WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Feb. 7, 2018) - Central Missouri Jennies won't let the weather stop them from playing softball this week. UCM's games, scheduled for the weekend have been moved up to Thursday and Friday were they'll play four total games.
Opponents: Arkansas-Monticello Blossoms
Northwest Missouri Bearcats
Arkansas Tech Golden Suns
Harding Lady Bisons
When: Thursday-Friday, Feb. 8-9
Arkansas-Monticello: Thursday, Feb. 8 - 10 a.m.
Northwest Missouri: Thursday, Feb. 8 - 12 p.m.
Arkansas Tech: Friday, Feb. 9 - 10 a.m.
Harding: Friday, Feb. 9 - 2 p.m.
Where: Bentonville, Ark. - Hosted by the University of Arkansas-Monticello
Leading Off
• Central Missouri went 3-3 at last weekend's Southeastern Oklahoma Softball Classic, splitting each day.
• These games, originally scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, have been moved up by two days due to inclement weather in the area. The game times and opponents will remain the same.
• UCM will play four games this weekend, taking on hosts Arkansas-Monticello, MIAA-foe, Northwest Missouri in a non-conference game, Arkansas Tech in a rematch from last weekend and Harding.
• Central Missouri was picked to finish fourth in the 2017 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll. The Jennies tallied 133 points in the poll.
• 2018 will mark the 47th season of Jennies softball. It will also be the 12th season under the direction of Head Coach
Susan Anderson.
Quick Hits
Anderson vs. the Opponents
• Coach Anderson is no stranger to any of these opponents. Her Jennies have played all four at least once since the 2016 season. Arkansas Tech and Harding each have a winning record aganist Anderson with the Golden Suns winning six of nine matchups and Harding both games. Central Missouri is 18-12 against MIAA rival Northwest Missouri. They are 4-0 all-time against Arkansas-Monticello.
Jennies at Neutral Sites
• Central Missouri's opening weekend saw them play in five neutral site games, during which the team went 3-2.
Walk It Off
• Two of Central Missouri's three wins last weekend came in their final at bats and both were done by newcomers. Central Missouri gave up leads in the seventh inning of both games, only to end it in the bottom half of the inning. Against East Central, a bases-loaded walk brought in the tying run. No bother, as half an inning later,
Payton Summers came through with a pinch hit single, to score
Kaitlyn Markin.
• Just one day later, Oklahoma Christian tied the game with two in the ninth inning. This time it was
Taylor Dames who stepped up with a two-out RBI single scoring
Alexis Koop who had doubled two batters priot.
Milestones
• There are a handful of Jennies closing in on 100 career hits.
Makayla Schoonover is the closest with 90. She also could become the second Jennie to ever steal 100 career bases. She stands at 70 which is the fourth-most in team history.
Allie Dishinger has 82 hits and
Katie Giacone 76. All three are in their senior seasons.
Hailey Crabtree, a junior has 68 hits.
•
Emily King, who has already surpassed 100 career hits, is also four home runs away from joining the all-time top-10 list.
•
Alexa Bradley, who made five saves last year is already tied for fourth all-time and
Katie Giacone's four are tie for sixth. The UCM record is 12, set by Mandee Berg.
Hanging with Miss Koop
•
Alexis Koop is off to the best start of her career. She has three hits in eight at bats for a .375 batting average. Koop's three hits are already just one shy of her season total from a year ago. Koop has also shown some versatility on defense, making her first career start at first base last weekend.
Lineup Creativity
• Jennies Coach
Susan Anderson was quite the lineup tinkerer last weekend as UCM did not trot out the same lineup twice. Four different Jennies played all six games and batted in three different spots in the lineup. Not including pitchers, 12 different Jennies all started at least one game. The only 2-0 record or better when a certain player was a starter was Brie Murry. The Jens were 2-0 when she started at first base.
Lefty Dominant
• The Jennies offense seemed to enjoy facing left-handed pitching last weekend. UCM had 33 at bats against a southpaw and came away with nine hits for a .273 average. Central Missouri hit just .222 against right handers.
Alexis Koop,
Kaitlyn Markin and
Courtni Smith all had multiple hits against lefties. Smith, a lefty herself, was 3-4.
Productive Outs
• Central Missouri made quite a few productive outs last week as 17 runners advanced on an out. The only problem was that the Jennies subsequently hit just .214 with runners in scoring position and .182 with two outs.
Courtni Smith was the only Jennies with multiple two-out hits. She finished 3-5.
Worm Killer
• One thing that has not changed from last season is that
Alexa Bradley continues to be a ground ball pitcher. In 11 innings, Bradley has induced 21 ground balls, while also striking out eight and getting three to fly out. Of her 33 outs this season, 63% have come on ground balls.
Glove Work
• Central Missouri struggled with errors in 2017, committing 81 and sporting a .951 fielding percentage. So far this year, that number has greatly increased as UCM has just five errors and a .970 fielding percentage. The Jennies have not committed an error in three of their six games and are 2-1 in those games. No Jennie has made more than one error yet this season.
Last Time Out
DURANT, Okla. (Feb. 4, 2018) - Central Missouri Jennies Softball wrapped up their opening weekend in dramatic fashion. For the second straight day, the Jennies earned a walk-off win, this one in the weekend's final game to send the team home happy.
Game 2: Central Missouri 5, Oklahoma Christian 4
Play by Play
• Things didn't start out well for the Jennies. After a one-out single and stolen base, Bridget White lifted a pitch over the center field fence for a two-run home run.
• The Jens answered right away as three of the first four batters all reached base.
Taylor Dames led off with a walk.
Makayla Schoonover moved her over with a base hit to right. After
Allie Dishinger sacrificed the runners over,
Courtni Smith laced a single to left to score both runs and tie the game.
• The Jennies took the lead with a run in the third. With
Taylor Dames on first, Schoonover hit one back to the pitcher who fired wide of the bag, allowing Dames to score all the way from first.
• UCM added an insurance run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by
Payton Summers.
• The Jens would need that run as the Eagles plated two runs in the seventh. A bases loaded single tied the game at four.
Jordan Johnson came on in relief and limited the damage retiring the final two batters.
• It didn't take too long for the Jennies to answer with the winning run in the seventh.
Alexis Koop knocked a one-out double and with two-outs, Dames found the outfield grass and Koop scored the winning run.
Jennies Stat Leaders
•
Jordan Johnson earned the win working two-thirds of an inning.
•
Shelby Clark started and threw three innings, giving up two runs on two hits with three walks and one strikeout.
Alexa Bradley tossed 3.1 innings, giving up two runs on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
• Koop's double was the Jennies only extra base hit of the game. She finished 2-3 and scored twice.
• Dames reached base twice with a single and a walk. She also scored twice and drove in the game-winner.
•
Courtni Smith collected a pair of RBI and went 1-3 at the plate.
For the Eagles
• Madison Hagood started and went the first four innings. She allowed four runs on four hits with a walk and four strikeouts.
• Madison Nordyke took the loss after pitching two innings, giving up one run on two hits with a strikeout.
• Bridget White drove in all four runs for the Eagles. She was 2-4 with a home run and a run scored.
• Nordyke also reached base three times with a hit, two walks and a run scored.
Game One: Rockhurst 6, Central Missouri 0
Play by Play
• Rockhurst scored in four consecutive innings and held the Jennies off the board in their 6-0 win.
• The scoring started on a two-out, two-RBI single by Megan Freitag.
• The Hawks added on in the third on a home run from Lauren Marks.
• Freitag plated another two with a home run in the fourth and the Hawks added their final run on a two-out RBI single in the fifth.
• The Jennies offense struggled, with only two base-runners reaching third base.
Jennies Stat Leaders
•
Sarah Brown started and took the loss. She lasted two innings and gave up two runs on three hits with a strikeout.
•
Katie Giacone came on next and pitched three innings, giving up four runs and seven hits with three strikeouts.
•
Jordan Johnson tossed two scoreless innings, giving up just two hits.
• UCM collected three hits, one each from
Taylor Dames,
Allie Dishinger and
Kaitlyn Markin.
•
Alexis Koop reached base with a walk.
For the Hawks
• Shannon Greene tossed a complete game allowing three hits and striking out four while walking only one.
• Megan Freitag was 3-3 with a home run and four RBI.
• Hanna Stam and Emily Truitt each collected two hits. Truitt also picked up an RBI and run scored.
• Madison Wagner was 2-4.
News and Notes
• Two of Central Missouri's three wins have come via walk-off. Newcomers
Payton Summers and
Taylor Dames had the game-winning RBI.
•
Jordan Johnson pitched 2.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
•
Taylor Dames was the only Jennie to collect a hit in each game.
• The Jennies three hits against Rockhurst are a season low.
• Rockhurst's 7-8-9 hitters were a combined 6-10 with three runs, five RBI and a home run.
Scouting the Opposition
Arkansas-Monticello
SERIES HISTORY: The two teams have met four times with the Jennies taking the win each time. The Jennies last played Arkansas-Monticello in 2016 and came away with a 6-1 win.
SCOUTING REPORT: The University of Arkansas at Monticello softball team has been selected fifth overall in the 2018 Great American Conference pre-season poll. Arkansas-Monticello is coming off a 34-23 (26-16 GAC) finish last season, with a fourth place regular season finish in the GAC. The Blossoms were defeated in the GAC Championship Tournament during the second round after losses to Harding and Southern Nazarene.
UAM will welcome back 13 total returners to the 2018 team, including seven starters from a year ago, which includes seniors Ashton Currey, Skyler Anderson, Aubree Head, junior Kali Bolter, and sophomores Jordan Herbner, Maranda Clendenin, and Kaylee Freeman. Seniors Alyson Finnigan, Maylie Bain, and Mallory McWhorter, along with junior Paisley Pratt, and sophomores Kristen McNabb, and Cailyn Bolick return to the squad in 2018 as well.
Freeman will look to lead UAM in the circle this season after posting an 8-12 overall record in 22 total appearances with an earned run average of 2.03 last season. Kaylee went on to throw 131.1 total innings while recording 11 complete games and two shutouts in her first season with the Blossoms. Bain also compiled a solid 4-2 record in seven overall appearances.
Northwest Missouri
SERIES HISTORY: The Jennies and Bearcats have a longstanding rivalry dating back to 1976. The two teams met three times last year with the Bearcats winning each one, including the MIAA Tournament opener, 11-2 in five innings.
SCOUTING REPORT: Northwest Missouri played a hand in ending the Jennies season in 2017, defeating UCM in the opener of the MIAA Tournament. The Bearcats went 29-21 and 16-10 in the MIAA and were 2-2 in the MIAA Tournament. Three of the Bearcats five All-MIAA selections are back this season in Kaitlyn Weis, Taylor Blackford and Abigail Gilson.
Weis led the team with a .359 average, starting all 50 games. She has 10 home runs, drove in 48 runs, scored 35 times and drew 11 walks. On the mound, she had a 1.66 ERA with a 4-2 record. Weis pitched 67.2 innings, striking out 29 while holding opponents to a .232 average. Blackford made 23 starts and appeared in 30 contests with a 2.07 ERA. She had 12 complete games, throwing 142.1 innings. She has struck out 55 batters and walked just 25.
Gilson tallied 10 home runs with 10 doubles. She finished second on the team with 34 RBIs and scored 30 runs. Rebecca Maher is also back after hitting .349 with five home runs and 32 RBI. Her 59 hits were second on the team.
Arkansas Tech
SERIES HISTORY: The Jennies and Golden Suns have met nine times previously, all while Coach Anderson has been at the helm, including once this year already. Arkansas Tech has gotten the better with a 6-3 record, including a 9-1 win last weekend.
SCOUTING REPORT: Arkansas Tech went 3-1 last weekend at the 2018 Southeastern Shootout, including a win over the Jennies. They gave up just eight runs in four games.
Paty Loredo was named the Great American Conference Hitter of the Week after she went 7-14 with a home run and eight RBI. She also scored twice and four of her seven hits were for extra bases. Megan Goodnight batted .357 collecting five hits and Sarah Coronado clubbed a home run. Makenzie Addis and Paige Mendoza each have four RBI.
Kristen Dempsey and Cara Tolar did most of the pitching for ATU. Tolar got the start and win against the Jennies. She's 1-1 with a 1.85 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched. Dempsey has bested even that with a 2-0 record and 1.45 ERA in her two starts. She's pitched 10 innings and has eight strikeouts to just two walks.
Harding
SERIES HISTORY: The Jennies and Lady Bisons have met once each of the last two seasons with Harding taking both matchups.
SCOUTING REPORT: The Harding softball team is ranked 12th in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association preseason poll after finishing 2017 ranked ninth.
The Lady Bisons are coming off the best season in program history. Harding went 58-9 overall, won the GAC regular season, GAC Tournament championships, won the NCAA Central Region 1 tournament to reach the NCAA Central Super Regional and fell to the eventual national champion Minnesota State Mankato.
Harding returns six letterwinners from last year, including All-American Peyton Mills. The junior outfielder led Harding, hitting .399 with 87 hits, six home runs and 59 RBI.
