Softball to Host a Pair of MIAA Doubleheaders This Weekend

WARRENSBURG, Mo. - Jennies softball remains at home this weekend for a pair of MIAA doubleheaders with Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri at Jennies Field. The action starts Friday, March 11 at 3 p.m. against the Griffons with the doubleheader with the Bearcats taking place Saturday, March 12 at 1 p.m.



Quick Hits
Anderson vs. the Griffons
• Jennies coach Susan Anderson pulled herself over .500 with four wins over Missouri Western last season. With the Jens going 5-0 over the Griffons, Anderson is now 15-12 all-time against MWSU.

Anderson vs. the Bearcats
• Though the Jennies trail the all-time series with the Bearcats, Anderson is 16-9 all-time against Northwest Missouri. That includes wins in four of their last five games and 10 of 11 with a win in last season's MIAA Tournament.

Jennies at Home
• The Jennies played their first home games of 2016 Monday against Truman State. Central Missouri split with their former MIAA rivals, each team taking a 5-1 win. Last season, the Jennies went 17-2 in Warrensburg.

Stealing the Show
• Central Missouri has been off and running since the first game this season. They are third in the MIAA in team stolen bases with 37 through 15 games.
• Ali Jo Rogers is chief among them stealing 21 bases in the team's first 21 games to lead the MIAA. Rogers set the all-time singles season record for stolen bases last season with 49 and is the all-time career leader. She became the first Jennie to ever reach 100 career stolen bases last season and has 111 for her career.

Getting Started
• Though the Jennies have hit just .248 through their first 21 games, UCM has done a good job of getting on base to lead off innings. Batters leading off innings are hitting .386 (54-for-140) to start the season. Rogers, the team's leadoff hitter for all 21 games is 19-for-37 (.514) when starting an inning. She started back-to-back games last weekend with leadoff home runs.
• The Jennies are also doing a good job of getting on the board early in games. UCM has 17 first-inning runs, their most of any inning this season. They are 6-3 when leading after the first and 10-3 when scoring first.

Power District
• With the wind blowing out at Jennies field Monday, the Jennies were able to play a little long ball, smashing five home runs. UCM got homers from Lauren Mabe, Katie Giacone, Emily King and two from Allie Dishinger.  
• In the Jennies last six games, the team has slugged eight home runs. Rogers was responsible for the other three at Fort Hays and at Nebraska-Kearney.
• One of the side-effects of swinging for the fences is a penchant for striking out, which the Jennies have done this season. They are third in the conference having been struck out 107 times and four starters have already struck out more than 10 times.

The New 1-2 Punch
• Last season seniors Katie Shockley and Jakki Prater combined for 42 wins in the circle. Going forward, UCM is relying on a pair of freshman to fill their shoes on the rubber, Emily Robinson and Jordan Johnson. Those two are a combined 10-5 this season with a 2.22 ERA.
• Though both have been successful, Robinson and Johnson have found success in different ways. Robinson is much more of a strikeout pitcher, 10th in the MIAA with 46 punchouts in 66 innings pitched. Johnson pitches more to contact as evidenced by her 16 strikeouts in 53.2 innings. She also also only walked 12 batters, a walk ratio of almost 4.5:1.
• Katie Giacone made her debut in the circle for Central Missouri last weekend at Fort Hays State. Giacone came on in relief of Johnson and pitched 1.2 innings against the Tigers giving up a run on four hits.

Goose Eggs
• Through the Jennies first 21 games, seven have ended via shut out. Central Missouri has been on the winning side four times while have been shutout on three occasions. All of last season, the Jennies had seven shutouts, with UCM going 6-1. The Jennies nearly had their fifth shutout win of the season at Nebraska-Kearney, but the Lopers got on the board with two out in the seventh inning.

Scouting the Opposition
Missouri Western
Series History:  The Jennies and Griffons rivalry dates back to 1976. The two teams have met 93 times since then, including four times a season ago. The Jennies swept the then-14th ranked Griffons in the regular season then defeated them during the MIAA Tournament and again at the Central Regional Tournament.

Scouting Report: The Griffons are off to one of the hottest starts in the MIAA. Their 14 overall wins are the most in the conference, and the team is 4-0 in MIAA matchups, with sweeps of Northeastern State and Central Oklahoma. Missouri Western has won their last five games and sit atop the MIAA standings with their perfect 4-0 record.

The Griffons return two starting pitchers from last season's NCAA Regional team, Shyanne Saladino and Janie Smith. Saladino has a microscopic 1.57 ERA through nine starts and a 6-3 record. Smith leads the team with eight wins, an 8-3 record and sports a 2.82 earned run average. They're both high strikeout pitchers who demonstrate quality control, having fanned a total of 101 batters this season while walkin only 30. They have allowed 133 hits this season, and a .241 opponents batting average.

At the dish, Morgan Rathmann and Taylor Hamilton have been on-base machines. Rathmann is hitting .380 with a .443 on base percentage while Hamilton is reaching base at a .452 clip and hitting .351. Rathmann has stolen nine bases and scored 20 runs, Hamilton leads the team with 18 RBI. Katie Klostermann has provided the Griffons with some pop slugging four of the team's 12 home runs and a team-high seven doubles. MWSU has hit 20 doubles this season and has a .298 team batting average. Their .969 team fielding percentage is tops in the MIAA.

Northwest Missouri
Series History:  The Bearcats and Jennies also have a storied history having met 114 previous times, the most of any opponent in Jennies history. The two teams have had some tight battles and NWMSU holds a 60-54 all-time series lead. The Jens have made up ground though, taking four of their last five from Northwest Missouri, and nine of the last 11.

Scouting Report: The Bearcats are also off to a hot start having won 15 of their first 18 games. They are 3-1 in the MIAA and coming off of sweeps of Northeastern State and William Jewell. Two of their three losses this season have been to ranked opponents, No. 10 Winona State and No. 12 Central Oklahoma.

Like the Griffons, the Bearcats have also gotten it done in the circle. Kendle Schieber leads the way with a 7-2 record and 1.92 ERA with 48 strikeouts. It was starter Sarah Baldwin though who made headlines last weekend, tossing a perfect game against Northeastern State, the 16th no hitter in program history. NWMSU has a 2.78 team ERA through 17 games and four shutouts.

The Bearcats also have six starting players hitting at least .333. Rebecca Maher leads the way with a .378 batting average. Tori Blythe is right behind her at .371. Blythe leads the team with 23 hits and eight stolen bases. Alexis Kelsey has seen five of her 19 hit leave the ball park. NWMSU has 18 team home runs. Jessica Rawie and Madison Jones each have three. Rawie leads the team with 15 RBI while Mayber, Kelsey and Jones all have 13. The only team ahead of Northwest Missouri in fielding percentage in the MIAA is Missouri Western. The Bearcats have a .968 fielding percentage while their opponents have committed 35 errors and sport a .935 fielding percentage.

Last Time Out
WARRENSBURG, Mo. - Central Missouri hit five home runs Monday night in their doubleheader split with Truman State. The Jens remain a game over .500 for the season at 11-10.
The Jens slugged four homers in their 5-1 win in game number one. They only knocked one out of the park in game two, in which they lost by the same score, 5-1.
Game One: Central Missouri 5, Truman State 1
Lauren Mabe started the slugfest in the first inning as her drive to right center bounced off the top of the fence and went over. Starting pitcher Emily Robinson picked up an RBI in the third with a single up the middle to score Mabe.
UCM then hit three home runs in three innings on their way to a 5-1 win. Allie Dishinger smacked her second of the season in the fourth, then Katie Giacone and Dishinger went back-to-back in the sixth to cap the scoring for the Jens.
The Bulldogs got their lone run in the fifth inning when Christa Reisinger stole third and came around to score when the throw went up the third base foul line.
Robinson earned her third straight win and sixth of the season throwing a complete game two-hitter. She demonstrated great control allowing just one walk and striking out five, giving up just one earned run.
Dishinger finished 3-for-3 at the plate with the two home runs and two RBI. Mabe and Robinson collected two hits each.
Kelsea Dorsey threw all seven innings for TSU. She allowed five earned runs on nine hits with three strikeouts and no walks. Cate Simon knocked both hits for the Bulldogs.
Game Two: Truman State 5, Central Missouri 1
Truman State scored four runs in the first three innings of their 5-1 win in game two. Lex Van Nostrad hit a two-run homer to center three batters into the game to start the scoring. They added another run on Ashley Murphy's triple in the third and scored two runs on Jennies errors.
The lone run from the Jennies came from Emily King's first home run of the season in the fourth.
Jordan Johnson started for UCM and threw six innings allowing five runs, two earned on seven hits with one strikeout and one walk. Robinson threw a scoreless inning in relief.
The Jens were able to put together nine hits, but left 10 runners on base, including leaving the bases loaded in the third. Mabe went 3-for-3 in the game, Alexis Koop and Giacone collected two-hits apiece.
Kindra Henze earned the win for the Bulldogs in the circle. She threw all seven innings and danced around trouble giving up nine hits and two walks, but striking out seven. Van Nostrand went 3-for-3 at the plate with two runs and two RBI.
The Jennies are back in MIAA this weekend when they host Missouri Western Friday afternoon March 11, at 3 p.m. and Northwest Missouri Saturday, March 12 at 1 p.m.