won 11 games away from Warrensburg.
Scouting the Opponent:Emporia State Lady HornetsOverall Record entering the weekend: 36-9, 16-2 MIAA
Key hitters: Stephanie Goodwin (.404, six HR's, 33 RBI's, 39 runs, 14 2B's, eight SB's in 156 at-bats), Jessica Gragg (.358, seven HR's, 46 RBI's, 28 runs, 10 2B's, 3B, three SB's in 123 at-bats), Tricia Vogel (.316, five HR's, 35 RBI's, 12 2B's, 3B, three SB's, 33 runs in 155 at-bats).
Key pitcher(s): Kaitlyn Caston (2.38 ERA, 25-6 record, 191.0 IP, 86 K's, 24 CG's, three shutouts), Eryn Stockman (3.56 ERA, 11-3 record, 125.2 IP, 38 K's, 13 CG's, three shutouts).
Team stats: Batting average - .312, Opponents - .273
Head Coach: Julie LeMaire (third season, 116-40 record)
Series HistoryEmporia State: The Lady Hornets lead the all-time series, 53-34. The two teams split the season series last year in Warrensburg, with the Jennies winning, 6-2 and Emporia State winning, 2-0. UCM has lost the last four matchups at Emporia State, the last victory coming on April 17, 2009 (2-0 win). Overall, the Jennies have dropped 13 of the past 14 meetings to the Lady Hornets.
Non-Conference Games Central Missouri has been 795-582 in non-conference games since 1972, the beginning of softball at UCM. In the 'NCAA/MIAA Era' the Jennies have compiled a 651-459 non-conference mark. Anderson has a 123-111 record in non-conference contests. This season, UCM is 13-9 in non-conference games.
Conference Games Central Missouri has posted a 249-144 MIAA mark since the inception of the conference in 1983. Under Anderson the Jennies are 88-52 in conference action. The Jennies are 12-8 in conference action in 2014.
Home Field Advantage Since the 1977 season, Central Missouri is 359-160 at home. Under Anderson, the Jennies are 72-30 at home. UCM has gone undefeated in the 2007 (8-0), 1991 (13-0), 1989 (8-0), and 1979 (6-0). UCM is 8-4 in home games this season.
On the Road Since 1977, UCM has posted a 229-209 mark on the road and a 431-321 record at neutral sites. Under Anderson the Jennies have gone 71-66 on the road and 84-80 at neutral sites. This season, the Jennies are 10-7 in road games and 7-6 in neutral site games.
Inside the Numbers Through 42 games the Jennies are hitting .321 as a team, while their opponents are batting .278. The last time the Jennies hit at least .300 as a team for an entire season was 2010 when they hit .302. This season, five Jennies (
Lindsey Dawson,
Jakki Prater,
Braylyn Bivens,
Alex Groeger and
Lauren Mabe) are hitting .300 or better, (in at least 84 at-bats) one more than the team had last season. Prater leads with a .383 average.
The Jennies tied a season high with 16 runs scored against Southwest Baptist in Saturday's 16-4 win.
UCM's 283 runs is the most since the 2011 season when they plated 233 runs in 54 games.
Prater needs four homeruns to set the new MIAA individual record of 24, which would pass the 23 homers hit by Emporia State's Megan Davison back in 2006.
Since March 18, the Jennies have lowered their team ERA from 5.25 to 4.28. UCM is 14-0 when leading after six innings and have won just once in 16 tries when they trail after six innings. In the first inning this season, UCM has outscored its opponents, 49-28. Prater (14) and
Katie Shockley (10) have accounted for 24 of the Jennies' 25 wins (
Jessica Wilkes has the other win). Prater entered the season with 12 career victories, while Shockley began the campaign with eight career wins.
Central Missouri has hit 79 doubles after recording just 53 a season ago.
Jennies Picked Seventh in MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll The Jennies softball team is predicted to finish seventh in the 2014 MIAA preseason poll as picked by the league coaches. The Jennies received 95 total points in the poll, which was released Friday, January 31.
Central MIssouri finished the 2013 season with a 24-22 record, 14-14 in MIAA competition. The Jennies return 10 players, headlined by 2013 second-team All-MIAA infielder
Braylyn Bivens.
Central Oklahoma was a unanimous selection to repeat as regular season MIAA champions, receiving all 13 possible first-place votes. The Bronchos totaled 169 points in the preseason poll. Missouri Western received the other first-place vote, totaling 156 points to finish second. Fort Hays State (138 points), Emporia State (130) and Northeastern State (115) round out the top five.
A Tradition of Excellence in the Athletic Arena• At the conclusion of the fall 2013 athletic season, Central Missouri has won a combined 193 MIAA regular-season conference championships in 14 league sports to lead all schools.
• During the 2012-13 school year UCM captured three MIAA regular season and one tournament championship.
• Since 1983, the tenure of Athletic Director
Jerry Hughes, UCM has won or shared 139 MIAA championships, more than any other league school.
• Central Missouri has won five national championships since 1980 (men's and women's basketball in 1984, baseball in 1994 and 2003, and women's bowling in 2003) and seven national championships overall.
A Tradition of Excellence in the Classroom• The 550 Central Missouri student-athletes received 375 Academic Awards from the MIAA office for the 2012-13 academic year.
• 305 UCM student-athletes were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
• 37 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Scholar Athletes with at least a 3.5 GPA and having earned all-MIAA honors in their respective sport.
• 33 UCM student-athletes were named MIAA Academic Excellence Award winners with a 4.0 GPA.
• UCM had eight student-athletes earn Academic All-America honors in their respective sports, including Brent Vogel being named the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for Men's Track & Field.
Upcoming Schedule... The Jennies will close out the regular season with an eight-game homestand on April 25 and 26 against Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State, respectively.
