WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 15, 2017) - Central Missouri Jennies Softball will participate in its third straight weekend tournament. This weekend, they'll be in Bentonville, Ark. for six games at the Eight-State Classic, hosted by the University of Arkansas-Monticello.
When: Friday-Sunday, Feb. 17-19
Where: Bentonville, Ark. - Bentonville High School's Tiger Athletic Complex and Memorial Park
Opponents: No. 18 Harding - Friday, Feb. 17, 1 p.m.
No. 5 Southern Arkansas - Friday, Feb. 17 - 3 p.m.
Henderson State - Saturday, Feb. 18 - 3 p.m.
#24 Missouri St. Louis - Saturday, Feb. 18 - 5 p.m.
Illinois-Springfield - Sunday, Feb. 19 - 9 a.m.
Minnesota State-Mankato - Sunday, Feb. 19 - 11 a.m.
Leading Off
Central Missouri went 2-3 last week at the NFCA Lead-Off Classic. The Jennies ended the weekend with a walk-off win against Georgia College
At 5-6 the Jennies are in sixth place in the MIAA standings. All but one conference team has started their season, and no league games have been played yet.
Low-scoring games has been the theme thus far. In seven of the Jens 13 games, the winning team has needed four runs or less.
With the Jennies facing No. 22 Missouri-St. Louis, it will be the third week in a row UCM is facing a ranked opponent. The Jennies lost 7-5 last week to No. 17 St. Leo.
Central Missouri was picked to finish fifth in the 2017 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll. The Jennies tallied 105 points in the poll.
2017 will mark the 46th season of Jennies softball. It will also be the 11th season under the direction of Head Coach
Susan Anderson.
Quick Hits
Anderson vs. this week's Opponents
• Against this week's opponents, Head Coach
Susan Anderson has a combined 19-16 record. She's had the most success against Southern Arkansas (3-1) and UMSL (6-4), but has losing records to Harding (0-1) and Henderson State (5-6).
Jennies at a Neutral Site
• Central Missouri has started off the year 4-6 at neutral sites. Under Coach Anderson, UCM is 118-110 in neutral site games during her 10 years.
Milestones
• Senior
Lauren Mabe has a chance to become the fifth Jennie to ever reach 200 career hits. She has 188 though her first three seasons. After 11 games this season, Mabe needs just three more to hit 200.
• In the dugout, coach
Susan Anderson needs two more wins to reach 500 for her career, in its 18th season. 317 of Coach Anderson's wins has come at the helm of Central Missouri, second-most in school history.
Tight Rope Walking
• Through 11 games, nine have been decided by two-runs or fewer. Central Missouri is 4-5 in those games, but 4-3 in games decided by just one run.
Three-Run Rule
• Three seems to be the magic number for the Jens so far this season. When Central Missouri reaches three runs in a game, they are 4-1. However they have scored two runs or fewer in six of their 11 games and are 1-5 in those contests.
Reached Base Streak
• Junior catcher
Allie Dishinger has gotten off to a fast start at the "Dish". She is the only Jennie to successfully reach base in all 11 games. She shares the team lead with nine hits and has a team-best .321 batting average, .500 slugging percentage, .472 on-base percentage and eight walks.
Balls in Play
• One big disparity between the Jennies offense and the opposition is putting balls in play. Central Missouri is striking out in 24% of their at bats, while Jennies pitchers are striking out the opposition in just nine percent of their at bats.
Scoring Early
• Most of the Jennies runs this season have come early in games. The Jens two highest-scoring innings are the second (10 runs scored) and the third (eight runs). In the first four innings of games, Central Missouri is averaging 0.63 runs per inning. That number dips to 0.36 runs per inning in the fifth-seventh innings.
Worm Killer
• One reason Jennies freshman pitcher
Alexa Bradley has been so successful has been her ability to keep the ball on the ground. While she isn't a strikeout pitcher, just 11 in 37.1 innings, Bradley has induced 63 ground ball outs, and three double-plays. With 63% of her outs coming on the ground, Bradley has been able to keep the ball in the yard, giving up just seven extra-base hits.
Know Your Position
• Central Missouri has trotted out a stable starting nine this season. Of the eight fielding positions, only third base has had more than one starter. The other seven positions have all been started by the same person in each game.
Scouting the Opposition
No. 18 Harding Lady Bison
SERIES HISTORY: The only time the Jennies and Lady Bison have ever faced off was last year in this very tournament. Harding came away with an 8-2 win, scoring six runs in the fourth inning and the Jennies only collected three hits.
SCOUTING REPORT: Harding is undefeated to start the season at 6-0. At last weekend's tournament, also in Bentonville, the Lady Bisons defeated three MIAA teams, Missouri Western, Northwest Missouri and Pittsburg State. In four games last week, Harding allowed just one run in 26 innings.
That Lady Bison pitching staff has a combined 1.23 ERA in 40 innings pitched. Hannah Johnson was just named the GAC Pitcher of the Week. She threw 12 scoreless innings against the Griffons and Gorillas with 14 strikeouts, while opponents hit just .143 against her. Both Johnson and Autumn Humse are 3-0 to start the season. Humes has a 1.25 ERA in 22 innings with 25 strikeouts and just five walks.
At the plate, the Lady Bison haven't needed to score a ton, but are still averaging more than five runs per game. Brookelynn Moon is hitting .529 with nine hits in 17 at bats. Peyton Mills has a .412 batting average with one of the team's four home runs and a team-leading six RBI. Harding has also been known to steals some bases, going 22-for-24 on the base paths.
Defensively, Harding has committed just five errors in 40 innings in the field. They have a .971 fielding percentage and are yet to allow a stolen base this season.
No. 5 Southern Arkansas Lady Mule Riders
SERIES HISTORY: Central Missouri holds a 3-1 series advantage over Southern Arkansas, all coming between 2009-2013. In their last meet, Central Missouri picked up an 8-3 win over the Lady Muleriders at the Arkansas-Monticello Classic.
SCOUTING REPORT: The Lady Mule Riders have picked up where they left off in 2016. They finished fourth at last seasons College World Series, losing to eventual champions North Alabama in the semi-final round. Through eight games, SAU is 7-1 in 2017.
Southern Arkansas has been an offensive juggernaut, averaging 10.5 runs per game. The Lady Mule Riders are led by reigning GAC Hitter of the Week Jill Roye. Last week, Roye hit .533 with two runs and 14 RBI. She's batting .548 for the season with a team-best 23 RBI and 17 hits in 31 at bats. SAU has slugged 14 home runs and 15 doubles. Of their 76 hits, 31 have gone for extra bases.
The Lady Mule Riders haven't needed the best pitching, but it has been good enough thus far. SAU pitchers have a combined 3.64 ERA. Victoria Taylor has been the leader of the staff with a 5-0 record and 2.53 ERA. She has struck out 33 batters in 27.2 innings. Kaylee Garner is 2-0 with a 3.13 ERA, striking out 20 in just 15.2 innings.
Henderson State Reddies
SERIES HISTORY: Central Missouri has met Henderson State four times in the last three years with a 2-2 record. All-time UCM is 5-6 against the Reddies. The Jens got wins when they mattered, twice defeating the Reddies in the 2015 Central Regional.
SCOUTING REPORT: Henderson State has struggled, losing six in a row. They opened the season with 9-2 and 8-1 wins over Northeastern State and Lincoln, but have lost their last six, including four to MIAA schools, two to Missouri Western.
The Reddies are having a hard time scoring runs. In their last six games, HSU has been shut out three times, and are averaging just 1.3 runs per game.
Despite the lack of offense, HSU pitching has kept them in games. Opponents are hitting .214 off of Reddies pitchers. Michelle Cayleigh Guthrie is 1-1 with a 3.74 ERA while Michelle Sorenen is 1-4 with a 4.60 ERA.
Bethany Allen has been the Reddies lone threat at the plate, hitting .357 with 10 hits and seven RBI.
No. 24 Missouri-St. Louis Tritons
SERIES HISTORY: The Tritons and Jennies have a long history dating back to 1978. The Jennies hold a 31-22 all-time record against Missouri-St. Louis and are 15-8 against the Tritons at neutral sites. The two teams haven't met since 2014 when UMSL came away with a 6-2 win at the Arkansas-Monticello Classic.
SCOUTING REPORT: Missouri-St. Louis enjoyed great success last year, advancing to the regional championship game. Through 10 games, the season has already had a few starts and stops, but the Tritons are currently riding a three-game winning streak.
Carly Kingery has helped with the resurgance of late. She was named the GLVC Pitcher of the Week for last week. Kingery went 2-1 wtih a 0.41 ERA, giving up just one earned run while striking out 17 and holding opponents to a .153 batting average. For the year, Kingery is 4-2 with a 0.97 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 36 innings.
At the plate, UMSL hittign .282 as a team. Rachel Mathhies has 10 hits in 29 at bats and a .412 on-base percentage. Reagan Osborn is the Tritons hits leader with 12. Serena Olson has a team-best two home runs and 11 RBI while batting .364 on the season.
The Tritons are a station-to-station team, having attempted just one stolen base all season.
Illinois-Springfield Prairie Stars
SERIES HISTORY: 2017 will mark the fourth straight year these two teams have played. Central Missouri holds a 2-1 edge in the season series and have won each of the last two meetings.
SCOUTING REPORT: Illinois-Springfield is yet to play a game yet this season. A year ago, the Prairie Stars were 24-26 and failed to make it to the GLVC Tournament.
The Priarie Stars top pitcher from a year ago, Jaycee Craver is back for just her sophomore season. Craver went 15-12 in 2016 with a 3.62 ERA and 121 strikeouts.
Returning for her senior season is Amanda Gosbeth. Gosbeth slugged seven home runs in 2016 to go along with 22 RBI, both of which were second on the team. She stole 19 bases in 21 attempts and scored a team-high 28 runs.
The Prairie Stars top three hitters for average from 2016 all are not back for 2017.
Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks
SERIES HISTORY: Central Missouri holds a 10-8 all-time lead against the Mavericks, having first met in 1980. The regional foes met twice last year. MSU won 6-0 in St. Cloud, and the Jennies won a 3-0 game in St. Joseph in the snow.
SCOUTING REPORT: The Mavericks opened their season last week going 4-0 at the St. Cloud Invitational. Minnesota State pitchers threw three shutouts and allowed just three runs while scoring 35 runs themselves.
Jess Meidl was named the NSIC Player of the Week going 9-12 at the plate with a home run, seven RBI and six runs scored. Amber Kral hit two home runs for MSU with four RBI. The Mavericks hit .394 as a team while their opponents just .108.
MSU did work on the bases with 12 stolen bases and committed only one defensive error in 22 innings in the field.
Part of that low opponent batting average was the work of Libby Bemis. She gave up just four hits in 12 innings, pitching two shutouts. She struck out 19 batters. Coley Reis also pitched a shut out. She has a 2.10 ERA in 10 innings with 13 strikeouts.
