Jennies Softball Looks to Keep Rolling at NCAA Regionals

WARRENSBURG, Mo. - The Jennies will play in their first NCAA Regional Championship since 2009 this weekend, May 8-10. UCM earned the No. 2 seed in region after going 44-14 during the season and winning both the MIAA regular season and tournament championships. The four-team double-elimination tournament will determine the winner of half of the bracket. That winner will move onto the Super Regional Round, May 15-16, to face the winner from the other half of the Central Region bracket. 

Quick Hits
Anderson vs. the Griffons
Head Coach Susan Anderson is 14-11 against Missouri Western. The Jennies swept the then #14 ranked Griffons back on April 7th and defeated them 3-1 last weekend to advance to the MIAA Tournament Championship.

Anderson vs. the Golden Suns
Susan Anderson is 3-2 all-time against Arkansas Tech. This will be their first meeting in Warrensburg, Last season, UCM won 10-4 on a neutral site.

Anderson vs. the Reddies
Like the Golden Suns, the Jennies and Reddies have only met with Coach Anderson at the helm. The two teams have met eight times, with four of those coming in the last two seasons. The Jennies opened the season with a 7-3 loss to the Reddies at a neutral site and went 2-1 against them last year. This is their first ever meeting in Warrensburg. 

About the Central Region Tournament 
By taking the No. 2 seed in the region, the Jennies guaranteed themselves of home-field advantage throughout the first two rounds. UCM will be hosting Missouri Western, Arkansas Tech and Henderson State. In the other half of the bracket, Augustana (S.D.) is playing host. The three other teams on that side of the bracket are Central Oklahoma, Winona State and East Central. The winners of the double-elimination tournaments this weekend will play next weekend in a best two-of-three series to determine the winner of the region. The higher of the two seeds will host. 

UCM in the Polls
The Jennies cracked the National Fast Pitch Coaches Poll for the first time last week. UCM's first ranking was at No. 23. After winning the MIAA Championship Tournament, the Jens are ranked No. 20 in this weeks poll.

Deja Vu
This is not the first time UCM and Missouri Western have met in the NCAA postseason. In 2009, the last time the Jennies made it to NCAAs, they also faced the Griffons, where they lost 3-1 in 10 innings to end their season. 

200 Hits/40 Home Run Club
Senior Jakki Prater slugged her 40th career home-run in her first at bat of the MIAA Championship Tournament game last weekend. She became the first Jennie to ever reach 40 home runs. Earlier this season, Prater became the fourth member of the 200 hit club and third in as many years. She became the all-time home run leader last season and was the first Jennie to ever reach 200 hits and 30 home runs. She is now the first with 200 hits and 40 home runs.  

Prater collected five hits during the MIAA Tournament and stands at 216 for her career, second-most all-time. She is just six hits behind the all-time leader, Beth Savage, who finished her career with 222 hits in 1995.

Shockley's Winning Ways
Senior Katie Shockley lost her personal winning streak at 15 straight starts. Over her last 18 starts though, she's gone 17-1 with a 1.40 ERA, allowing just 25 earned runs in 124.2 innings. She's struck out 83 batters over that time, and was named All-MIAA First Team for the first time in her career.

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 .420 batting average, which is 71st in the nation. If the season were to end today, her .420 average would 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.  Mabe is second in the MIAA and is 71st in the nation.

Jennies Running Wild
The Jennies set a new single season record two weeks ago when they stole their 100th base of the season against Lindenwood. UCM broke the previous record of 97 set in 1995, and currently stand at 110 for the season. With 1.86 stolen bases per game, the Jennies are 17th in the nation. 

Junior Ali Jo Rogers leads the stolen base barrage. She set a new career stolen base record last week at the MIAA tournament, swiping her 83rd base. She also continues to add to her single-season stolen base record. Rogers swiped four bags over the weekend giving her 42 for the season, making her the first Jennie to ever steal 40 bases in a season. She's stealing almost one base per game and is 21st in the nation at 0.72 steals per game. In addition to Rogers, Makayla Schoonover (22) and Carlie Rose (16) both have double-digit steals. Schoonover is a perfect 22-for-22 on attempts this season, which if it stands would be the second most steals without being caught in team history.

Power Surge
The Jennies crushed eight home runs in six games at the MIAA Tournament. Lauren Mabe hit three to give her a team-best 10 for the season. Carlie Rose hit two including a grand slam when the Jennies were trailing to force the "if necessary" game. UCM then proceeded to hit four in the championship game.

Jennies at Home
The Jennies are a 14-2 at home this season. For her career, Coach Anderson is 91-35 (.722) in home games.

Jennies in the Postseason
With their wins two weeks ago, the Jennies clinched their eighth regular-season MIAA championships in their history and first since 2009. Last weekend, they won their first conference tournament championship since 1997. 2009 was also the last UCM made the NCAA tournament and have gone 15-21 in 36 NCAA games over 10 appearances. Coincidentally, 1997 was the last time the Jennies won a Regional playoff game. 

Scouting the Opposition
Missouri Western
Series History: The Jennies have won 55 of 83 meetings with the Griffons, including once in last week's MIAA tournament, 3-1. The two teams have been remarkably consistant of late as the Jennies hold a slight edge over the last 25 meetings 14-11, since 2007, Coach Anderson's first year with the Jens. UCM swept the then-14th ranked Griffons in St. Joseph earlier this year and are 3-0 in 2015.

Scouting Report: The Griffons finished fourth in the MIAA with a 33-17 record and 17-9 in the conference. They were ranked in the top 15 by the NFCA, and finished third at the MIAA tournament. 

Missouri Western has a prolific offense with four starters in the top-15 of the MIAA in batting average. Tiffany Gillaspy leads the team at .390 and is second in the conference with 15 home runs. Her 133 total bases are an MIAA-best while her 71 hits and 50 RBI lead the team.

MWSU also has a pair of 15+ game winners in the circle. Janie Smith has a team-best 19 with a 2.59 ERA and 128 strikeouts in exactly 200 innings. Right behind her is Shyanne Saladino with a 17-7 record, 2.73 ERA and 46 strikeouts. 

Arkansas Tech
Series History: The two teams have a brief history with each other, having only met five times, all under Jennies coach Susan Anderson. UCM holds a slight 3-2 series advantage. Both of ATU's wins have come at home. This will be the first ever matchup in Warrensburg. 

Scouting Report: The Golden Suns finished third at the GAC Conference Championships, bowing out against first round opponent, Henderson State. They enter the regional with a 40-20 record, their third 40-win season in program history. 

Arkansas Tech has slugged 82 home runs this season, seventh-best per game in the nation and tops in the GAC. Their lineup boasts four bats with double-digit dingers. Ashley Savage is tied for the team lead with 12 home runs and is first with 41 RBI. Whitney Robinson has a .395 batting average with 11 homers and 39 RBI and team-best 75 hits.

The Golden Suns have a team ERA of 3.22 and three pitchers with 10+ wins and more than 100 innings pitched. Sydnee Clark and Morgan Vaughan both have 12 wins. Clark leads the starters with a 2.70 ERA and 79 strikeouts.

Henderson State
Series History: This wil also mark the first home game for the Jennies against HSU. The Reddies hold a 5-3 edge over UCM including a 7-3 win in the Jens first game this season. The two teams met three times in 2014, with the Jennies winning two of the three.

Scouting Report: HSU lost in the final game of the GAC Tournament to East Central, but were the regular season champions with a 41-13 record and 27-7 mark in the conference. Prior to the GAC Tournament, the Reddies were on a roll winning 16 of their last 20 games.

The Reddies are led by the duo of Sarah Gibson at the plate and Michelle Sorensen in the circle. Gipson is 33rd in the nation with a .443 batting average and has 10 home runs and team-best 66 RBI. She's reached base in exactly half of her plate apperances and has a .686 slugging percentage with 26 of her 81 hits going for extra bases. 

Sorensen has been lights out for the Reddies. She's pitched to a 20-10 record and has also earned three saves. She's thrown six total shutouts and has a 1.94 ERA allowing just 52 earned runs in 187.1 innings pitched. She's also struck out 156 batters, but is prone to wildness, having allowed 106 walks and thrown 31 wild pitches. 

Last Time Out
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - The Jennies needed to win two games Saturday afternoon to win the 2015 MIAA Tournament Championship and they did just that. UCM took down second seed Pittsburg State twice, 6-1 and 7-1 to claim their first MIAA tournament championship since 1997. The two wins improve their record to 44-14 on the season.
Game One: UCM 6, PSU 1
Jakki Prater got the call in game number one and pitched a gem. She allowed an unearned run in the first inning, but nothing else on her way to her 15th win of the season.
The Jennies were no-hit through the first three and two-thirds innings, but broke through in a big way in the fourth. With two out, Prater walked and Mabe followed with a long double to center. A hit by pitch loaded the bases, and Carlie Rose cleared them all with a long drive over the left field fence. The grand slam gave the Jennies their first lead, 4-1.
UCM added some insurance runs in the sixth on a Lauren Mabe solo home run and Makayla Schoonover RBI infield single, bringing the total to 6-1.
Prater went the distance allowing just one unearned run on five hits while striking out four and walking one.
The Jens finished with only five hits, but made the most of them. Mabe was 2-for-3 with a home run, RBI and two runs scored. Rose finished 1-for-3 with the biggest hit, her grand slam in the fourth.
Game Two: UCM 7, PSU 1
UCM played the role of visitor for the first time this tournament and came out swinging. They gave starter Katie Shockley a two-run lead before she even took the field. Prater launched a home run to left to start the scoring for the Jens.
The Jennies continued to play long ball, connecting for three more home runs in the third. Ali Jo Rogers started the barrage with a two-run homer. Three batters later, Mabe hit her second of the day, a solo shot to right center. Not to be outdone, Rose also hit her second of the day a two-run homer to left to cap the scoring for the Jennies.
PSU got their only run of the day on a solo home run leading off the fifth.
Shockley threw the first five innings allowing just one run and one hit while striking out five. Prater finished the game for the Jens getting six straight outs and one strikeout.
The Jens four home runs on eight hits. Rogers and Prater each finished with two hits and two RBI. Katie Giacone was 2-for-3 and Rose 1-for-3 with a home run.
UCM was ranked second in the region heading into the tournament and will likely host their first set of regional games next weekend, May 8-10.