WARRENSBURG, Mo. (March 28, 2018) - Central Missouri Jennies Softball is about to start a season-long 12 game homestand. The Jens will be in Warrensburg from March 28-April 11 starting with a doubleheader this afternoon.
Opponents: Pittsburg State Gorillas
Missouri Western Griffons
Northwest Missouri Bearcats
When: Wednesday, March 28, Friday-Saturday March 30-31
Wednesday, March 28 - 3 p.m. vs. Pittsburg State
Friday, March 30 - 3 p.m. vs. Missouri Western
Saturday, March 31 - 12 p.m. vs. Northwest Missouri
Where: Warrensburg, Mo. - Jennies Field
How to Watch
• Jennies Softball this week will be broadcast live on the www.themiaanetwork.com
Leading Off
• Central Missouri played three MIAA double headers last week, going 5-1.
• Two of those wins were shut out victories.
• At 6-2 in the MIAA, the Jennies are tied for second in the league standings. Two of their next three opponents are in the top-four in the MIAA standings.
The Jennies begin a lengthy 12 game homestand this week. The matchup against Pitt State has been moved back a day to Wednesday (Mar. 28), due to weather. Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri travel to Warrensburg this weekend, Mar. 30-31.
• 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
Susan Anderson has seen quite a bit of this week's opponents. She is a combined 52-37 against these three teams and has won at least 16 against all three. Her best record is 18-9 against the Gorillas, but she also has 18 wins against Northwest Missouri.
Jennies at Home
• Central Missouri is about to start a long homestand, and it might be the best thing for them. The red-hot Jennies are yet to lose at home this season. Though they have only played in four games, the Jens are 4-0 at Jennies Field this season.
Milestones
•
Allie Dishinger is nearing 100 hits. She has 95 hits and
Hailey Crabtree, a junior has 89 hits entering the week.
• Sophomore
Lauryn Deer already has 40 hits this season. Combined with her 38 last year and she is up to 78. She needs 24 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. Emily has 137 career hits which is 25th all-time in Jennies history. She needs six more to reach 24th and 23 more to crack the top-20.
•
Alexa Bradley has six saves which is the fourth most all-time at UCM. The UCM record is 12, set by Mandee Berg. Bradley also needs three more strikeouts to reach 100 for her career.
Katie Giacone is right behind Bradley with five saves.
Streaks Are Us
• Senior outfielder
Courtni Smith has kicked it into high gear lately. She recently lost a season-high 10 games hitting streak and 15 game on base streak. Junior
Hailey Crabtree as reached base in nine straight games and
Emily King has done so in her last eight. Crabtree has been especially hot of late with 16 hits in her last 25 at bats. She started the season just 5-32 in her first 18 games. She has three three-hit games in her last nine games and at least one hit in eight.
Worm Killer
• One thing that has not changed in two seasons is that
Alexa Bradley is a ground ball machine. In 48.4 innings this season, Bradley has induced 93 ground balls, while also striking out 26 and getting 21 to fly out. Of her 140 outs this season, 66.4% 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 66 stolen bases this season which is the most in the MIAA and 36 more than their opponents. Deer leads the way having stolen 23 bases which already puts her 10th for most in a single-season in Jennies history.
Courtni Smith is in double figures with 14 and
Taylor Dames is 9-9.
Leadoff Dominance
• The Jennies are hitting .429 leading off an inning.
Lauryn Deer is 24-43 to start and inning, a .558 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 89 straight games at catcher.
Walk-Off Winners
• The Jennies have 17 wins this season and many of them have come in their final at bat. The Jennies have five walk-off wins this season including one last week when they defeated Missouri Southern at home.
Attitude of Gratitude
• One of the Jennies themes this season has been an "attitude of gratitude". With that in mind, the Jennies next home game against Pittsburg State will feature members of UCM Green Dot which looks to reduce datng violence, stalking and sexual assault on campus and in the community. Additionally, on Saturday, March 31 against Northwest Missouri, former Jennie Heather Whitcomb will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Whitcomb played from 2004-2007 and is currently battling through breast cancer. The Jens will be wearing special shirts in help raise awareness for breast cancer patients.
Scouting the Opposition
Pittsburg State Gorillas
SERIES HISTORY: While the Jennies have owned the series history between these two squads, the Gorillas have gotten the better of UCM lately with wins in each of their last four meetings.
SCOUTING REPORT: Pittsburg State has undergone a lot of changes after a 42-19 season in 2017. They have a new head coach in Ashley Balazs and have large amount of roster turnover. The Gorillas are 13-22 this season and 3-3 in the MIAA. The are just 2-5 in road games.
The Gorillas haven't struggled this season when it comes to home runs. They've hit 42 of them, but have also given up 50. Kala Holder leads the team in most offensive categories. She has a .379 batting average and has a team-high 12 home runs to go along with 26 RBI. Lawren McKinney has slugged eight home runs and driven in 24. She is hitting just .235 though.
In the circle, Brooklynne Simbeck has started a team-high 21 games. She has a 5.78 ERA and an 8-12 record. Bree Cornett has gotten the bulk of the remaining starts with 14. She has a 4-10 record with a 5.32 ERA. She also leads the team with 48 strikeouts, but has given up 27 home runs. Out of the pen, Brittany Beaudet has a 2.04 in 24 innings across 10 appearances.
Missouri Western Griffons
SERIES HISTORY: The Jennies and Griffons reignite one of the longest rivalries in the MIAA. They have met every year since 1989. The Jens hold a 57-31 all time advantage. The two teams split last year after MWSU swept the series in 2016.
SCOUTING REPORT: Missouri Western struggled to start the season but have seemed to find their footing in MIAA action. They are just 15-18 this season, but like UCM are 6-2 in the MIAA and winners of nine of their last 10.
As a team, the Griffons are hitting just above .300 with a .302 team average. Shelbie Atwell leads the team hitting .377 and Shelby Uhl has a team-best 43 hits an da .371 batting average. She also has 32 RBI and nine stolen bases to lead the team. Aside from the two Shelby's, Morgan Frost is batting .364 and has a team-best 12 extra-base hits including 10 doubles.
Pitching has been a problem for the Griffons this year. They have a 6.21 team ERA and have allowed 218 hits and 22 home runs. Kenzie Hilzer has started 20 games and has an 8-8 record and 5.11 ERA. She's completed 10 games and has 52 strikeouts in 112.1 innings. Kaili Hinds has started seven games and pitched 73.2 innings. She's 5-6 with a 5.42 ERA and 43 strikeouts.
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 63-57 all-time advantage after going 3-0 against the Jennies last year.
SCOUTING REPORT: Like Missouri Western and the Jennies, the Bearcats enter the weekend with a 6-2 MIAA record. They have been hot of late, winning six of their last seven. They haven't played much on the road yet, but are 3-1 in road games.
The strength of the Bearcats has come from their pitching. Rachel Smith and Taylor Blackford have each started 12 games and have an ERA below 3.00. Smith leads the staff with an 8-1 record and 2.44 ERA. She's struck out 70 batters in 63 innings. Blackford has tossed 64.1 innins and sports a 5-5 record with a 2.72 ERA and 22 strikeouts with just eight walks.
Offensively, the Bearcats have four in their lineup with a batting average above .370. Abigail Gilson leads the team and the MIAA hitting .435. Kiana Baderdeen isn't far behind hitting .420. Erin Keeney and Kaitlyn Weis have supplied the power. Keeney has socked 10 home runs and driven in 29 runs. Weis has eight round trippers with 28 RBI and a team-best 23 runs scored.
