WARRENSBURG, Mo. (April 26, 2017) - Central Missouri Softball ended the season winners of eight of their last nine and earned the No. 3 seed in the 2017 MIAA Tournament. The double-elimination tournament starts with two games Thursday evening.
Opponents: No. 6 Northwest Missouri State (25-19, 16-10 MIAA)
No. 2 Pittsburg State (41-15, 18-8 MIAA) or No. 7 Southwest Baptist (31-19, 15-11 MIAA)
When: Thursday-Saturday, April 27-29
Thursday, April 27, 5 p.m. vs. Northwest Missouri State
Thursday, April 27, 7:30 p.m. vs. Pittsburg State or Southwest Baptist
Where: Oklahoma City, Okla. - ASA Hall of Fame Complex
How to Watch
Live stats will be available for all games. Links can be found at ucmathletics.com
Leading Off
• The Jennies finished the regular season at 28-25, winners of eight of their last nine and their last seven MIAA games.
• UCM went 17-9 in conference play to finish third in the league standings. The 17 wins are the third most all-time in team history.
• As the three seed, the Jennies will play six-seed Northwest Missouri State to open the MIAA Tournament.
• The three-day conference tournament runs Thursday-Saturday, April 27-29 in Oklahoma City, Okla. at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex.
• 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 Bearcats/Gorillas/Bearcats
• Anderson knows all three teams very well. She has a combined 85 games played (58-27) against the three with a .682 winning percentage. She has at least 18 wins against all three teams and 22 against Southwest Baptist.
Jennies at Neutral Sites
• Central Missouri played 22 neutral site games this season, all at the beginning of the year and went 9-13 in such games.
Milestones
• Senior
Lauren Mabe set the new all-time hit record at UCM with her double against Central Oklahoma, and now she continues to add to the record as she has 239. She'll need some help if she wants to crack the MIAA all-time top-10 which is 15 hits away.
• Mabe also tied her coach as the Jens all-time walks leader. Both Mabe and
Susan Anderson have 64 career walks. Mabe moved into second all-time in home runs with 31 this past weekend.
• Mabe isn't the only Jennie moving up the record books.
Makayla Schoonover has moved into fourth-place all-time in stolen bases with 70 and is six away from third place She is 28-30 this season, second in the MIAA.
•
Alex Leonhart is looking to crack the UCM top-10 in RBI. She has 91 career and needs just four more for 10th all-time.
• 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?
• Just about everyone. The Jens storm into the MIAA Tournament winners of four straight, eight of nine and seven straight MIAA games. This past weekend UCM hit .385 with 45 hits and 28 runs in seven games. They also gave up just six earned runs in 27 innings.
• Ever since Mabe record hit number 223, she has been on fire. She picked up seven more hits last week including two home runs and six RBI, moving her average up to .313 for the season.
• Mabe isn't the only one to move her average above .300.
Courtni Smith knocked six hits in four games and is now hitting .302 for the season. She also stole six bases including four in a game against Lincoln.
•
Katie Giacone won three of the Jennies four games in the circle. She got five outs in relief to earn a win with four strikeouts. She then threw two complete games allowing just two earned runs on five hits and had a 1.02 ERA last weekend.
Jennies in the MIAA Tournament
• 2017 marks the fourth straight season UCM has made the MIAA Tournament and 32nd overall. The Jennies went 1-2 last season and hold a 72-52 record all-time in MIAA Tournament games with six championships.
In the MIAA
• Pitcher's
Katie Giacone and
Alexa Bradley are in the MIAA top-15 in ERA with Giacone 14th at 2.75 and Bradley 15th at 2.80.
• Giacone is ninth in the league in opponent batting average, limiting the opposition to just a .228 average.
• Giacone is also tied for seventh in strikeouts with 103 and her 30 backwards K's, are seventh while Bradley has 27 punchouts looking, ninth in the league.
• With 167.1 innings, Bradley is up to sixth in the MIAA.
• Bradley is the MIAA leader with five saves while Giacone is tied for second with four.
•
Makayla Schoonover finished the regular season in the MIAA top-10 in batting average, hitting .378 which is seventh.
• Schoonover is also second in stolen bases with 28, one behind the league leader, which
Courtni Smith is tied for 10th with 14.
•
Lauryn Deer is tied for fourth in triples with four. Only three in the MIAA have more. Mabe's 12 doubles sit just outside the top-10.
• Smith has been moving runners along, her nine sacrifice bunts are tied for seventh.
Late Season Boon
• It isn't often a turning point comes in the middle of a doubleheader, but that's what seemed to happen for Jennies Softball. Since losing 8-0 at home to Southwest Baptist, falling to 6-14 for the season, the Jens have gone 22-11 over their last 33 games. They're hitting .296 over that span with a .353 on base percentage. Even their defense has improved to a .957 fielding percentage. Both
Alexa Bradley and
Katie Giacone have 10 wins over that span and the Jens team ERA is 2.65.
• Those numbers have gotten even better in their last 12 games as the Jennies roll into the MIAA Tournament winners of seven straight MIAA games. The team is batting .336 with six starters hitting at least .340. They've scored 67 runs in 12 games while giving up just 22 earned runs. Both Bradley and Giacone sport sub-2.00 ERA's and Giacone is 5-1 in six starts with 31 strikeouts.
Scouting the Opposition
Northwest Missouri Bearcats
SERIES HISTORY: The Jennies have matched up with the Bearcats more than any other team in their history. Northwest holds a tight 62-57 all-time advantage. The Jennies have won 11 of the last 15, but NWMSU swept UCM earlier this season in Maryville.
SCOUTING REPORT: The Bearcats finished in a three-way tie for fourth in the MIAA standings, but due to tiebreakers fell to the bottom to take the sixth seed. NWMSU ended the season getting swept at home by Washburn.
The Bearcars have won with pitching. Taylor Blackford is 12-7 on the season with a 2.16 ERA and Holly Posegate has been just as solid putting up an 11-7 record with a 2.83 ERA. NWMSU doesn't strike out a lot of batters, just 126 on the season, but their 78 walks given up are the second fewest in the league.
At the plate, Northwest has three starters batting .300 or better. Kaitlyn Weis leads the team hitting .364. The Bearcats .303 team batting average is fourth in the MIAA. Northwest is more of a power team than station-to-station. The Bearcats have slugged 34 home runs and 72 doubles. Of their 392 hits, 118 have been for extra bases, more than 30%. Weis also leads the team in the power department. She has 10 home runs and 43 RBI, both team-bests. NWMSU doesn't do much running on the bases with only 27 stolen bases, 13 from Torri Blythe.
Pittsburg State Gorillas
SERIES HISTORY: The Jennies and Gorillas have met over 70 times in their history with the Jennies holding a 46-27 all-time advantage. The Gorillas have won the last four meetings, including once at the MIAA Tournament last season.
SCOUTING REPORT: Pittsburg State is tied for second in the MIAA with a 9-3 record. They're 30 overall wins lead the MIAA. They have won four straight and 11 of their last 13.
No discussion of Pittsburg State is complete without mentioning pitcher Emmie Robertson. She leads the MIAA with a 0.74 ERA and holds a 28-6 record this season with 281 strikeouts in 226.1 innings. The Gorillas number two starter, Bree Cornett is also enjoying a fine season with a 2.94 ERA and 7-5 record. She has 58 strikeouts with just 19 walks in 83.1 innings.
On the offensive end, five Gorillas are batting over .300 for the season. Kala Holder leads the team with a .355 average. She's got 59 hits and 23 extra-base hits with 39 RBI. Pittsburg State has hit just 46 home runs in 56 games. Holder and Nicole Nease both have 10 to lead the squad. Nease's 39 RBI ties Holder for the team lead. The Gorillas aren't much of a base-stealing threat with just 21, one of the fewest in the MIAA. They are however third in on-base percentage, reaching base at a .381 clip.
Southwest Baptist Bearcats
SERIES HISTORY: Central Missouri holds a large lead in the all-time series with Southwest Baptist. They are 83-20 all-time against the Bearcats including eight of the past nine. The two teams split a doubleheader in Warrensburg in early March.
SCOUTING REPORT: Southwest Baptist earned the seventh seed in the MIAA Tournament with a 15-11 record. They split nine of their 10 MIAA doubleheaders.
At the plate, SBU is batting .272 led by Jaidyn Mawhinney's .409 average. The Bearcats aren't known for their power, hitting just 13 home runs in 18 games. Lauren Strobel is their leader in RBI with 30 and five home runs. SBU does a good job making contact, their 181 strikeouts are one of the fewest in the MIAA.
The Bearcats have been winning thanks to their pitching and defense. SBU is third in the MIAA with a 1.84 team ERA and lead the league with a .976 fielding percentage. Kacey Ayers is the team's wins leader with a 15-11 record. She has a 1.80 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 167.2 innings. Claire Miller has been just as dominant, pitching to a 13-5 record and 1.24 ERA, second in the MIAA. Her 163 strikeouts are third in the league and she's held opponents to just a .192 batting average.
