WARRENSBURG, Mo. (March 6, 2018) – Central Missouri Softball head coach
Susan Anderson is proud to announce the Jennies will be hosting Military Appreciation Day, during their home opener Wednesday.
Prior to the 2 p.m. game, Central Missouri ROTC will be presenting the colors for the National Anthem. In addition, Master Sergeant, James Krause will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
All active and former members of the U.S. Military will receive free admission to the doubleheader.
The Jennies would also like to thank ROTC Cadets and current softball team members
Katie Giacone and
Emily King.
Opponents: Rockhurst Hawks - 6-9
Southwest Baptist Bearcats - 6-11
When: Wednesday, March 7 vs. Rockhurst
Saturday, March 10 at Southwest Baptist
Where: Wednesday, March 7 - Warrensburg, Mo. - Jennies Field
Saturday, March 10 - Bolivar, Mo.
Leading Off
• Central Missouri will play a pair of doubleheaders this week, one home and one away.
• At 6-12 the Jennies are 14th in the MIAA standings.
• The Jennies will play their home opener this week when they welcome in-state rival Rockhurst to Jennies Field, Wednesday, March 7. The Jennies will be celebrating Military Appreciation Day as well.
• Saturday, UCM will begin MIAA play. The Jennies will be on the road to start the conference year at Southwest Baptist Saturday, March 10.
• 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 Hawks
• Coach Anderson has a winning record against all four of this weekend's opponents. The Jennies have lost two straight to the Cardinals though. The Jennies last played Missouri S&T in 2015, sweeping the Miners in Warrensburg.
Jennies on the Road
• Central Missouri has played only one true road game this season, a loss in the second game of the season, 2-1 to Southeastern Oklahoma. Last season the Jennies struggled on the road going 6-9 in road games.
Milestones
• There are a handful of Jennies closing in on 100 career hits.
Makayla Schoonover is the closest with 96. She also could become the second Jennie to ever steal 100 career bases. She stands at 73 which is the fourth-most in team history, and three shy of third place.
•
Allie Dishinger has 88 hits and
Katie Giacone 76. All three are in their senior seasons.
Hailey Crabtree, a junior has 69 hits.
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Emily King, who has already surpassed 100 career hits, is also four home runs away from joining the all-time top-10 list.
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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. Bradley also needs 16 more strikeouts to reach 100 for her career.
Hanging with Miss Koop
•
Alexis Koop is off to the best start of her career. She has 12 hits and a .293 batting average. Her four multiple hit games are second on the team.
Deer Season
• It was a big weekend for
Lauryn Deer. In four games, Deer hit better than .500 picking up nine hits in 16 at bats. She had three multiple hit games in the Jennies four games and was a perfect 7-7 in stolen base attempts. Deer took over the team lead, slashing .379/.403/.397, all team bests.
Productive Outs
• The Jennies have hit just one home run so far this season, so they have needed to play small ball to generate some offense. In 14 games, the Jennies have advanced runners with an out 52 times. The team has successfully advanced runners 43.4% of the times they have had the opportunity to via a hit or an out.
Worm Killer
• One thing that has not changed from last season is that
Alexa Bradley continues to be a ground ball machine. In 22 innings, Bradley has induced 44 ground balls, while also striking out 15 and getting 7 to fly out. Of her 66 outs this season, 66.7% 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 14 errors and a .972 fielding percentage. which is the best in the MIAA and 22nd in the NCAA. The Jennies have not committed an error in eight of their 18 games and are 3-5 in those games. Only one Jennie has made more than one error this season and the Jennies have committed only four errors on the infield.
Stolen Base Success
• The Jennies are averaging more than one stolen base per game this season and have been successful on 25 of their 28 attempts. Eight different Jens have stolen at least one base.
Lauryn Deer leads the team with 11 and is yet to be thrown out and leads the MIAA.
Taylor Dames,
Makayla Schoonover and
Courtni Smith all have three.
Leadoff Leaders
• Jennies are hitting .400 leading off an inning.
Allie Dishinger is 7-11 in such situations and
Lauryn Deer is 12-22.
Alexis Koop and
Courtni Smith also have seven hits apiece when leading off an innings.
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 77 straight games at catcher.
Scouting the Opposition
Rockhurst Hawks
Series History: The Jennies' seven game winning streak between the Hawks was snapped earlier this season, as Rockhurst recorded their first ever win against Central Missouri with a 6-0 shutout.
Scouting Report: The Hawks are coming into Warrensburg with a 6-9 record. Lauren Marks and Kelsey Tepen lead the team with 18 hits apiece. In those 18 hits, Tepen has recorded two triples, three doubles and two homers. Marks leads the team with three triples and is tied with Hanna Stam for the team-high of three homeruns. Stam is batting .341 and has batted in 13 runs and scored 11. Madison Wagner has made an impact on the base paths with her five steals on six attempts to go with her 12 hits and 10 runs scored.
Shannon Greene has put in the majority of the work on the mound this season for the Hawks. In 12 appearances, eight of which were complete games, she has a split decision record at 6-6 after 65.1 innings of work. She has allowed 25 earned runs and given up 82 hits, while striking out 33 to record a 2.68 ERA.
Southwest Baptist Bearcats
Series History: These two teams have played over a hundred games against each other since 1976 and the Jennies have a commanding lead in the win column with 83 to Southwest Baptists' 21. The Bearcats were the last opponents the Jennies faced in the 2017 season, where they met in the first round of the MIAA Tournament and SBU defeated UCM 3-1.
Scouting Report: The Bearcats have struggled offensively early this season, They have only scored 37 runs to their opponents' 88 and have been shut out six times. As a team, they are hitting .229. However, they have won three of their last four games and sit at 6-11.
Megan Schellert leads the team at the plate with a .327 batting average and 17 hits. Five of Payton Wilderman's 10 hits have been for extra bases, including two homers. She also leads the team in runs batted in with seven.
On the mound, Claire Miller is in the top-10 in the MIAA for lowest ERA and in the top-five for most strikeouts in the conference. She holds a 2.85 earned run average and 67 strikeouts over 66.1 innings pitched. Unfortunately, she has not received much offensive support and has a 4-6 record on the year.
