Eastern Michigan Athletics
Tuesday, March 27
Fort Wayne, Ind.
3 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
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IPFW
Photo by: Kathi Russ
Softball Opens Up MAC Play This Weekend
3/26/2012 11:40:00 AM | Softball
Eagles will face IPFW, Oakland before facing Buffalo, Kent State this weekend
Full Release.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University softball team will open up the Mid-American Conference portion of its 2012 schedule this weekend, March 30-April 1, after playing a pair of mid-week doubleheaders at both IPFW (March 27) and Oakland (March 28). The Eagles finished last season with a 12-8 mark in conference games to finish fourth in the MAC West and earn the No. 5 seed at the 2011 MAC Tournament.
MID-WEEK MATCHUPS: The March 27 doubleheader with IPFW will mark the ninth meeting between the two squads with EMU holding a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series. In their previous meeting April 28, 2010, the Eagles split with the Mastadons in a double header with the Green and White taking game one, 9-7, before dropping the nightcap, 4-0. Currently, IPFW owns a healthy 22-7 record with a 7-2 mark in the Summit League. As a team, the Mastadons are batting .289 while defensively they have posted a .955 fielding percentage. Their pitching staff owns a 1.22 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .197 batting average.
The Eagles face Oakland on March 28 for the 16th time with a 12-3 record all-time against the Grizzlies. The two last faced off on April 12 last season where EMU split a doubleheader with a 6-1 setback and a 10-2, five-inning affair at Varsity Field. OU is 3-18 on the 2012 season, with a 1-8 mark in the Summit League. The Grizzlies are hitting .252 and own a .956 mark defensively. As a staff, OU pitchers hold a 6.67 ERA and have allowed oppenents to hit .333 on the year.
RUNNING WITH THE BULLS: EMU's Mid-American Conference season opener will take place March 30 at 1 p.m. in a doubleheader with the University at Buffalo. The Eagles are 9-4 all-time with the Bulls and last faced UB on May 6 of last season where the Green and White swept the Bulls to secure a spot at the MAC Tournament for the first time since the 2007 campaign. The Bulls are coached by former EMU assistant, Jennifer Teague, and are currently 7-11 on the year. UB pitchers have posted a 4.50 ERA in 115.0 innings of work, while the Bulls' offense is hitting .214 at the plate. Defensively, they have committed 14 errors to maintain a .969 fielding percentage.
FACING THE GOLDEN FLASHES: After spending a day in Buffalo, N.Y., the Green and White will drive to Kent, Ohio to face Kent State University for the 73rd time in program history. The two squads last met in the 2011 MAC Tournament in Akron, Ohio, where KSU ended the Eagles' season in a come-from-behind, 5-2 win in the final inning of play to improve its all-time record to 43-29 over the Eagles. The Golden Flashes come into the weekend with a 12-14 record. KSU's hitters are batting .257, while its pitching staff has held opponents to a .282 clip with a 3.12 ERA.
LAST TIME OUT: The Eagles last took the field on Wednesday, March 21, when they traveled to Ann Arbor, Mich. to face Washtenaw County rival the University of Michigan in a non-conference matchup. The Green and White suffered a 10-2 loss to the Wolverines, as the Eagles were out-hit 8-to-4 in the contest. Jenna Ignowski was tagged with the loss despite giving up just one earned run. Nellie Coquillard led the Green and White's offense with two hits, while Jessica Richards and Amanda Herron tallied one hit apiece.
IGNOWSKI EARNS WEEKLY AWARD: Jenna Ignowski was named the Mid-American Conference Co-Female Scholar Athlete of the Week by the league office March 21, sharing half of the title with Miami pitcher, Jessica Simpson. The 3.81 speech and Pathology major made two appearances at this weekend's Miami Invitational in Oxford, Ohio where she earned her second career no-hitter against Niagara on Saturday, March 17. The junior fanned seven batters while stymieing the Purple Eagles bats in just the 13th no-hit performance in EMU program history. Ignowski remains just one of 10 EMU hurlers to accomplish that feat. Through 11.1 innings over the weekend, Ignowski went 1-1, striking out 11 while maintaining a 2.47 ERA. The MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week honor is presented to a MAC male and female student-athlete who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better and performs well during the week's competition. The winners are selected by a group of the conference's faculty athletic representatives.
RICHARDS ON THE RUN: Senior infielder Jessica Ricahards has been a formidable force on the base paths this season, stealing 16 bases on 19 attempts to give her 60 in her career. In 24 starts, Richards has stolen a base in 11 contests, with multiple swipes in three separate games. Against both Central Florida (Feb. 26) and Drake (March 9), the Canton, Ohio native took three bases in each contest to tie a career best. Three stolen bases in a single contest also ties the second most in a single game by an EMU softball player in program history and is one short of the program record set by Dawn Godfrey agaisnt Miami on April 6, 1996.
MAC STANDINGS: The Eagles currently sit fifth in the Mid-American Conference West Division with a 9-14 overall record. Offensively, the Green and White is 10th in the conference with a team batting average of .235. The EMU pitching staff's 3.36 earned run average is eighth overall, while the Green and White hurlers have struck out 120 batters this season, good for fourth in the MAC and 43 strikeouts looking (t-third). EMU pitchers have also held opposing hitters to a .235 average for the the fourth lowest in the conference and are second in home runs allowed with five.
The Eagles' defense owns a .957 fielding percentage (tied for sixth in the MAC with Bowling Green) and third in assists with 183. EMU has laid down 16 sacrifice bunts this season for the fourth most in the league. The Eagles' 30 stolen bases is fourth in the MAC and are fifth with 38 steal attempts. Individually, Katy Blaharski is ninth in the conference with her .385 average, while Jessica Richards is tied for fourth in the conference in runs scored with 18. She is second the MAC in stolen bases, having successfully swiped 15-of-18 attempts so far this season. Jenna Ignowski's 2.53 ERA is 13th in the MAC, while Wells is 17th with a 2.91 mark.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University softball team will open up the Mid-American Conference portion of its 2012 schedule this weekend, March 30-April 1, after playing a pair of mid-week doubleheaders at both IPFW (March 27) and Oakland (March 28). The Eagles finished last season with a 12-8 mark in conference games to finish fourth in the MAC West and earn the No. 5 seed at the 2011 MAC Tournament.
MID-WEEK MATCHUPS: The March 27 doubleheader with IPFW will mark the ninth meeting between the two squads with EMU holding a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series. In their previous meeting April 28, 2010, the Eagles split with the Mastadons in a double header with the Green and White taking game one, 9-7, before dropping the nightcap, 4-0. Currently, IPFW owns a healthy 22-7 record with a 7-2 mark in the Summit League. As a team, the Mastadons are batting .289 while defensively they have posted a .955 fielding percentage. Their pitching staff owns a 1.22 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .197 batting average.
The Eagles face Oakland on March 28 for the 16th time with a 12-3 record all-time against the Grizzlies. The two last faced off on April 12 last season where EMU split a doubleheader with a 6-1 setback and a 10-2, five-inning affair at Varsity Field. OU is 3-18 on the 2012 season, with a 1-8 mark in the Summit League. The Grizzlies are hitting .252 and own a .956 mark defensively. As a staff, OU pitchers hold a 6.67 ERA and have allowed oppenents to hit .333 on the year.
RUNNING WITH THE BULLS: EMU's Mid-American Conference season opener will take place March 30 at 1 p.m. in a doubleheader with the University at Buffalo. The Eagles are 9-4 all-time with the Bulls and last faced UB on May 6 of last season where the Green and White swept the Bulls to secure a spot at the MAC Tournament for the first time since the 2007 campaign. The Bulls are coached by former EMU assistant, Jennifer Teague, and are currently 7-11 on the year. UB pitchers have posted a 4.50 ERA in 115.0 innings of work, while the Bulls' offense is hitting .214 at the plate. Defensively, they have committed 14 errors to maintain a .969 fielding percentage.
FACING THE GOLDEN FLASHES: After spending a day in Buffalo, N.Y., the Green and White will drive to Kent, Ohio to face Kent State University for the 73rd time in program history. The two squads last met in the 2011 MAC Tournament in Akron, Ohio, where KSU ended the Eagles' season in a come-from-behind, 5-2 win in the final inning of play to improve its all-time record to 43-29 over the Eagles. The Golden Flashes come into the weekend with a 12-14 record. KSU's hitters are batting .257, while its pitching staff has held opponents to a .282 clip with a 3.12 ERA.
LAST TIME OUT: The Eagles last took the field on Wednesday, March 21, when they traveled to Ann Arbor, Mich. to face Washtenaw County rival the University of Michigan in a non-conference matchup. The Green and White suffered a 10-2 loss to the Wolverines, as the Eagles were out-hit 8-to-4 in the contest. Jenna Ignowski was tagged with the loss despite giving up just one earned run. Nellie Coquillard led the Green and White's offense with two hits, while Jessica Richards and Amanda Herron tallied one hit apiece.
IGNOWSKI EARNS WEEKLY AWARD: Jenna Ignowski was named the Mid-American Conference Co-Female Scholar Athlete of the Week by the league office March 21, sharing half of the title with Miami pitcher, Jessica Simpson. The 3.81 speech and Pathology major made two appearances at this weekend's Miami Invitational in Oxford, Ohio where she earned her second career no-hitter against Niagara on Saturday, March 17. The junior fanned seven batters while stymieing the Purple Eagles bats in just the 13th no-hit performance in EMU program history. Ignowski remains just one of 10 EMU hurlers to accomplish that feat. Through 11.1 innings over the weekend, Ignowski went 1-1, striking out 11 while maintaining a 2.47 ERA. The MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week honor is presented to a MAC male and female student-athlete who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better and performs well during the week's competition. The winners are selected by a group of the conference's faculty athletic representatives.
RICHARDS ON THE RUN: Senior infielder Jessica Ricahards has been a formidable force on the base paths this season, stealing 16 bases on 19 attempts to give her 60 in her career. In 24 starts, Richards has stolen a base in 11 contests, with multiple swipes in three separate games. Against both Central Florida (Feb. 26) and Drake (March 9), the Canton, Ohio native took three bases in each contest to tie a career best. Three stolen bases in a single contest also ties the second most in a single game by an EMU softball player in program history and is one short of the program record set by Dawn Godfrey agaisnt Miami on April 6, 1996.
MAC STANDINGS: The Eagles currently sit fifth in the Mid-American Conference West Division with a 9-14 overall record. Offensively, the Green and White is 10th in the conference with a team batting average of .235. The EMU pitching staff's 3.36 earned run average is eighth overall, while the Green and White hurlers have struck out 120 batters this season, good for fourth in the MAC and 43 strikeouts looking (t-third). EMU pitchers have also held opposing hitters to a .235 average for the the fourth lowest in the conference and are second in home runs allowed with five.
The Eagles' defense owns a .957 fielding percentage (tied for sixth in the MAC with Bowling Green) and third in assists with 183. EMU has laid down 16 sacrifice bunts this season for the fourth most in the league. The Eagles' 30 stolen bases is fourth in the MAC and are fifth with 38 steal attempts. Individually, Katy Blaharski is ninth in the conference with her .385 average, while Jessica Richards is tied for fourth in the conference in runs scored with 18. She is second the MAC in stolen bases, having successfully swiped 15-of-18 attempts so far this season. Jenna Ignowski's 2.53 ERA is 13th in the MAC, while Wells is 17th with a 2.91 mark.
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