WARRENSBURG, Mo. (March 20, 2018) - Central Missouri picks up the pace of MIAA action this week with three conference doubleheaders.
Opponents: Missouri Southern Lions - 12-16, 1-3 MIAA
Fort Hays State Tigers - 7-19, 3-5 MIAA
Nebraska-Kearney Lopers - 8-17, 4-4 MIAA
When: Wednesday, March 21 - 3 p.m.
Friday, March 23 - 2 p.m.
Saturday, March 24 - 12 p.m.
Where: Warrensburg, Mo. - Jennies Field (Missouri Southern)
Hays, Kan. - Tiger Stadium (Fort Hays State)
Kearney, Neb. - Dryden Park (Nebraska-Kearney)
Leading Off
• Central Missouri played at the Regional Crossover in Maryville, Mo. last weekend, where they went 3-1 against the Northern Sun teams.
• Two of those three wins were decided in their final at bat.
• At 1-1 in the MIAA, the Jennies are tied for eighth in the league standings.
• The Jennies will start the week at home as they take on Missouri Southern in a double header on Wed., Mar. 21. Then the Jens hit the road to face Fort Hays (Mar. 23) and Nebraska-Kearney (Mar. 24).
• 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 has had success with the Jennies against these three MIAA opponents. She has 19 wins against both Missouri Southern and Fort Hays State and is undefeated in her time against Nebraska-Kearney with an perfect 11-0 record.
Jennies at Home/Away
• Central Missouri hasn't seen much action in Warrensburg yet this season, but they've made the most of it when they have been. UCM is 2-0 in home game. In true road games, the Jennies are not faring as well, with a 2-5 record. UCM is 1-1 in MIAA road games.
Milestones
•
Allie Dishinger is nearing 100 hits. She has 92 hits and
Hailey Crabtree, a junior has 78 hits entering the week.
• Sophomore
Lauryn Deer already has 34 hits this season. Combined with her 38 last year and she is up to 72. She needs 30 more to crack the single-season top-10 hits list.
•
Emily King, who has already surpassed 100 career hits, is also three home runs away from joining the all-time top-10 list.
•
Alexa Bradley and
Katie Giacone each have five career saves which are tied for the fourth most all time. The UCM record is 12, set by Mandee Berg. Bradley also needs 13 more strikeouts to reach 100 for her career.
Streaks Are Us
• Senior outfielder
Courtni Smith has kicked it into high gear lately. She has picked up at least one hit in her last 10 games, the longest hitting streak of the season for the Jens. She also has reached base in 11 straight.
Lauryn Deer picked up a hit in all four games last weekend and is currently on a four game hitting streak and six game reached base streak.
Running with the Deer
• One of the most consistent Jennies this season has been sophomore outfielder
Lauryn Deer. She not only leads the team with a .400 batting average, but she's swiped 17 bags out of the leadoff spot. The Jennies have combined for 12 three-hit games this season, not only is Deer the only player with multiple, she has five of the 12.
Worm Killer
• One thing that has not changed in two seasons is that
Alexa Bradley is a ground ball machine. In 36 innings, Bradley has induced 70 ground balls, while also striking out 19 and getting 14 to fly out. Of her 108 outs this season, 65% have come on ground balls.
Stolen Base Success
• The Jennies haven't hit many extra-base hits this season, but any way they get on base, gives them the opportunity to move up via their legs. The Jennies have 50 stolen bases this season which is the most in the MIAA and 20 more than their opponents. Deer leads the way having stolen 17 bases and
Courtni Smith has 12 while
Taylor Dames is a perfect 7-7.
Leadoff Leaders
• The Jennies are hitting .421 leading off an inning.
Lauryn Deer is 21-36 to start and inning, a .583 average.
Courtni Smith also has 12 hits and
Alexis Koop is hitting .600, 9-15.
Model of Consistency
• Only one Jennie has started a game this season at catcher, that's
Allie Dishinger. That's a trend that has continued for a while. Dishinger was the only Jennie that started at catcher last year as well, starting in 55 games. Dating back to 2016, Dishinger has started in 83 straight games at catcher.
Walk-Off Winners
• The Jennies have 12 wins this season and 1/3 of them have come in their final at bat. The Jennies have four walk-off wins this season including two last weekend when they defeated Concordia-St. Paul and Wayne State (Neb.)
Free Softball
• Part of the reason the Jennies have a number of walk off wins is that they are 3-0 in extra inning games this season. All three have come with the international tie-breaker rule in effect, which plays to their strength of team speed. The Jennies have made it a habit of scoring late. They have 13 runs in the seventh inning or later. They also have just one loss when the game is tied after six innings this season.
Scouting the Opposition
Missouri Southern Lions
SERIES HISTORY: The Jennies are looking to add another win to their streak against the Lions. UCM has claimed the last six games in a row. Under Coach Anderson, the Jennies have a winning record of 20-6 against Missouri Southern.
SCOUTING REPORT: Missouri Southern came in a tie for sixth in the 2018 MIAA Preseason Poll. They're off to a 12-16 start and have won three of their last four games.
The Lions have four hitters with a batting average over .300. Erika Lutgen leads the way, hitting.398 and slugging .675. Lutgen also leads the team in doubles (eight), home runs (five) and runs batted in (17). Abi Corbett is close behind with a .384 batting average and a team-high 38 hits and 17 stolen bases. Lexi Ferrari is batting .341 with 30 hits, nine of which were for extra bases.
Taurean Guzman has been the one spending the majority of the time in the circle for the Lions, making 19 apperances and recording a total ERA of 4.75. Guzman leads MSSU with six wins and four saves. Freshman Natalie Hamm has made 13 appearances and holds a 3-4 record with a 2.57 ERA. In 51.2 innings pitched, Hamm has struck out a team-best 48 batters.
Fort Hays State Tigers
SERIES HISTORY: Central Missouri has won three straight and seven of the last eight against Fort Hays State. The Jens are 20-14 all time against the Tigers and 19-12 under Coach Anderson.
SCOUTING REPORT: Fort Hays State has already played eight MIAA games this season and have a 3-5 record in the league. Overall they are 7-19, but have won three of their last four. They are 5-4 when playing at home.
The Tigers have struggled to find consistent pitching. Their team ERA is almost at 6.00. Despite her 7.26 ERA, Sierra Rodriguez has the most wins on the team with a 5-6 record. Hailey Chapman has started the most games for FHSU. She is 2-11 with a 4.79 ERA and has 67 strikeouts in 87.2 innings.
Bailey Boxberger is the Tiger's biggest threat at the plate. She enters with a .375 batting average and .609 slugging percentage. She leads the Tigers with three home runs and 16 runs batted in. FHSU is hitting .311 as a team this season, but with a .415 slugging percentage, they are a single hitting, station-to-station team. Of their 16 stolen bases, Candace Bolling has eight.
Nebraska-Kearney Lopers
SERIES HISTORY: The Jennies have had no issue with the Lopers in their history. UCM is 12-5 all time with all five the Lopers wins coming before the year 2000. Since entering the MIAA, the Jennies are 11-0 against Nebraska-Kearney.
SCOUTING REPORT: Like the Tigers, the Lopers have also already played eight MIAA contests this season. They are 4-4 and 8-17 overall. They are yet to play a home game and have won four straight games.
The Lopers pitching staff enters the weekend with an ERA of 6.10. Their best pitcher by far has been Meg Housholder. She pitched in 10 games and started four and has a 5-3 record with a 2.13 ERA. She has also struck out 24 batters in 26.1 innings. Erin Hallman has started 11 games and pitched to a 3-7 record and 5.50 ERA. Both her and Sarah Handrahan have 28 strikeouts each.
At the dish, Cheyenne Hamilton is hitting .388 this season with 26 hits in 67 at bats. Alexis ray and Alexis Howe each have 27 hits. Hamilton has launched eight home runs this season and has a team-best 22 RBI. The Lopers have done a good job of getting on base with 74 walks this season. They've flashed power too with 61 of their 191 hits going for extra bases.
