Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, May 7
Varsity Field
1 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
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Western Michigan
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Eagles Set To Host Broncos, Huskies in Regular Season Finale
5/6/2010 4:51:11 PM | Softball
The fate of EMU's MAC Tournament hopes lies in the balance as they head into the weekend one game out of a coveted spot
Game Notes
Live Stats
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University softball team sits one game out of the eighth and final spot in the Mid-American Conference Tournament race heading into this weekend's slate of games. The Eagles will host the final four league games of the regular season games, taking on Western Michigan in a doubleheader Friday, May 7, before meeting Northern Illinois in a pair of singles games Saturday and Sunday, May 8-9.
Tomorrow's game one first pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at Varsity Field in Ypsilanti. Saturday's and Sunday's games are set for 2 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. Saturday's game will be followed by a home run derby to raise money for "Knock Cancer Out of the Park." It was originally scheduled for April 24, but was postponed due to rain. Sunday will be Senior Day in honor of EMU's Jenny Scherer, Jessica Patterson and Michelle Hletko.
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ON TAP FOR EMU: The Eagles enter the final weekend of the regular season in a three-way tie for ninth place and one game behind Akron and Bowling Green for the eighth and final MAC Tournament spot. EMU will host Western Michigan in doubleheader Friday, May 7, at 1 p.m. before Northern Illinois comes to town for a two-game set Saturday and Sunday, May 8-9, to close out MAC play.
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS: Western Michigan University enters Friday's doubleheader with an 11-24 overall record and tied for ninth with EMU and Buffalo with a 6-12 mark in Mid-American Conference play. Much like the Eagles, a lot rides on WMU's two-game series Friday in terms of itself a chance in the MAC tournament race. The Broncos have dropped six straight games including five in a row to conference opponents and most recently to No. 2-ranked Michigan on the road. Gracie Barstad leads the team with a .347 batting average and 20 RBI on the season. Meredith Whitney is the team's top pitcher, making 20 starts this season while completing 11 of those to compile an 8-12 record this year. She has 109 strikeouts in 116 innings.
ABOUT THE HUSKIES: Northern Illinois University is 22-30 overall and 10-8 in Mid-American Conference play, currently holding the fifth seed, head-to-head tie-breaker against Miami as MAC Tournament seeding goes. The Huskies snapped a four-game losing streak last weekend when they swept the RedHawks in a two-game series at home. Zoe Sinner is one-of-two Huskie hitters batting over .300 on the season with a .326-clip. She also leads with the team with 10 home runs, 26 RBI and 31 runs scored. Morgan Bittner is 17-13 in the circle with a 2.66 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 197 innings pitched.
EMU VERSUS OPPONENTS: Western Michigan leads the all-time series against EMU, 53-41, having split the previous 12 meetings since 2004. The Eagles also trail the Huskies in the all-time series, 28-20, but have won six-of-their-last-nine meetings dating back to 2005, winning 3-of-4 home contests since then.
LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Michigan met the No. 2-ranked Michigan Wolverines in a non-conference battle between two Washtenaw County foes. The Eagles were fearless from the get-go, tallying a run in the first inning on Sarah Gerber's double to the center-field wall, scoring Jessica Richards from second base. That would be the only lead for the visitors as U-M blasted a pair of grand slams to take an 11-1 win. Katy Blaharski, Allison Scherer and Richards each recorded a hit and a stolen base in the loss, the third straight to a top-10-ranked Michigan squad.
SENSATIONAL SENIORS: Three Eagles will be making their final regular season appearances in green and white when EMU meets Northern Illinois in the second of a two-game set Sunday, May 9, on Senior Day. Jenny Scherer, Jessica Patterson and Michelle Hletko have been key contributors to Eastern Michigan softball over the course of their careers and helping capture the school's only Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament titles back in 2007. They will be honored prior to Sunday's game.
SCHERER POWER: Considered one of, if not, the most productive power hitter in EMU history, Jenny Scherer, a career .315 hitter entering the season, struggled out of the gate despite her home run totals remaining on track. Her average, which dipped below .200 as late as March 31, has seen a significant rise as she has at least one hit in 15-of-her-last-17 games dating back to April 10. During that span, she is hitting .473 (26-of-55) with five home runs and 13 RBI. Last week alone, she raised her season average 49 points from .270 to .319. In MAC play, she is third in the league in hitting with a .421 average, first in total bases (47), second in home runs (12), and tied for third in hits (24) through 18 league games thus far.
PLYMOUTH ROCK: Junior Lauren Delapaz, slowed by a nagging shoulder injury for most of the season, has finally made it back into the EMU lineup. The native of Plymouth, Mich. was a staple in the batting order her first two seasons, tallying six multi-hit games her freshman year before starting 47 games as a sophomore, scoring 14 runs while driving in 11. She started the first 12 games this year before the injury limited her strictly to pinch running. Against IPFW April 28, she made her first start at third base in 22 games and on the four-game road trip April 30-May1, she hit .400 with two home runs and seven RBI in helping the Eagles to a 2-2 mark.
SENIOR SWAGGER: Senior Jessica Patterson has turned in the best season of her career thus far, batting a team-high .314 (32-for-102) in 44 games this season. Her previous season-high batting average had been just south of .200. This season, she has more than doubled her career hits and RBI totals with 32 and eight, respectively, while also setting career-high's in stolen bases (7) and at-bats (102).
Live Stats
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University softball team sits one game out of the eighth and final spot in the Mid-American Conference Tournament race heading into this weekend's slate of games. The Eagles will host the final four league games of the regular season games, taking on Western Michigan in a doubleheader Friday, May 7, before meeting Northern Illinois in a pair of singles games Saturday and Sunday, May 8-9.
Tomorrow's game one first pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at Varsity Field in Ypsilanti. Saturday's and Sunday's games are set for 2 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. Saturday's game will be followed by a home run derby to raise money for "Knock Cancer Out of the Park." It was originally scheduled for April 24, but was postponed due to rain. Sunday will be Senior Day in honor of EMU's Jenny Scherer, Jessica Patterson and Michelle Hletko.
--
ON TAP FOR EMU: The Eagles enter the final weekend of the regular season in a three-way tie for ninth place and one game behind Akron and Bowling Green for the eighth and final MAC Tournament spot. EMU will host Western Michigan in doubleheader Friday, May 7, at 1 p.m. before Northern Illinois comes to town for a two-game set Saturday and Sunday, May 8-9, to close out MAC play.
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS: Western Michigan University enters Friday's doubleheader with an 11-24 overall record and tied for ninth with EMU and Buffalo with a 6-12 mark in Mid-American Conference play. Much like the Eagles, a lot rides on WMU's two-game series Friday in terms of itself a chance in the MAC tournament race. The Broncos have dropped six straight games including five in a row to conference opponents and most recently to No. 2-ranked Michigan on the road. Gracie Barstad leads the team with a .347 batting average and 20 RBI on the season. Meredith Whitney is the team's top pitcher, making 20 starts this season while completing 11 of those to compile an 8-12 record this year. She has 109 strikeouts in 116 innings.
ABOUT THE HUSKIES: Northern Illinois University is 22-30 overall and 10-8 in Mid-American Conference play, currently holding the fifth seed, head-to-head tie-breaker against Miami as MAC Tournament seeding goes. The Huskies snapped a four-game losing streak last weekend when they swept the RedHawks in a two-game series at home. Zoe Sinner is one-of-two Huskie hitters batting over .300 on the season with a .326-clip. She also leads with the team with 10 home runs, 26 RBI and 31 runs scored. Morgan Bittner is 17-13 in the circle with a 2.66 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 197 innings pitched.
EMU VERSUS OPPONENTS: Western Michigan leads the all-time series against EMU, 53-41, having split the previous 12 meetings since 2004. The Eagles also trail the Huskies in the all-time series, 28-20, but have won six-of-their-last-nine meetings dating back to 2005, winning 3-of-4 home contests since then.
LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Michigan met the No. 2-ranked Michigan Wolverines in a non-conference battle between two Washtenaw County foes. The Eagles were fearless from the get-go, tallying a run in the first inning on Sarah Gerber's double to the center-field wall, scoring Jessica Richards from second base. That would be the only lead for the visitors as U-M blasted a pair of grand slams to take an 11-1 win. Katy Blaharski, Allison Scherer and Richards each recorded a hit and a stolen base in the loss, the third straight to a top-10-ranked Michigan squad.
SENSATIONAL SENIORS: Three Eagles will be making their final regular season appearances in green and white when EMU meets Northern Illinois in the second of a two-game set Sunday, May 9, on Senior Day. Jenny Scherer, Jessica Patterson and Michelle Hletko have been key contributors to Eastern Michigan softball over the course of their careers and helping capture the school's only Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament titles back in 2007. They will be honored prior to Sunday's game.
SCHERER POWER: Considered one of, if not, the most productive power hitter in EMU history, Jenny Scherer, a career .315 hitter entering the season, struggled out of the gate despite her home run totals remaining on track. Her average, which dipped below .200 as late as March 31, has seen a significant rise as she has at least one hit in 15-of-her-last-17 games dating back to April 10. During that span, she is hitting .473 (26-of-55) with five home runs and 13 RBI. Last week alone, she raised her season average 49 points from .270 to .319. In MAC play, she is third in the league in hitting with a .421 average, first in total bases (47), second in home runs (12), and tied for third in hits (24) through 18 league games thus far.
PLYMOUTH ROCK: Junior Lauren Delapaz, slowed by a nagging shoulder injury for most of the season, has finally made it back into the EMU lineup. The native of Plymouth, Mich. was a staple in the batting order her first two seasons, tallying six multi-hit games her freshman year before starting 47 games as a sophomore, scoring 14 runs while driving in 11. She started the first 12 games this year before the injury limited her strictly to pinch running. Against IPFW April 28, she made her first start at third base in 22 games and on the four-game road trip April 30-May1, she hit .400 with two home runs and seven RBI in helping the Eagles to a 2-2 mark.
SENIOR SWAGGER: Senior Jessica Patterson has turned in the best season of her career thus far, batting a team-high .314 (32-for-102) in 44 games this season. Her previous season-high batting average had been just south of .200. This season, she has more than doubled her career hits and RBI totals with 32 and eight, respectively, while also setting career-high's in stolen bases (7) and at-bats (102).
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Thank You, Team 38
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Closing Out a Legacy: Michelle Kriegshauser
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