Softball to Host Wednesday Doubleheader Against Missouri Southern

WARRENSBURG, Mo. - Central Missouri Softball (16-14, 5-3 MIAA) comes home for a midweek doubleheader Wednesday, March 23 against Missouri Southern. First pitch is at 1 p.m. from Jennies Field at the South Recreation Complex.

Quick Hits
Anderson vs. the Lions
• During her tenure as coach of the Jennies, Susan Anderson has gone 15-6 against Missouri Southern. That includes a sweep of the Lions in 2015 after the two teams had split in 2013 and 2014.

Jennies at Home
• Central Missouri has gone 3-3 in 2016 at Jennies Field in Warrensburg. UCM swept their last doubleheader against Northwest Missouri. The Jens were 17-2 at home in 2015.

Inside the 15-0 Win
• A closer look inside the Jennies 15-0 win over Concordia-St. Paul has some startling revelations. The 15 runs and 18 hits are both a season-high for the Jens. The Jens scored 16 runs three times in 2014, the last time scoring at least 15 runs in a game.
• The 15 run difference is the greatest in a game for the Jennies since UCM defeated Maryville 18-1 in 2011.
• It is also the largest shutout for the Jennies in 20 years. The last time Central Missouri had that large of a shutout was March 11, 1996 against Lincoln, also a 15-0 final.

Getting Started
• Though the Jennies have hit .261 through their first 30 games, UCM has done a good job of getting on base to lead off innings. Batters leading off innings are hitting .396 (78-for-197) this season. Ali Jo Rogers, the team's leadoff hitter for all 30 games is 20-for-48 (.417) when starting an inning. She also has led off two games with home runs.
• The Jennies are also doing a good job of getting on the board early in games. UCM has 20 first inning runs and 23 in the second inning, their most in any frame. When leading after one inning UCM is 9-3 and 9-1 when leading after two. However the Jens are also just 1-6 when trailing after one and 1-9 when trailing after two. In a small sample size, Madison Hood is batting .600 (6-10) leading off an inning.

Power District
• Central Missouri's offense has come to life in their last four games at the Missouri Western Regional Crossover. The team hit .366 over that span with 29 runs scored and 24 RBI.   
• The Jennies also hit four home runs in those games, two each from Allie Dishinger and Lauren Mabe. Dishinger now leads the team with five home runs and is slugging .620 with half of her 14 hits going for extra bases. The Jennies would like to get more runners on base in front of Dishinger though, as she only has eight RBI despite the power numbers.

Little Alex is Still a Big Hit
• Standing at five feet, one inch there's no wonder why teammates call her "Little" Alex Leonhart. There's been nothing "little" about her bat though this season. It actually started in 2015 when Leonhart would routinely come up with timely hits, including two walk-off singles and a game-winning home run to clinch the MIAA regular season. This season, Leonhart may be the shortest cleanup hitter in the NCAA after having been placed their the last 10 games. She leads the Jennies with 19 RBI and six of her 20 hits have gone for extra bases. She capped her weekend in St. Joseph, Mo. by collecting a career-high four hits against Concordia-St. Paul with two runs and two RBI.

Turning a Page
• In her last four outings senior Allison Tonyan has gone 3-0 allowing just one run in 18.2 innings. She has thrown back-to-back complete game shutouts against Minnesota State-Mankato and Concordia-St. Paul. Tonyan has seen her ERA drop by more than three full runs from 6.63 on Feb. 20 to it's current 3.53. Tonyan has been effectively wild as she has issued 19 walks in those 18.2 innings, but only 11 hits and has stranded 30 baserunners.

Goose Eggs
• Through the Jennies first 30 games, 12 have ended via shut out. Central Missouri is 6-6 in games where one team doesn't score including having won two in a row. All of last season, the Jennies had seven shutouts, with UCM going 6-1.

Streaks Ahead
• Emily King is the latest Jennie to have a 10-game on base streak this season. Ali Jo Rogers' season-high 11 game streak came to and end two weeks ago and Alex Leonhart also had a 10-game streak this season. Leonhart is currently working on a four-game reached-base streak. The Jennies record (in existence since 2003) is 22 games set by Rogers last season and Rachel Adams in 2006.

Rotating Outfield
• In 30 games the Jennies have used eight different outfielders as they look for the best combination. Freshman Brittany Kendall got the last four starts in right field and rewarded the coaches going 3-10 with four runs, three RBI and a stolen base.  

Scouting the Opposition
Missouri Southern
Series History:  One of the Jennies lonest tenured rivals, UCM holds a 54-39 all-time record against the Lions. The Jennies swept Missouri Southern last year in Joplin and the two teams have split in the two season's prior.

Scouting Report: Missouri Southern is off to a 15-20 start and are 3-5 in MIAA play. The Lions were also at the MissourI Western Crossover where they went 2-4. They've split their last three MIAA doubleheaders with SBU, UNK and FHSU.

In the circle, Ashley Lutz has been the ace of the staff with a 2.70 ERA and 8-9 record. Her 124.2 innings pitched is second in the MIAA and she has 90 strikeouts and 76 walks. Taurean Guzman and Kali Hodson each have 53.1 innings pitched with five and 10 starts respecively.

The Lions have slugged 21 home runs with 10 coming from Sarah Williams to lead the team, as do her 30 RBI which is third in the MIAA. MSSU leads the league in stolen bases with 68, getting 24 each from Abi Corbett and Alana Hester. Corbett is also hitting .378.

Last Time Out
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - In the final day of the Missouri Western Regional Crossover, the Jennies offense was at it's finest scoring a season-high 15 runs and knocked a season-high 18 hits in a 15-0 win over Concordia. The win is also Head Coach Susan Anderson's 300th at UCM and puts the Jennies at 16-14 this season.
The Jennies scored at least one run in every inning. Emily Robinson got the scoring started with a two-out RBI single in the first.
Allison Tonyan pitched out of trouble in the first, escaping a two-on, two-out threat to get the Jennies back to the plate. The Jennies put two more runs on the board with an RBI single from Ali Jo Rogers and a sacrifice fly from Emily King.
Central Missouri tacked on in the third Alex Leonhart crossed the plate on a double steal attempt. UCM made it 7-0 in the fourth getting an RBI double from King and two-RBI single from Leonhart.
Tonyan ran into trouble in the bottom of the frame, loading the bases with two out, but induced a ground ball to short to escape the threat. Tonyan threw her second-straight shutout win to move to 4-4 on the season. She threw all five innings and allowed just two hits while striking out six and walking six.
The Jennies put on an offensive display in the fifth, scoring eight runs in the inning helped out by home runs from Lauren Mabe and Allie Dishinger. Keelia Martin, Rogers and King also had RBI in the inning.
The last time the Jennies scored 15 runs was almost two years ago to the date, March 19, 2014 when they scored 16 against Missouri S&T. The 18 hits are the most in a game since the Jens also knocked 18 last year against Upper Iowa.
Every starter scored at least one run and seven of the nine picked up at least one hit. Leonhart knocked a career-high four hits and scored two runs while driving in two more.  Dishinger finished 3-for-4 with a HR and three RBI. King also drove in three runs and went 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly. The Jens also got three stolen bases, one each from Rogers, Makayla Schoonover and Hailey Crabtree.
Central Missouri returns to MIAA action this week with a doubleheader against Missouri Southern Wednesday, March 23 with a 1 p.m. start in Warrensburg.