WARRENSBURG, Mo. (April 18, 2019) - Central Missouri Jennies Softball plays two at home this weekend as they move forward with MIAA action.
Opponents
Fort Hays State Tigers (17-18, 10-10 MIAA)
Nebraska-Kearney Lopers (15-21, 9-11 MIAA)
Where
Warrensburg, Mo. - Jennies Softball Field
When
Friday, April 19, 2 p.m. vs. Fort Hays State
Saturday, April 20, 12 p.m. vs. Nebraska-Kearney
How to Watch
Live stats will be available for both doubleheaders.
Cancer Awareness Day
Saturday against Nebraska-Kearney will be cancer awareness day. Marlene Stewart will be the Jennies Coach for a Day and throw out the ceremonial first pitch. This year's theme is "Noone Fights Alone".
Leading Off
• Central Missouri continues their home stretch with a pair of MIAA doubleheaders this weekend against Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney
• These are make up games that were originally scheduled for March 8-9.
• The Jennies defeated Truman State twice on Tuesday in their final nonconference games. They needed 10 innings for a 3-2 win, before winning in five, 9-1.
• Last week, UCM struggled on the road going 2-4 against Pittsburg State, Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State.
• They fell in the MIAA standings to fourth place with two weeks left to play.
• Central Missouri was picked to finish third in the 2019 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll. The Jennies tallied 141 points in the poll.
• 2019 will mark the 48th season of Jennies softball. It will also be the 13th season under the direction of Head Coach
Susan Anderson.
Quick Hits
Anderson vs. the Opponents
• Despite no longer being in the MIAA, Coach Anderson has seen Truman State a number of times. She's 16-7 lifetime against the Bulldogs. They last met in 2017. It didn't go well for UCM who was swept on the road without scoring a run. Coach has also had success against the Lopers and the Tigers. She's 21-12 vs. Fort Hays State with five straight wins and is 13-1 all-time against Nebraska-Kearney. Her only loss to the Lopers came last year.
Last Time Out
• The Jennies swept Truman State in their final nonconference games of the season.
Makenzie McAtee ended game one in 10 innings with a single for a 3-2 win. The Jens then rolled the Bulldogs 9-1 in five innings in game two.
Milestones
•
Alexa Bradley is at 91 career appearances and is fifth all-time at UCM. She will be the fifth Jennie to ever reach 100 appearances with nine more. She also is 10th all-time in innings pitched, and needs three more to reach ninth place and seven for eighth place.
•
Hailey Crabtree is four runs away from scoring 100 and
Alexis Koop needs one more for 50.
• Deer is also moving up the all-time stolen base list. She has 58 which is sixth all-time and nine away from the top-five.
MIAA Leaders
•
Lauryn Deer is tied for third in the MIAA with 55 hits. She is also 2nd in the league with 22 SB.
• Right behind Deer in stolen bases is
Ashlyn Cook who is tied for third with 18.
•
Hailey Crabtree's six triples are tied for the most in the MIAA.
• Both
Gentry Wishard and
Alexa Bradley are in the MIAA top-10 in ERA. Wishard is fifth with a 2.43 ERA and Bradley seventh at 2.73.
Finishing Strong
• The Jennies have been red hot in the latter part of games. They've scored 86 runs from the fifth inning on and are outscoring opponents 12-3 in the seventh inning and 8-3 in extra innings.
• The Jennies haven't lost a game yet this season when leading after four innings as they are 15-0. They're also 18-0 when leading after six innings.
Runners on Base
• The Jennies are doing a good job with runners on base this season, hitting .294 and .293 with runners in scoring position. The problem comes when there are runners at each base, as UCM is just 4-26 this season with the bases loaded.
Do it with Two
• The Jennies have picked up 68 two-out RBI's this season.
Ashlyn Cook leads the team with 13 and
Jessica Sader has 11.
• UCM is doing a good job of extending innings. They are hitting .309 as a team with two outs.
Lauryn Deer is batting .386 and
Ashlyn Cook is up to .400 with 14 hits in 35 at bats.
• Jennies pitchers are closing out innings, as opponents are hitting just .245 with two outs.
Free Softball
• This season, UCM is 6-1 in extra inning games.
• They've needed more than seven innings in six of their last 12 games.
• Their one-run, extra inning win over Truman gives them a 7-4 record in one-run games.
Who's Hot
• Returning to the lineup,
Alexis Koop has 7 hits in her last 14 at bats with four RBI.
•
Taylor Dames has five RBI and a .563 on base percentage in her last four games.
•
Shelby Clark has a 1.40 EA in her last 10 innings and
Alexa Bradley has a 1.43 ERA in her last 14.2 innings pitched.
Up Next
• The Jennies will play their make up game with Northwest Missouri next Tuesday, April 23 with a 2 p.m. start. The doubleheader was scheduled for 3/16.
Scouting the Opposition
Fort Hays State Tigers
• Fort Hays State sits in the middle of the MIAA standings, hovering at 10-10 and 17-18 overall.
• The Tigers most impressive win was a 7-6 win in eight innings over No. 2 Central Oklahoma.
• Fort Hays has a run-differential of -2 this year. They are hitting .285 with a .395 slugging percentage which is near the bottom of the MIAA.
• Bailey Boxberger leads the team with 28 runs batted in. She's also hit four long balls.
• Grace Philop is hitting .358.
• Hailey Chapman has thrown 111.1 innings and is 9-9 with a 3.71 ERA and 126 strikeouts.
Nebraska-Kearney Lopers
• Another MIAA team right in the middle of the pack is Nebraska-Kearney. The Lopers are 15-21 overall and 9-11 in the conference.
• The Lopers have been led by their offense with a team batting average of .329.
• Carlee Liesch is hitting .480 which is tops in the MIAA. She also has six home runs and nine stolen bases in 10 attempts.
• The Lopers have slugged 30 home runs as a team. Cheyenne Hamilton leads way with seven and a team-best 38 runs batted in.
• Erin Hallman has been the has of the staff. She's 6-10 but with a 3.73 ERA.
• Sarah Handrahan is 6-9 in 14 starts with a 4.18 ERA and team-leading 64 strikeouts.
