No. 6 Central Missouri Jennies (27-25, 13-13 MIAA) vs. No. 3 Central Oklahoma (36-16, 19-7 MIAA)
Thursday, April 28, 2016 | 5 p.m.
Oklahoma City, Okla.
UCM Game Notes | Live Stats
No. 6 Central Missouri Jennies (27-25, 13-13 MIAA) vs. No. 2 Northwest Missouri (36-12, 19-7 MIAA) or No. 7 Fort Hays State (21-28, 13-13 MIAA)
Thursday, April 28, 2015 | 7:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City, Okla.
WARRENSBURG, Mo. - No. 6 seed Central Missouri Jennies softball looks to defend their 2015 MIAA Tournament Championship this weekend. In their opening round matchup, the Jennies will take on No. 3 seed Central Oklahoma from the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. The Jennies will then take on either No. 2 Northwest Missouri or No. 7 Fort Hays State at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, in the double-elimination tournament.
Leading Off
With a 13-13 conference record, the Jennies clinched their third straight berth to the MIAA Championship Tournament.
Central Missouri will be the number six seed in this year's eight-team tournament.
The Jennies first round matchup is against three seed Central Oklahoma. Game two will be against either Northwest Missouri or Fort Hays State.
The MIAA Championships will take place at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla.
UCM went 4-6 in their final week of the regular season, with sweeps of Southwest Baptist and Lincoln.
The Jennies had arguably their most successful season in 2015 with a 49-16 record and MIAA regular season and tournament wins as well as a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight.
Quick Hits
Anderson vs. the Bronchos
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Susan Anderson has struggled historically against the Bronchos as coach of the Jennies. She has an all-time 5-9 record against UCO.
Anderson vs. the Bearcats
• Anderson has faced the Bearcats 27 times previously and holds an 18-9 record against Northwest Missouri.
Anderson vs. the Tigers
• Anderson has gone back and forth with Fort Hays State in her history as coach of the Jennies, holding a 16-12 all-time record.
Jennies at a Neutral Site
• This season the Jennies have played to a 8-9 record at neutral sites.
Jennies in the Postseason
• 2016 will mark the 31st MIAA Tournament appearance for the Jennies in their history. They've gone 71-50 in those previous years including 5-1 last season, winning their seventh MIAA Tournament Championship.
Opening Acts
• Jennies leadoff hitters are hitting .378 (131-347) this season.
Ali Jo Rogers, the team's leadoff hitter for all 40 games, is 37-87 (.425) 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 43 first inning runs, their most in any inning. When leading after one inning UCM is 15-5 and 15-3 when leading after two.
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. She leads the Jennies with 32 RBI and 13 of her 42 hits have gone for extra bases.
Queen of Steals
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Ali Jo Rogers continues to step on the gas when she gets on base. She's second in the MIAA lead with 39 this season. She set the Jennies single-season record last season with 49 and is the career leader, currently with 129. Christen Belcher from Truman State is the MIAA all-time stolen base leader with 153 steals from 2005-08.
Freaky Friday's
• A bad omen for the Jennies is their record on Thursdays and Fridays. UCM is 0-2 this season on Thursdays and 8-11 on Fridays, their only days this season with a losing record. Comparatively, on Saturday's, UCM has gone 10-8. On Sunday's UCM is 2-1 in three games played and they are 7-5 in midweek action.
Hit Parade
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Emily King and
Alex Leonhart became the 48th and 49th Jennies to ever reach 100 career hits. They both did so in game one of the regular season finale against Lindenwood.
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Lauren Mabe is also climbing up the Jennies all-time leaderboards. At 181 hits, Mabe is just outside the UCM top-10. She is also third all-time in home runs with 26 and is looking to become the third Jennie to ever hit 30 in a career. Finally, Mabe is just one double shy of cracking the top-10. Mabe also hit three doubles last weekend, giving her 35 for her career, ninth most at UCM.
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Ali Jo Rogers hit 200 career games played earlier this season, becoming the 11th Jennie to hit that mark. Now with 208, Rogers is 9th all-time. She's two shy from catching her coach, who played in 210 games. Rogers also has a chance to reach 200 career hits. With 187 hits thus far, she is 13 hits away from becoming the fifth Jennie to ever reach 200 hits.
Current Streaks
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Emily King is in the midst of her second double-digit on base streak of the season. She has the current longest on-base streak at 10 games and has a seven-game hitting streak as well, after already having a 14 game streak earlier in the season.
Hailey Crabtree and
Alex Leonhart are also on extended streaks with Crabtree holding both on a nine-game on base streak and eight-game hitting streak. Leonhart has an eight-game on base streak while
Lauren Mabe is on a six-game hitting streak.
Scouting the Opposition
Central Oklahoma
SERIES HISTORY: The Jennies lead the all-time series 16-13. The two-teams split in Warrensburg back on April 9. The Jens held the Bronchos to eight runs in two games, their second fewest in any doubleheader this season.
SCOUTING REPORT: The Bronchos enter the MIAA tournament with a 36-16 record and 19-7 in the MIAA. The ended the season winning six of their final seven games and are 6-5 at neutral sites.
This Bronchos team is all about offense. They lead the MIAA in: batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, and RBI. The team has mashed 72 home runs, and their .438 on base percentage and .591 slugging percentage is third in the nation. They've scored 391 runs on 545 hits and have 96 doubles and 19 triples with a .360 batting average.
All seven of their offensive qualifiers and one non starter has hit at least five home runs. Lexi Watson leads the team with 14 and 60 RBI. Morgan Heard is number two in the country hitting .492. She has eight home runs and is second with 50 RBI and leads the team having stolen 13 bases and scored 66 runs.
On the mound, the Bronchos have relied on Jessi Walker and Nicole Brady. Walker's started 24 games and pitched 137 innings with a 14-7 record and 3.99 ERA. Brady is at 139.2 innings even on the season with a 14-4 record and 3.96 ERA. Walker leads the team with 125 strikeouts, but has also walked 84 batters.
Northwest Missouri
SERIES HISTORY: The Bearcats and Jennies also have a storied history having met 116 previous times, the most of any opponent in Jennies history. The Jennies swept the Bearcats in Warrensburg back in March.
SCOUTING REPORT: The Bearcats finished the season as the number two seed in the MIAA with a 36-12 record and 19-7 in the MIAA. Northwest Missouri went 11-3 in their final 14 games.
The Bearcats have gotten it done in the circle with Kendle Schieber leading the way with a 20-5 record and 1.87 ERA with 110 strikeouts. Sarah Baldwin has gone 10-5 with a 2.37 ERA and the Bearcats have a 2.25 team ERA through 48 games and 10 shutouts. Schieber is third and Baldwin is fifth in the MIAA in ERA and Schieber is tied for second in wins.
The Bearcats also have five starters hitting at least .348. Rebecca Maher leads the way with a .386 batting average. Tori Blythe is right behind her at .379. Blythe leads the team with 64 hits and 20 stolen bases. Alexis Kelsey's 12 hits and 43 RBI lead the team. Jessica Rawie and Madison Jones each have six home runs. The Bearcats have a .967 fielding percentage while their opponents have committed 96 errors and sport a .934 fielding percentage.
Fort Hays State
SERIES HISTORY: The Jennies and Tigers have gone back and forth in their series history. UCM holds a 17-14 all-time advantage after splitting with the Tigers earlier this season. The Jennies defeated the Tigers 5-3 in the their MIAA Tournament opener in 2015.
SCOUTING REPORT: The Tigers finished the season on a four game wining streak to get to 21-28 and 13-13 in the MIAA. Prior to winning of their final 10 games, the Tigers had lost nine straight.
Tori Beltz is the big bat in the Tigers lineup with 10 home runs and 36 RBI. Rilee Krier leads the team with a .361 batting average and 22 stolen bases. She scored 35 runs and has a .420 on base percentage.
In the circle, Paxton Duran leads the team with 15 wins. She sports a 15-17 record and 2.67 ERA, sixth in the MIAA. She has 197 strikeouts which is also second in the conference and her 71 strikeouts looking are tops in the conference.
