The Jennies softball team (25-19, 12-10 MIAA) will conclude its 2014 regular season schedule with a four-game homestand against Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State at the South Recreation Complex this weekend. The Jennies enter the weekend in a three-way tie for fifth place in the MIAA standings. The top eight seeds qualify for the MIAA postseason tournament.
Friday's 4 p.m. doubleheader against Missouri Southern is Pink Out Day. The team will be selling pink t-shirts and black t-shirts with pink lettering for men to raise money for the Johnson County Cancer Foundation.
Saturday's doubleheader with Pittsburg State is Senior Day. The team will recognize its three seniors, infielder
Braylyn Bivens, outfielder
Alex Groeger and outfielder
Brittany Knabe in between games.
Last week, the Jennies lost two games at Emporia State, 8-3 and 8-7. Freshman
Lauren Mabe went a perfect 4-for-4 with a homerun, three RBI and two runs in the losses.
Junior utility player
Jakki Prater needs four RBI to become UCM's single-season RBI leader, which would pass Beth Savage's 60 in 1995.
Sophomore
Ali Jo Rogers enters the week with 19 stolen bases in 20 attempts, most among the Jennies. Her 19 stolen bases are tied with Sara Pilcher for 10th-most in a season in Jennies' history.
Scouting the Opponents:Missouri Southern LionsOverall Record entering the weekend: 17-33, 7-15 MIAA
Key hitters: Dawn Grass (.355, six HR's, 33 RBI's, 20 runs, 11 2B's in 152 at-bats), Jessica Castoe (.355, eight RBI's, 22 runs, seven 2B's, 3B, three SB's in 93 at-bats), Shelby Romines (.316, six HR's, 31 RBI's, six 2B's, two 3B's, two SB's, 30 runs in 155 at-bats).
Key pitcher(s): Haley Kinnison (5.75 ERA, 10-15 record, 134.2 IP, 102 K's, 13 CG's, three shutouts).
Team stats: Batting average - .285, Opponents - .313
Head Coach: Bill Gray (sixth season, 369-331-1 record)
Pittsburg State GorillasOverall Record entering the weekend: 27-23, 9-13 MIAA
Key hitters: McKenzie Rynard (.434, 16 HR's, 54 RBI's, 37 runs, nine 2B's, 3B in 143 at-bats), Tiffany Brown (.428, 26 HR's, 71 RBI's, 58 runs, six 2B's, 10 SB's in 159 at-bats).
Key pitcher(s): Samantha Grove (2.76 ERA, 13-10 record, 142.0 IP, 62 K's, 17 CG's, two shutouts), Kylie Harpst (3.27 ERA, 9-6 record, 90.0 IP, 45 K's, six CG's, two shutouts).
Team stats: Batting average - .330, Opponents - .284
Head Coach: Elizabeth Economon (third season, 84-73 record)
Series HistoryMissouri Southern: The Jennies lead the all-time series, 51-37. The Jennies won two out of three games against the Lions last season in Joplin. UCM has won five of the past six meetings and 10 in a row in Warrensburg.
Pittsburg State: The Jennies lead the all-time series, 40-21. The Gorillas swept the season series last season in Pittsburg, Kan., winning 2-0 and 11-2 in five innings. The Jennies have won 11 of the past 13 games, including six in a row at home.
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 249-146 MIAA mark since the inception of the conference in 1983. Under Anderson the Jennies are 88-54 in conference action. The Jennies are 12-10 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 229-211 mark on the road and a 431-321 record at neutral sites. Under Anderson the Jennies have gone 71-68 on the road and 84-80 at neutral sites. This season, the Jennies are 10-9 in road games and 7-6 in neutral site games.
Inside the Numbers Through 44 games the Jennies are hitting .322 as a team, while their opponents are batting .283. 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 96 at-bats) one more than the team had last season. Dawson leads with a .373 average.
The Jennies tied a season high with 16 runs scored against Southwest Baptist in Saturday's 16-4 win.
UCM's 293 runs is the most since the 2007 season when they plated 258 runs in 51 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.
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.
Bivens brings 75 career stolen bases into this weekend's action, and needs seven more to become the program's all-time leader.
Central Missouri has hit 82 doubles after recording just 53 a season ago.
Jennies in the MIAA Statistics (Through April 23)• Through 44 games, the Jennies are third in the MIAA in batting with a .322 average. Central Oklahoma is first with a team average of .344.
• UCM is one of six schools with a team ERA under 4.00. The Jennies enter the weekend with a team ERA of 3.50.
• The Jennies are third in on-base percentage (.389), third in runs scored (293), first in doubles (82) and third in homeruns (47).
Jennies Picked Seventh in MIAA Preseason Coaches PollThe 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.
