WARRENSBURG, Mo. (April 16, 2018) - Central Missouri Jennies Softball wraps up their regular season home slate this week with Senior Day on Tuesday.
Opponent: Central Oklahoma Bronchos (25-16, 13-5 MIAA)
When: Tuesday, April 17, 1 p.m.
Where: Warrensburg, Mo. - Jennies Field at the South Recreation Complex
How to Watch
• Tuesday's game will be broadcast live on Central Missouri's web portal through The MIAA Network. Fans can access the broadcast at www.themiaanetwork.com/ucmmules
Leading Off
• Central Missouri hit a bit of a snag last week going 1-3 in Kansas. They split with MIAA leaders Washburn, but were swept in a pair of close games at Emporia State.
• This afternoon is senior day for the Jennies five seniors.
• At 14-6 in the MIAA, the Jennies are all by themselves in fourth place in the league standings with just one more week to play.
• This is the final week of the MIAA regular season. After their doubleheader with Central Oklahoma, the Jennies finish up on the road at Lincoln and Lindenwood April 20-21. Next week is the MIAA Tournament held in Oklahoma City April 26-28.
• 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 Bronchos
• The Bronchos have given the Jennies trouble since joining the MIAA. Coach Anderson is 5-12 against UCO. The Bronchos have won the last three games and six straight from 2012-14.
Jennies at Home
• Central Missouri has been almost unbeatable at home. They are 11-1 this season playing in Warrensburg. The Jens won their first eight home games of 2018. Today is the final scheduled home game of the regular season.
Milestones
•
Allie Dishinger and
Hailey Crabtree each picked up career hit number 100 last week. They are the 50th and 51st members of UCM's 100 hit club.
• Next to get 100 hits will be sophomore
Lauryn Deer who is just five hits away. She already has 57 hits this season. She needs seven more to crack the single-season top-10 hits list. With a .388 batting average, Deer is looking to become just the eighth Jennie to ever bat over .400 for an entire season.
•
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 146 career hits which is tied for 23rd all-time in Jennies history. She needs seven more to reach 22nd and 14 more to crack the top-20.
•
Alexa Bradley has six saves in her career which is the fourth most all-time at UCM. The UCM record is 12, set by Mandee Berg.
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 84.1 innings this season, Bradley has induced 152 ground ball outs, while also striking out 40 and getting 46 to fly out. Of her 194 outs this season, 63.8% have come on ground balls.
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 101 straight games at catcher, breaking the century mark last weekend at Emporia State.
Late Game Heroics
• 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 25 wins this season six have been of the walk-off variety, including senior
Emily King's walkoff home run in UCM's last home game against Northeastern State.
• It isn't just at home either. The Jennies are pulling off thrilling wins on the road as well. In the Jennies win at Washburn they tied the game in the fourth inning, before winning in extras, 2-1 thanks to
Courtni Smith's two-out RBI single.
Too Fast
• The Jennies 75 stolen bases this season are the second most in the MIAA.
Lauryn Deer is also second individually with 26. That moves her to a tie for sixth place all-time with teammate
Makayla Schoonover. She needs just four more stolen bases to reach 30, something only one other Jennies has done.
Ali Jo Rogers stole more than 30 bases in a season twice, in 2015 and 2016.
Close Calls
• Part of the Jennies success has been their ability to win close games. This season, Central Missouri is 12-3 in one run games and 4-1 in two-run games. While UCM has been terrific late in games, outscoring opponents 52-33 in the sixth inning on. They've had problems starting games though, where opponents have scored 40 runs in 44 games played. However when the Jennies do score in the opening inning, they are 12-5 this season.
Senior Day
• Today we celebrate Senior Day for Central Missouri. The Jennies will honor their five seniors during a ceremony between games. This senior class is the last link to the 2015 NCAA Elite Eight and Regional Championship team. Four-year seniors
Allie Dishinger,
Katie Giacone and
Makayla Schoonover were freshman on that team and
Emily King took a redshirt year. The Jens fifth senior,
Courtni Smith, joined the team in 2017.
Scouting the Opposition
Central Oklahoma Bronchos (25-16, 13-5 MIAA)
SERIES HISTORY: The Jennies and Bronchos are locked up in a 16-all series tie after UCO has claimed the last three games.
SCOUTING REPORT: A year after winning the MIAA Championship, the Bronchos are currently 13-5 in the MIAA this season and are third in the league standings.
Carrie Abrams and JoBi Heath lead the team in hitting. Abrams is batting .422 and leads the team with 57 hits and five triples. Heath is at the .384 mark and 23 of her 48 hits gone for extra bases. Heath also has batted in a team-high 38 runs and is tied for the most home runs at six. Infielder Morgan Heard also has six home runs and 32 runs batted in.
Jayden Chestnut has made 18 appearances in the circle, winning 14 of those games. She sports a 2.16 ERA over 100.1 innings pitched. She also leads the team with 95 strikeouts and has four shutouts. Lauren Gibson has gotten the bulk of the remaining starts with 15. She is 9-5 on the year with a 4.72 ERA. She's had control issues and has 36 walks to 34 strikeouts in 106.2 innings pitched.
