Jennies Road Swing Rolls on With Pair of Doubleheaders

WARRENSBURG, Mo. - The Jennies battle with the top of the MIAA as they have a midweek doubleheader with first place Pittsburg State Wednesday. They'll conclude their week with a doubleheader at Northwest Missouri Friday in Maryville.

Quick Hits
Anderson vs. the Gorillas
Jennies coach Susan Anderson has had success against the Gorillas going 13-4 in her time with UCM.

Anderson vs. the Bearcats
In her first eight seasons, coach Anderson has gone 14-8 against Northwest Missouri and
6-2 in the last four years. UCM swept the Bearcats in Warrensburg last year.

Wins Over Ranked Opponents
With their sweeps of No. 9 Emporia State and No. 14 Missouri Western, UCM is now 5-3 in games against ranked opponents this season. This the first time under Coach Anderson the Jennies have five wins over ranked opponents and the last time they defeated a team ranked in the top-10 was March 25, 2011, when they defeated No. 3 Midwestern State 3-1.

The Jennies made their first appearance in the NFCA poll in the receiving votes category last week. This week they've received seven votes which puts them at No. 33 in the NFCA Coaches Poll.

200 Hit Club
Senior Jakki Prater slugged a two-run home run for her 200th career hit in game two of the Jennies doubleheader at Northeastern. Prater becomes the fourth member of the 200 hit club and third in as many years. Ashlea Bengtson started the streak in 2013 and has 2011 for her career. Braylyn Biven followed last year and is directly ahead of Prater with 210. Beth Savage is the all-time leader in hits with 222 and was the first to reach the milestone in 1995.

Rogers Sets Stolen Base Record
Junior Ali Jo Rogers set a new single-season stolen base record last Saturday against Central Oklahoma. Rogers swiped her 30th bag of the season, breaking a 20-year old UCM record. With her three steals over the weekend, Rogers now has 71 in her three-year career, becomming just the third Jennie to ever reach 70 stolen bases. She currently 10 stolen bases off of Heather Whitcomb's team record of 81 set back in 2007.

Closing in on 1,100
The softball program itself is closing in on a milestone of its own. UCM softball has a chance to capture it's 1,100th win in program history this week. The program currently stands at 1,098 wins.

Shockley's Winning Streak
Senior Katie Shockley is 9-0 with a 1.09 ERA in her last nine appearances (all starts). She's allowed nine earned runs in 58 innings pitched while striking out 41 and walking only 14. She's completed all nine games and thrown two shutouts during the stretch. She has also lowered her ERA by more than a run and a half from 4.15 down to 2.54, seventh in the MIAA.

The only other Jennies pitcher (since 2003 when this record was first kept) with a streak of nine or more wins in consecutive appearances was Megan Leonard in 2009. Leonard earned the win in 10 straight appearances, nine as a starter, one in relief. That same year, Leonard also had a streak of wins in 14 consecutive starts.

Mabe's Quest for .400
Sophomore Lauren Mabe is attempting to do what only six others have done in UCM history. Mabe leads the Jennies with a .415 batting average, which if she maintains will be the third-best single-season average in team history. Only six times has a Jennie batted at least .400, with the last coming from Courtney Opich in 2010. The single-season record for batting average is .457, set by Rachel Adams in 2007.  

30 Wins
On Saturday the Jennies picked up their 30th win of the season against Central Oklahoma. It's the first time the Jennies have reached the 30-win mark since 2009 and fourth time under Coach Anderson.

Jennies at Home
The Jennies are a 10-2 at home this season after their sweep of No. 9 Emporia State and split with Washburn last weekend. For her career, Coach Anderson is 87-35 (.713) in home games.

Jennies on the Road
The Jennies are a 8-3 in true road games this season. For her career, coach Anderson is 78-73 (.517) away from Warrensburg.

Preseason Ranking
The Jennies were picked to finish fourth in the MIAA Preseason Poll. In 2014, they finished fifth overall and had eight All-MIAA student-athletes.

Jennies in the Postseason
UCM went back to the MIAA Championships in 2014 and have been in 20 of the last 21 conference championship tournaments. The Jennies have won seven MIAA Championships in their history, most recently in 2009 and have made 10 NCAA tournament appearances.

Scouting the Opposition
Pittsburg State
Series History: The Jennies hold a distinct, 41-22 advantage over the Gorillas, though PSU has taken three of the last four. That is coming on the heels of UCM winning 11 straight from 2008-2012. The two teams split last season in Warrensburg and Coach Anderson is 13-4 in her UCM career against the Gorillas.

Scouting Report: PSU is the only team the Jennies are staring up at in the MIAA conference standings. They enter the week 15-5 in MIAA play and 28-14 overall. After a seven game winning streak, the Gorillas have lost their last three including getting swept from Missouri Western last Saturday.

The Gorillas are led by their powerful offense which averages 1.21 home runs per game, 11th best in the nation. The team has 51 home runs, second in the MIAA and have six in their lineup with at least five home runs. Nicole Nease leads the way with 12. She also has 10 doubles and a triple and is slugging .701.

PSU has also been impeccable in the circle. They rank second in the conference with a 2.80 staff ERA and 241 strikeouts. Emmie Robertson has been the ace of the Gorilla staff. She has a 1.97 ERA to lead the conference and is in the top-100 nationally. Her 19 wins also top the conference and is 13th in the nation. She is second in the MIAA and 19th in Division II with 169 strikeouts.

Northwest Missouri
Series History: The Jennies and Bearcats have had a long rivalry dating back to 1976. The Jennies have faced Northwest more than any other opponent in the MIAA with the Bearcats holding a 59-52 edge. UCM has had recent success against NWMSU, winning seven of their last eight, including a sweep last season. Since leaving Maryville for Warrensburg, Coach Anderson is 14-8 against her former club.

Scouting Report: The Bearcats will play their first home games in the month of April this week. Though they've been on the road, they've been successful going 5-3 and 3-1 last weekend.

Stephanie Mark is at the center of the Bearcat offense. She leads the team with a .403/.465/.726 slash line. She has 50 hits, 10 home runs and 39 RBI. Mark and Rebecca Maher share the team lead with 34 runs scored. Maher is batting .346 and has collected 46 hits and 27 RBI.

The Bearcats are led by their duel aces Kendle Schieber and Sarah Baldwin. Schieber has a 2.11 ERA and a 7-6 record in 86 innings pitched. She also has 73 strikeouts compared to just 10 walks. Baldwin leads the staff with nine wins and 19 starts. She's thrown 114.1 innings and has allowed 131 hits while striking out 77 and walking 35.

Last Time Out
Central Missouri senior Jakki Prater entered the record books with a bang Friday afternoon collecting her 200th career hit against Northeastern State on a third inning home run. She becomes just the third Jennies to ever reach the magic number. Prater drove a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall for the milestone hit. She is currently third all-time. Braylyn Bivens, who recorded her 200th hit last year, is directly ahead of her with 210 hits and Beth Savage is the all-time leader with 222.
    Both Katie Shockley and RiverHawks starter Kayce Wooldridge came out firing zeroes to start. The teams combined for just five hits after the first five innings of a scoreless affair.
    Lauren Mabe broke through in the sixth with a two-run homerun, her fifth of the year to give the Jens a 2-0 lead. It's the fourth straight game Mabe has connected for a home run, after hitting one in the first 35 games of the season. Carlie Rose drove a double down the left field line for the Jennies third run of the inning.
    The rest of the game belonged to Shockley as she cruised to her 12th win of the season. She threw seven innings, allowing just one earned run on four hits with four strikeouts and no walks. She now has wins in each of her last eight starts, all complete games and has allowed just five earned runs in 51 innings.
    Mabe and Rose had all three RBI for the Jennies and Jakki Prater was 2-for-3 with a run scored.  
    The Jennies got on the board early scoring a pair in the opening inning. Ali Jo Rogers started the game with a single and stole second and third, her 29th stolen bases of the season, tying the UCM single season record. She came around to score the first run of the game.
    The Jens added another run on an RBI single from Mabe, giving starter Jessica Wilkes a 2-0 lead. Mabe now has eight RBI in her last five games.
    NSU tied the game at two after two innings with a run-scoring single and an RBI ground out.
It was then Prater's turn to make history as she launched the 1-0 pitch over the fence in left for her 200th hit to break the 2-2 tie.
    The RiverHawks scored a run in each of the first five innings as they came back to take their first lead 5-4 in the fifth which they made hold up for the win.
    Wilkes got the start in game two for the Jens, her first start since March 25 against Missouri S&T.  She lasted 3.2 innings and allowed four runs on six hits while striking out three and walking four.
    Prater came on in relief and threw 2.1 innings. She took the loss allowing the game-winning run in the fifth. She also let up two hits with one walk and one strikeout.
    As a team, the Jennies had six hits, two coming from Rogers. Lindsey Dawson drew two walks and scored a pair of runs while also stealing a base.
    The Jennies earned their 30th win of the season Saturday afternoon in Edmond as they split a doubleheader with Central Oklahoma. UCM moves to 30-12 and 12-4 in the MIAA after the pair of games. It is the first time the Jennies have won 30 games since the 2009 season.
    Katie Shockley earned the win for the Jennies in game number one, improving her personal win streak to nine straight starts. Ali Jo Rogers and Lindsey Dawson hit back-to-back home runs in game number two, the third of the season for both. Rogers also set a new UCM single-season stolen base record in game number one, with her 30th stolen bag.
    After a scoreless first inning, the Jens opening the scoring in the second when Keelia Martin drove home Carlie Rose with a two-out base knock. The lead was short-lived as UCO quickly tied the game with a run in the bottom of the frame.
    An inning later, the Jennies reclaimed the claim with a three-run third. Newest member of the 200 hit club Jakki Prater got the scoring started with an RBI double. The Jens brought two more unearned runs across courtesy of a Broncho fielding error.
    UCO attempted a couple of comebacks, but the Jennies lead was never less than two.
    UCM scored another run in the seventh on Madison Hood's sacrifice fly and the Bronchos got two back but no more as the Jens sealed the victory, 7-4.
    The win was Shockley's ninth straight, improving her to 13-5. The four runs allowed were the most in a start for her since March 20. She threw her 15th complete game spraying 10 hits and giving up four runs. She also struck out five and didn't issue a walk.
    Four Jennies collected multiple hits and UCM totaled 10 for the game. Prater was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Leonhart led the team with two RBI and was 2-for-4 as well.
    The bats came out early and often in game number two. The Jennies opened the scoring getting a pair in the opening frame on Leonharts two-RBI double to left center.
    The Bronchos quickly answered getting three of the their own in the bottom of the frame. UCO went up by four after another three-run inning in the second.
    UCM tried to make a comeback in the third, getting back-to-back home runs from Rogers and Dawson, cutting the lead to 6-4.
    The rest of the game was all Bronchos as they scored four in the fourth and another two in the fifth to to end the game, 12-4.
    Prater got the start and allowed all 12 runs, eight earned on nine hits. She struck out one and walked three.
    Rogers was 2-for-3 with a double and a home run. Dawson was 1-for-2 with a home run and two runs scored and Leonhart went 1-for-2 with two RBI.