Eastern Michigan Athletics
Softball Preps for More Road Games
4/29/2008 1:55:32 PM | Softball
EMU plays at Oakland, Buffalo and Kent State
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LAST WEEK OF THE REGULAR SEASON: The Eastern Michigan University softball team will play its final games of the regular season this week. EMU will travel to Rochester, Mich. to take on Oakland University Wednesday, April 30 in a doubleheader set for 3 p.m. The Eagles will then wrap up Mid-American Conference play, traveling to Buffalo, N.Y. and Kent, Ohio. The Green and White will take on the Bulls in a doubleheader Friday, May 2 ,at 1 p.m. The Eagles will then head to MAC-leading Kent State to take on the Golden Flashes in single games set for Saturday, May 3, at 2 p.m. and Sunday, May 4, at 1 p.m. Following this week will be the MAC Tournament in Akron, Ohio, May 7-10. The top eight teams, based on winning percentage in conference play, qualify for the annual event. EMU is currently in ninth place with four games remaining.
GOLDEN GRIZZLIES REPORT: Oakland enters the mid-week doubleheader with a 13-25 overall record and a 5-11 mark in The Summit League. The Grizzlies were just swept in a three-game series at Southern Utah (April 25 and 26). OU is led by Angela Righetti with a .385 batting average. Caitlin Linch has a .321 average with seven doubles and a team-leading 23 RBI. Jessica Granger has a 3.22 ERA with 128 strikeouts and a 9-11 record on the season in the circle for Oakland. The two teams squared off last year, with EMU sweeping the doubleheader, 9-0 and 6-1.
ABOUT THE BULLS: Buffalo enters this weekend’s doubleheader with a 5-31 overall record and a 2-12 record in conference play. Before hosting the Eagles, UB will take on Syracuse in a doubleheader Wednesday, April 30. Buffalo is coming off two losses to Kent State, falling to the conference-leading Golden Flashes, 5-0 and 4-0 in single games April 26 and April 27. Offensively, the Bulls are led by Sharon Barr, who has a .297 average with four home runs and 12 RBI. Barr also leads the team in ERA, at 6.39 with a 2-12 record.
GOLDEN FLASHES ATOP THE MAC: In the final series of the regular season, EMU will take on Kent State, owners of a 34-10 overall mark and 16-2 conference record. Before hosting the Eagles, KSU plays Cleveland State in a doubleheader (April 30) and Central Michigan in a MAC doubleheader (May 2). Kent State has a team ERA of 1.31, with Gabrielle Burns (1.16) and Kylie Reynolds (1.34) leading the way. Offensively, Jessica Toocheck has a .363 average with nine home runs and 37 RBI on the season, while Kim Hamilton is hitting .246 with nine doubles, nine homers and 20 RBI.
COUNTDOWN TO HOME RUN RECORD: After hitting her 10th home run of the season against Miami (April 27), sophomore Jenny Scherer is only three away from tying Lauren Clark’s all-time mark of 24. Scherer has already totaled 21 long balls in less than two seasons in the Green and White. By knocking 10 out of the park already this season, Scherer becomes the first player in EMU history to record back-to-back seasons with double digit home runs. If Scherer breaks the record this season by hitting four more, she will also break Clark’s record of 13 homers in one season.
SABO CLOSING STRONG: As the games dwindle down in her career, senior Stephanie Sabo is stepping up her play. After hitting just .101 for the season before games at Ball State and Miami, Sabo led the Eagles with a .364 average over the weekend (April 25-27). The senior outfielder went 4-for-11 at the plate with a double and an RBI in four games. She also kept her streak of three years without an error alive, recording a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
DEL HITTING THE LONG BALL FOR THE FIRST TIME: At Ball State, freshman Lauren Delapaz hit the first home run of her career. She drove a pitch over the left field wall, putting the Eagles on top, 3-1. Ball State came back to win the game, however, using a four-run fifth inning to secure the win.
CAREER DOUBLE MARK IN SIGHT: Senior Ashley Strauss is within reach of becoming the career leader in doubles. Strauss already has 13 doubles this season, bringing her career total to 37. She is currently tied with Val Canfield for fifth on the all-time list. Melissa Drouillard owns the record, hitting 43 during her four-year tenure.
IMPACT FROSH: Since beginning conference play, three freshmen have been making a name for themselves. Lauren Delapaz has been hitting .295 in 14 games, playing in both the infield and outfield. She has three doubles, a triple, a home run and eight RBI in conference action. Shortstop Stacie Skodinski is hitting .297 in conference contests, knocking in four runs with a home run and four doubles. In the circle for the Eagles, Jaclyn Caro has a 2.82 ERA in 59.2 innings pitched. Caro has made 13 appearances and owns a 4-4 record with 37 strikeouts.
TOP OF THE MAC: EMU has several players at or near the top in several conference statistics in conference only games. Individually, Ashley Strauss is leading the conference in batting average (.512) and hits per game (1.57). She is second in doubles per game (.43), total bases per game (2.43) and slugging percentage (.791). Jenny Scherer is leading the MAC in home runs per game (.36) and total bases per game (2.50).
STRAUSS NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior first baseman Ashley Strauss was named Mid-American Conference West Division player of the week for the period ending April 22 after helping the Eagles to a 3-2 week, including a 3-1 MAC mark. The Eagles played at No. 6 Michigan (April 16) before hosting Akron in a doubleheader (April 18) and Ohio in single games (April 19-20). The senior first baseman hit .615 for the week, going 8-for-13 at the plate with three doubles, four RBI and four runs scored. With her three doubles, she now has 36 in her career, good for fifth all-time. The record is 43, held by Melissa Drouillard.
STRAUSS AND SCHERER COME UP BIG OVER THE WEEKEND: Senior Ashley Strauss and sophomore Jenny Scherer were unstoppable at the plate this past weekend against Akron and Ohio (April 18-20), helping the Eagles to a 3-1 conference record. Strauss hit .636 (7-for-11), with two doubles and four runs scored. She scored the winning run in the come-from-behind 3-2 win over Ohio (April 20). Scherer hit .500 (8-for-16) with two home runs, giving her 20 for her career. She is now only four homers from the all-time record, which is 24, held by Lauren Clark.
PLAYING THE BEST: When the Eagles took on the Wolverines (April 16), it was the fourth time this season they have faced a ranked opponent, as Michigan was the No. 6 team in the nation. The Eagles fell to their county rival, 11-0, in five innings in Ann Arbor. EMU had already played then-No. 21 Ohio State, San Diego State, ranked 20th at the time, twice and UCLA, ranked fourth. The Eagles are now 0-5 against ranked opponents this season and have not beaten a ranked team since defeating No. 21 Louisville, 3-2, March 26, 2006, at the Louisville Tournament. The highest ranked team the Eagles have ever defeated was No. 2 Florida State, 6-5, May 10, 2004.
FIVE HONORED ON SENIOR DAY: Five Eagles played their last contest at Varsity Field Sunday April 20. Seniors Heather Giroux, Jessica Grant, Lindsay Ritz, Stephanie Sabo and Ashley Strauss were honored in a ceremony before the game against Ohio. This senior class has been an integral part of EMU softball for the past four years, helping the Eagles to 84 wins and a Mid-American Conference Championship. In fitting fashion, Grant hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh to score Strauss, securing a 3-2 win over the Bobcats.
GOING YARD FOR THE FIRST TIME: Two seniors hit their first career home runs during action at Bowling Green (April 11) and Toledo (April 12). Against the Falcons, Heather Giroux hit a two-run homer for the first time in her career. Not to be outdone by her classmate, Jessica Grant hit her first long ball in an 11-1 victory over Toledo the next day. Every member of the senior class has now hit at least one home run throughout the course of their career.
HLETKO PICKS UP FIRST CAREER HIT: In the second game against Notre Dame, sophomore Michelle Hletko collected her first career hit in only her second at-bat. Hletko came in as a pinch hitter in the top of the seventh inning and hit a ground ball down the third base line. The ball stayed fair just long enough to allow the sophomore to reach base. Her only other plate appearance came this year against San Diego State (Feb. 28) when she struck out swinging.
HITTING THE CENTURY MARK: With the Eagles’ 1-0 victory over Bucknell (Feb. 16) earlier this season, head coach Karen Baird won her 100th game as head coach of the Eagles. Baird is in her sixth season as head coach of the Green and White, steadily improving her program to one of the premier programs in the MAC. Baird reached another milestone this season, picking up her 200th career victory when EMU defeated the University of San Diego (Feb. 29) in a 10-inning thriller at the San Diego Classic.
