WARRENSBURG, Mo. (April 13, 2017) - After three weeks on the road, Central Missouri Softball will finish out the regular season with 10 straight home games over the next two weeks starting this weekend.
Opponents: Washburn (21-26, 8-10 MIAA)
Emporia State (27-19, 12-6 MIAA)
William Jewell (19-17)
When: Friday, April 14, 3 p.m. vs. Washburn
Saturday, April 15, 12 p.m. vs. Emporia State
Monday, April 17, 3 p.m. vs. William Jewell
Where: Warrensburg, Mo. - Jennies Field
How to Watch
Live stats will be available for all games this weekend. There will also be video provided for the doubleheader against William Jewell through the UCM Stretch Internet Portal. All links for live stats and video can be found at ucmathletics.com
Leading Off
•Central Missouri finished up their 10 game road trip at 3-7 after splitting with Missouri Western on Wednesday.
• The Jens are now home for the final 10 games of the regular season, starting with four games this weekend.
• At 10-8 the Jennies are currently tied for sixth in the MIAA standings. The top eight takes make up the MIAA Tournament field in Oklahoma City.
• The Jennies will play four games this weekend and then six next week in the final week of the regular season.
• 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. the Competition
• No team has given Coach Anderson more trouble than Emporia State. Coach Anderson's Jennies are just 4-24 against the Lady Hornets. She has fared much better against Washburn and William Jewell, holding a 16-9 record against the Ichabods and 3-1 record against the Cardinals.
Jennies at Home
• The last time Central Missouri was at home, major league baseball was still in spring training. The Jens have only played six games in Warrensburg this season, but have a 5-1 record and will play their final 10 games at home.
Milestones
• Senior
Lauren Mabe set the new all-time hit record at UCM with her double against Central Oklahoma last weekend. She currently stands at 225 hits, three more than Jakki Prater and Beth Savage. To reach number 10 on the MIAA all-time hit list, she'll need 30 more hits before the end of the season.
• Mabe is also in reach of the all-time runs record (22 away) and doubles (nine). She is climbing up the all-time RBI list and is currently fourth, four away from third. She also needs just two more walks to break her own coach's record. Coach Anderson's 64 walks have been a team record since 1997. Mabe currently has 63 free passes.
• Mabe isn't the only Jennie moving up the record books.
Makayla Schoonover has moved into fifth-place all-time in stolen bases with 62 and is five away from fourth place. She is 20-21 this season, second in the MIAA. Schoonover got a rare caught stealing against Northwest Missouri, just the fourth time in her career. She is 62-66 lifetime on the base paths (93.9%).
• In the circle, Jennies pitching has been locking down saves this season. They have nine as a team, a new single-season team record.
Alexa Bradley has five which is tied for the most in team history while
Katie Giacone has four.
Who's Hot?
• Consistency. Over the recent 10-game road trip, the Jens have started the same eight players in the field in each game. The designated player has been split evenly with
Aubrey Daniel and
Jordan Johnson each getting five starts.
• The outfield.
Lauryn Deer and
Makayla Schoonover each hit over .300 on the recent road trip and
Courtni Smith drove in a team-best four runs. The trio combined for 26 hits and eight runs scored.
•
Hailey Crabtree led the team in on base percentage during the trip, reaching base 37% of the time. She knocked five hits and drew a team-best four walks.
Saving the Best for Last
• Like Jennies Basketball during the winter, Jennies Softball has been getting it done late in games. Central Missouri has scored 29 sixth inning runs this season, their most in any inning. They overcame a two run defecit Wednesday, scoring four in the sixth and two more in the seventh to walk out of St. Joseph with a come-from-behind win. The Jens did the same thing to Missouri Southern earlier in the season, scoring 11 runs after the fifth inning.
In the MIAA
• Pitcher's
Katie Giacone and
Alexa Bradley sit just outside the MIAA top-10 in ERA. Giacone is 12th with a 3.06 ERA and Bradley is 13th at 3.11.
• Giacone is eighth in the league in opponent batting average, limiting the opposition to just a .238 average. She also has 22 backwards K's, which is eighth while Bradley has 20 punchouts looking, 10th in the league.
• With 128 innings, Bradley is up to eighth in the MIAA.
• Bradley is the MIAA leader with five saves while Giacone is tied for second with four.
• After her four-hit game against MWSU,
Makayla Schoonover is back in the MIAA top-10 in batting average, tied for fifth at .400.
• Schoonover is also second in stolen bases with 20, two behind the league leader.
•
Lauryn Deer is tied for second in triples with four. Only two in the MIAA have more.
•
Courtni Smith has been moving runners along, her nine sacrifice bunts are tied for second.
Runners On Base
• When it comes to difficult situations,
Katie Giacone has been able to rise to the occasion. When facing runners on base, she is holding opponents to just a .181 batting average. She's also be able to stop rallies, as teams are hitting just .185 with two outs.
• On the offensive end no Jennie has more success with runners in scoring position than
Makayla Schoonover. She's hitting .522 (12-23) in such situations.
Lauren Mabe has the most hits with RISP at 13 and is batting .325 in such situations. Schoonover,
Lauryn Deer and
Courtni Smith all have 12 hits.
Scouting the Opposition
Washburn Ichabods
SERIES HISTORY: The Jennies and Ichabods have done battle over the years with UCM holding a slight 46-41 advantage. The Ichabods swept the Jens in Topeka last year, and have won four of the last five.
SCOUTING REPORT: After a three game winning streak, Washburn is just 1-3 in their last four games. At 8-10 in the MIAA, the Ichabods are sitting just outside the MIAA top-8 in 10th place, outside of a playoff position.
Washburn has struggled offensively with just a .256 team batting average, next to last in the MIAA. Erica Harper leads the team hitting .366 and Savannah Moore is the only other Ichabod hitting above .300, batting .309. Harper is also the team's leader with 10 home runs and 26 runs batter in. Moore and Jordan Erickson each have a team-high 11 doubles.
The Ichabods have used a number of players in the circle this season. Kelsee Henry has started the most games, 25, and has a 9-12 record with a 3.25 ERA. Ashley Wills has made 23 appearances with 13 starts and has a 3.83 ERA and an 8-6 record. Lexi Crabtree sports a team-best 3.16 ERA and has made seven starts in 10 appearances. Samantha Carson has pitched in relief 17 times this season. She has a 3.33 ERA in 42 innings pitched.
Emporia State Lady Hornets
SERIES HISTORY: Only one team has more wins against Central Missouri than Emporia State and that's Northwest Missouri. The Lady Hornets are 58-36 all-time against the Jens and have won 18 of the last 21 matchups.
SCOUTING REPORT: After a down season in 2016, the Lady Hornets have already surpassed their win total in 2017. They've been on a roll of late winning nine of their last 12. They haven't been tested much on the road and are 4-4 away from Emporia.
The Lady Hornets pitching has leaned on ace Eryn Stockman. She has 18 wins in 24 starts with a 1.69 ERA, fourth in the MIAA. Her 178.1 innings pitched are second in the league and her 85 strikeouts are eighth. Stockman has thrown eight shutouts and is holding batters to a .218 batting average. Holly Hinkel is the Lady Hornets number two starter. She's started 20 games and thrown 108 innings with a 4.60 ERA and 6-10 record. She has 32 strikeouts to 33 walks on the season.
At the plate, Caitlin VanVleck leads the team hitting .370. The Lady Hornets aren't the most powerful bunch, hitting just 20 home runs on the season. Sarah Glass and Danielle Sprinkle each have four round-trippers and Sprinkle's 30 RBI are a team best. Emporia State likes to apply pressure to defenses and their 79 stolen bases are the most in the MIAA. Four Hornets have at least 10 stolen bags.
William Jewell Cardinals
SERIES HISTORY: Nonconference, in-state opponent William Jewell and the Jennies have only met 14 previous times, with UCM winning 12 of them. The two teams split last season in Liberty. Central Missouri is 6-0 all-time against the Cards in Warrensburg.
SCOUTING REPORT: The Cardinals entered this past weekend with a 19-17 record and 9-7 in the GLVC. They have been hot of late winning seven of their last eight games.
Anna Biondo has been one of the better pitchers in the GLVC with a 13-4 record and 1.73 ERA. She has struck out 98 batters in 117.2 innings pitched while walking just 17 batters. Of her 18 starts, she has completed 13. William Jewell has tried a few different bodies to make their other 18 starts. Sarah Lewis has gotten the most opportunities with nine starts and has a 5-5 record with a 3.28 ERA. The staff as a whole does a good job of limiting walks, they have issued just 68 in 235.1 innings.
Emily Hoover is the Cardinals big power threat in their lineup. She has 12 of WJC's 19 home runs and a team-leading 29 RBI. Brooke Bernard is one RBI behind Hoover with 28 and is hitting a team-best .398. As a team, the Cards are just shy of a .300 batting average at .297. Four starters are hitting at least .340 with an on-base percentage above .400.
