WARRENSBURG, Mo. (April 11, 2018) - Central Missouri Jennies Softball is back in action this week for a pair of MIAA doubleheaders. The Jennies haven't played since sweeping Northeastern State on April 4 and haven't been on the road since March 25.
Opponents: Washburn Ichabods (33-8, 17-1 MIAA)
Emporia State Lady Hornets (16-28, 6-12 MIAA)
When: Thursday-Friday, April 12-13
Thursday, April 12 at Washburn - 1:30 p.m.
Friday, April 13, at Emporia State - 3 p.m.
Where: Thursday, April 12 at Washburn - Topeka, Kan.
Friday, April 13 at Emporia State - Emporia, Kan.
Leading Off
• Due to inclimate weather, the Jennies only played one game last week. They swept Northeastern State by the scores of 5-1 and 9-7 (8 innings).
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Emily King hit a two-run walk off homer in the bottom of the eighth inning in game two to cap a come-from-behind win.
• At 13-3 in the MIAA, the Jennies are all by themselves in second place in the league standings. They will face the conference leader, Washburn, this week.
• The Jennies will be on the road this weekend as they travel to play two double headers against Washburn and Emporia State, Fri.-Sat., April 13-14.
• 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
• Central Missouri has had success in Kansas against Washburn with Coach Anderson at the helm, going 17-10. Anderson is just 6-24 against Emporia State, but have won four of the last six matches, including a sweep last year.
Jennies on the Road
• It's been a while since the Jennies have been on the road. UCM has played at home since March 28. Central Missouri is 4-5 on the road and 4-2 in MIAA road games.
Milestones
• Three Jennies are nearing 100 hits.
Allie Dishinger and
Hailey Crabtree are both one hit away at 99. Sophomore
Lauryn Deer is at 92 hits.
• Deer already has 54 hits this season. She needs 10 more to crack the single-season top-10 hits list. She is hitting .406 this season. Only seven Jennies have ever hit over .400 for an entire season.
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Emily King, who has already surpassed 100 career hits, is also two home runs away from joining the all-time top-10 list with 15. Emily has 144 career hits which is 24th all-time in Jennies history. She needs two more to reach 23rd and 16 more to crack the top-20.
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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 went over 100 career strikeouts last week.
Katie Giacone is right behind Bradley with five saves.
Worm Killer
• One thing that has not changed in two seasons is that
Alexa Bradley is a ground ball machine. In 75.1 innings this season, Bradley has induced 135 ground balls, while also striking out 36 and getting 42 to fly out. Of her 194 outs this season, 63.3% have come on ground balls.
Spring Power
• The Jennies found their power stroke recently mashing 10 home runs in their last four games.
Payton Summers and
Lauryn Deer each have two while six others have hit one. The Jens had hit just three in their previous 32 games. In their last eight games, UCM is slugging .526 with 21 extra-base hits and have scored 45 runs.
Leadoff Dominance
• The Jennies are reaching base at a .425 clip when leading off an inning.
Lauryn Deer has reached in 29 of 55 opportunities to start and inning, a .527 percentage.
Hailey Crabtree has also done so 14 times in 22 opportunities and
Alexis Koop has in 12 of 20.
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 97 straight games at catcher.
Walk-Off Winners
• Make sure to stay to the end of games this season as the Jennies have made a habit of winning in their final at bat. Of the Jens 24 wins this season six have been of the walk-off variety, including
Emily King's walk-off home run in game two against Northeastern State.
Closer
• While she hasn't started since March 17, Jennies senior pitcher
Katie Giacone has been arguably UCM's best and most important pitcher. She's allowed just two runs in her last 22.1 innings pitched, all out of the bullpen. She also has 18 strikeouts during that span and a 4-0 record.
Too Fast
• The Jennies 70 stolen bases this season are the most in the MIAA.
Lauryn Deer is the conference's individual league leader with 25. That moves her to a tie for seventh most all-time in a single season in Jennies history. Teammate
Makayla Schoonover is next on the list with 26 from 2015.
Feeling Crabby
• Through the Jennies first 17 games, junior
Hailey Crabtree was hitting .053 (1-19) and the Jennies were 5-12. Since, Crabtree leads the team batting .492 (30-61) with hits in 16 of 23 games including 10 multiple hit Jennies while the Jennies have gone 19-4.
Scouting the Opposition
Washburn Ichabods
SERIES HISTORY: The Jennies hold a tight 47-42 series advantage over the Ichabods since first facing each other in 1986. Last season, the teams split a double header in Warrensburg.
SCOUTING REPORT: In just her second season as head coach at Washburn, Brenda Holaday has lead the Ichabods from a 25-30 finish last year to currently 31-8 and being the top team in the MIAA conference at 15-1.
The Ichabods have three players who are hitting above .400. Brianna Francis leads the way with a .483 batting average and is slugging .741 percent. Emilee Baker has a team-best 57 hits and has scored 37 runs while htiting .438. Starting all 39 games, Savannah Moore is at the .417 mark and has knocked in a team-high 54 runs. Included in Moore's 55 hits are 14 doubles and eight homers.
Megan Deiter has been lights out in the circle for the Ichabods this season. She is a perfect 13-0 in 19 starts with a 2.03 ERA. Over the course of 103.1 innings, she has given up just 30 earned runs while striking out 144. Kelsee Henry also has 13 wins with three losses for a 3.50 earned run average.
Emporia State Lady Hornets
SERIES HISTORY: The Jennies and Hornets have a long history together that goes back over 40 years to when they had their first matchup in 1976. Although Emporia State holds the all time game advantage at 58-38, Central Missouri is the most recent victor after sweeping the Hornets last season.
SCOUTING REPORT: Danielle Sprinkle is the leader in several offensive categories for Emporia State. She leads the team in doubles (15), home runs (five), and RBI (33) while hitting .341. Kenzie Garvin holds a .333 batting average and has recorded 45 hits and 28 runs scored. Garvin has also stolen a team-best 18 bases.
The Hornets have struggled when it comes to pitching this year. They have a team ERA of 4.88 and have allowed 383 hits and 40 home runs. Montana Mesler has started 20 games and has a 7-11 record and a 4.10 earned run average. She has completed 12 games and has struck out 85 batters in 126.1 innings pitched.
