Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, March 16
Oxford, Ohio
11 a.m.
Eastern Michigan University
vs
Niagara
Photo by: Kathi Russ
Softball To Play in Miami Invitational This Weekend
3/13/2012 4:16:00 PM | Softball
EMU will face Niagara, Dayton and Loyola-Chicago
Miami Invitational Home Page.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University softball team will make the 239-mile trip to Oxford, Ohio to compete in the Miami Inviational, March 16-18. The Invite will feature, EMU, host Miami, Ball State, Niagara, Dayton and Loyola-Chicago. The Eagles will see action against Niagara twice and play single games against both Dayton and Loyola-Chicago.
A GLANCE AT THE COMPETITION: Friday's matchup with Niagara will represent the first meeting between the two squads. The Purple Eagles currently own a 4-6 record on the year, winning its previous contest with a 3-2 victory over UMBC on March 4. Dayton holds a 3-6 advantage all-time with the Green and White as they head into their 10th meeting on Friday, March 16. The two squads last met on March 27, 2003, where the Flyers overtook the Eagles, 5-3. Dayton, now 5-9 on the year, will play a two-game slate with Eastern Kentucky before entering the Miami Invitational. EMU will also square off with Loyola-Chicago for just the second time, as the Eagles defeated the Ramblers 8-4 in their innagual meeting on March 20, 2011.
LAST TIME OUT: The Eagles recently wrapped up action at the Lady Bison Classic in Nashville, Tenn., going 2-2 on weekend with wins over Drake and Alabama State. In the Green and White's 4-0 win over Drake, Jenna Ignowski went the distance as she hurled a complete game shutout with four strikeouts. Jessica Richards went 2-for-3 at the plate, scoring twice and stealing three bases in the contest. Lauren Wells would be the winning pitcher in the circle in the Green and White's 5-0 victory over Alabama State. Wells shut down Hornets' offense through seven innings, holding ASU scoreless on two hits. She also tied a career-high 10 strikeouts in the win. Offensively, Allison Scherer paced the Eagles with two hits on the day, scoring once and driving in an RBI. In the final day of the Classic, EMU dropped two games in losses to host Lipscomb and Middle Tennessee State.
MAC STANDINGS: The Eagles currently sit fifth in the Mid-American Conference West Division with a 6-13 overall record. Offensively, the Green and White are 11th in the conference with a team clip of .227. The EMU pitching staff's 3.65 earned run average is sixth overall, its opposing batting average ranks fourth (.244) and the EMU staff's 119.0 innings pitched is fifth. The Green and White hurlers have struck out 99 batters this season, good for fourth in the MAC, with 33 strikeouts looking (fourth). EMU pitchers have also allowed only five round-trippers to this point, the second fewwest in the conference. The Eagles' defense owns a .958 fielding percentage, good for sixth in the MAC. EMU ranks fifth in both at bats (467) and overall plate appearances (524) and has laid down 11 sacrifice bunts this season for the fifth most in the league. The Eagles' 27 stolen bases is third in the MAC as are their 34 steal attempts. Individually, Jessica Richards is fourth in the conferece in runs scored with 16 and she leads the MAC in stolen bases, successfully swiping 13-of-15 attempts so far this season.
CLIMBING THE RANKS: Several players on the EMU squad are climbing the ranks in the program's career records list. Jessica Richards has scored 108 runs in her career, good for third-most in program history, and has swiped 57 stolen bases for the third most all-time. Richards also owns a career .313 clip for the 7th highest batting average posted in EMU history. McKenna Russ also owns high marks in several offensive catagories. The North Canton, Ohio native is currently tied for fourth in career batting average (.318). Russ has also hit 36 doubles for the sixth-most in program history and has belted the eighth-most homeruns with 12 in her career. Sarah Gerber has also posted notable numbers throughout her tenure, including the second-best fielding percentage (.989) of any EMU softball player. She is ninth on the career doubles list with 27 two-baggers throughout her time as an Eagle. Kaylee Tolliver is currently fifth in fielding percentage (.984), while teammate Nellie Coquillard sits in 10th for home runs with 11 round-trippers in her career. In the circle, Jenna Ignowski is slowly climbing the ranks in career strikeouts, fanning 213 opponents for the ninth most in program history.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University softball team will make the 239-mile trip to Oxford, Ohio to compete in the Miami Inviational, March 16-18. The Invite will feature, EMU, host Miami, Ball State, Niagara, Dayton and Loyola-Chicago. The Eagles will see action against Niagara twice and play single games against both Dayton and Loyola-Chicago.
A GLANCE AT THE COMPETITION: Friday's matchup with Niagara will represent the first meeting between the two squads. The Purple Eagles currently own a 4-6 record on the year, winning its previous contest with a 3-2 victory over UMBC on March 4. Dayton holds a 3-6 advantage all-time with the Green and White as they head into their 10th meeting on Friday, March 16. The two squads last met on March 27, 2003, where the Flyers overtook the Eagles, 5-3. Dayton, now 5-9 on the year, will play a two-game slate with Eastern Kentucky before entering the Miami Invitational. EMU will also square off with Loyola-Chicago for just the second time, as the Eagles defeated the Ramblers 8-4 in their innagual meeting on March 20, 2011.
LAST TIME OUT: The Eagles recently wrapped up action at the Lady Bison Classic in Nashville, Tenn., going 2-2 on weekend with wins over Drake and Alabama State. In the Green and White's 4-0 win over Drake, Jenna Ignowski went the distance as she hurled a complete game shutout with four strikeouts. Jessica Richards went 2-for-3 at the plate, scoring twice and stealing three bases in the contest. Lauren Wells would be the winning pitcher in the circle in the Green and White's 5-0 victory over Alabama State. Wells shut down Hornets' offense through seven innings, holding ASU scoreless on two hits. She also tied a career-high 10 strikeouts in the win. Offensively, Allison Scherer paced the Eagles with two hits on the day, scoring once and driving in an RBI. In the final day of the Classic, EMU dropped two games in losses to host Lipscomb and Middle Tennessee State.
MAC STANDINGS: The Eagles currently sit fifth in the Mid-American Conference West Division with a 6-13 overall record. Offensively, the Green and White are 11th in the conference with a team clip of .227. The EMU pitching staff's 3.65 earned run average is sixth overall, its opposing batting average ranks fourth (.244) and the EMU staff's 119.0 innings pitched is fifth. The Green and White hurlers have struck out 99 batters this season, good for fourth in the MAC, with 33 strikeouts looking (fourth). EMU pitchers have also allowed only five round-trippers to this point, the second fewwest in the conference. The Eagles' defense owns a .958 fielding percentage, good for sixth in the MAC. EMU ranks fifth in both at bats (467) and overall plate appearances (524) and has laid down 11 sacrifice bunts this season for the fifth most in the league. The Eagles' 27 stolen bases is third in the MAC as are their 34 steal attempts. Individually, Jessica Richards is fourth in the conferece in runs scored with 16 and she leads the MAC in stolen bases, successfully swiping 13-of-15 attempts so far this season.
CLIMBING THE RANKS: Several players on the EMU squad are climbing the ranks in the program's career records list. Jessica Richards has scored 108 runs in her career, good for third-most in program history, and has swiped 57 stolen bases for the third most all-time. Richards also owns a career .313 clip for the 7th highest batting average posted in EMU history. McKenna Russ also owns high marks in several offensive catagories. The North Canton, Ohio native is currently tied for fourth in career batting average (.318). Russ has also hit 36 doubles for the sixth-most in program history and has belted the eighth-most homeruns with 12 in her career. Sarah Gerber has also posted notable numbers throughout her tenure, including the second-best fielding percentage (.989) of any EMU softball player. She is ninth on the career doubles list with 27 two-baggers throughout her time as an Eagle. Kaylee Tolliver is currently fifth in fielding percentage (.984), while teammate Nellie Coquillard sits in 10th for home runs with 11 round-trippers in her career. In the circle, Jenna Ignowski is slowly climbing the ranks in career strikeouts, fanning 213 opponents for the ninth most in program history.
Thank You, Team 38
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