Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, March 15
Louisville, Ky.
12:30 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
vs
Wisconsin
Photo by: Joy Wells
EMU to Take on Ranked Opponents at Louisville Softball Classic
3/12/2013 11:34:00 AM | Softball
The Eagles will play four games at Ulmer Stadium
Complete Release (PDF).
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University softball team has started the 2013 campaign with an 8-8 record after 16 games outside the state of Michigan. The Eagles will hit the road one more time before returning home for 10-straight games at Varsity Field. EMU is heading to Louisville, Ky. for the 2013 Louisville Softball Classic at Ulmer Stadium.
EMU will test its talent against a pair of nationally-ranked opponents in the Bluegrass State. Eastern will have a pair of doubleheaders, Friday, March 15, when the Eagles take on Big Ten opponent Wisconsin at 12:30 p.m. before taking on No. 13-ranked and host school, Louisville, at 5 p.m. at Ulmer Stadium. Saturday, March 16, holds another doubleheader in store for the Green and White. EMU opens the day with a 12:30 p.m. tilt versus Wisconsin, before handling No. 25-ranked North Carolina at 5:30 p.m.
SUCCESS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE: The Eagles traveled to Florida for 11 games in a nine day span over which they posted a 6-5 record, including a win over Big Ten opponent, Michigan State, 6-4, March 7. As a team, the Eagles hit just .266 against their opponents, but saw stellar stretches by one of its underclassman pitchers in the Sunshine State.
Lindsay Rich proved to be successful in seven appearances, including three starts in Florida. Rich tossed 18.1 innings, surrendering 13 runs, eight earned, good for a 3.05 earned run average, while striking out 13. She went 3-2 through the nine-day swing.
A GLANCE AT THE COMPETITION: EMU holds a 2-1 record against Wisconsin. The Eagles and Badgers have not seen each other on the diamond for quite some time, as the two teams have not squared off since March, 14, 1997, when the Eagles dropped an 8-2 decision at a tournament hosted by Florida State University.
Eastern and Louisville have played in five games over the years, with the Eagles holding a 3-2 edge in the all-time series. The Cardinals and Eagles have not played since March 13, 2009, when Eastern dropped a 3-2 decision to the then No. 17-ranked Cardinals at the Courtyard by Marriot Cardinal Tournament in Louisville, Ky.
The Eagles have seen North Carolina the most times of this weekend's competition, squaring off with the Tar Heels 15 times over the years, with UNC holding a slight 8-7 edge in the all-time series. The last time the Tar Heels and Eagles met on the diamond was March 6, 1999, when EMU was handed a 5-3 setback at a tournament hosted by the University of Virginia.
STANTON STEPS UP IN FLORIDA: Junior Amanda Stanton hit at a .379 clip in the Eagles 11-game trip through the Sunshine State while accounting for nearly 25 percent of the Eagles run production, knocking in eight RBI, including her second homer of the 2013 campaign. Stanton slugged at a .483 clip, appearing in all 11 games.
WOES FROM WELLS TO START THE SEASON: Junior pitcher Lauren Wells has struggled to start the season. In eight appearances for the 2013 campaign, Wells is 0-5 with a 6.41 earned run average. In 31.2 innings, she has surrendered 35 runs in 31.2 innings of work, while walking 24. The Lowell, Ind. native has a WHIP of 2.37 through the first 16 games of the season. The former Second Team All-MAC award winner looks to get back on track in Louisville and moving forward at Varsity Field.
CLIMBING THE CAREER RANKS: Several players on the EMU squad are making their marks in the program's career records list. Nellie Coquillard sits tied for fourth in career home runs with 19 round-trippers. In the circle, Jenna Ignowski is slowly climbing the ranks in career wins, as she has posted 34 already, which ranks fourth all-time. Ignowski also holds the sixth most strikeouts in EMU history with 296, while tossing 359 innings, good for 10th most in Eastern laurels. Also finding her form in a pair of seasons is pitcher Lauren Wells for the Eagles. She has the 10th most punchouts in a career with 214. Defensively, Katy Blaharski was perfect last season, posting a 1.000 fielding percentage. With a .981 career fielding percentage, Blaharski is tied for 10th all-time in the EMU record book.
EAGLES WELCOME NEW ADDITIONS: The Eagles welcome six newcomers in Myranda Barnes, Cassidy Jenkins, Abby Davidson, Mady Hostetler, Elaine Whitbeck, and Aoife Duffy to the 2013 squad and will be looking to make major contributions this season. Barnes, an Ypsilanti, Mich. native was a four-year letterwinner for Belleville High School where she was a three-time Western Wayne Athletic Conference All-Conference selection.
Jenkins was a four-year varsity letterwinnter at Saint Francis DeSales where she was named All-Conference and second team All-District in her senior season.
Davidson hails from Westerville, Ohio where she was a four-year varsity letterwinner at Olentangy Orange. The Olengtangy Orange MVP looks to help the Eagles in the infield this season.
A native of New Haven, Ind., Hostetler played four seasons at Woodlan High School. She was a four-year varsity letterwinner at Woodlan and four-time All-Conference first team selection. Hostetler earned second team All-State honors in her senior year after hitting .510 with a .558 on-base percentage and .740 slugging percentage.
Whitbeck comes to Ypsilanti from Holland, Mich. where she was a four-year varsity letterwinner for West Ottawa High School. She was a three-time first team All-Area award winner and two-time All-Conference award winner, while setting West Ottawa records for most stolen bases and singles in a season. Whitbeck was a three-year varsity captain of the Panthers.
Coming from Powell, Ohio, Duffy was a three-year varsity letterwinner at Olentangy Liberty High School. She earned the honor of Ohio Capitol Conference's Most Valuable Player, while leading the Patriots to a conference championship.
CONFERENCE TOUR: The Eagles will see a slew of representatives from several different conferences this season, taking on opponents from 12 different leagues in 2013. EMU will square off against teams from the American East (Stony Brook), Atlantic 10 (Butler), Atlantic Coast (Georgia Tech and North Carolina), Atlantic Sun (Kennesaw State and Jacksonville), Big East (Louisville and Notre Dame), Big Ten (Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin), Big 12 (Kansas), Horizon (Valparaiso and Youngstown State), Ivy (Harvard), Mid-Eastern (Florida A&M), Summit (IPFW and Oakland) and the Sun Belt (Florida Atlantic and Florida International) conferences. In addition to those opponents, the Eagles will take on each of the other 11 Mid-American Conference schools prior to the end of 2013.
BAIRD'S BEEN HERE THE LONGEST: In its 33-years of existence the EMU softball team has seen six different head coaches come and go through Ypsilanti. Current Head Coach Karen Baird completed her 10th season at the helm of the softball program in 2012. Completing that season made her the longest-tenured softball coach in EMU history. Current Oakland Head Coach Connie Miner (1988-96) has completed nine seasons as the head woman in Ypsilanti.
EAGLES BOAST NINTH-BEST GPA IN DIVISION I: For the ninth straight year, the Eastern Michigan University softball team has been ranked among the top-20 in all Division I schools in team GPA, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced in its 2012 Top 10 All-Academic Teams.
The Eagles earned the ninth-best team grade point average of 3.552 last year. The Eagles have been making the grade since the 2004 season when they recorded a 3.552 GPA, good for the top mark in the country.
In this years poll, Robert Morris University had the highest GPA among Division I schools with a 3.609 GPA followed by University of Northern Colorado (3.603), Kent State University (3.596), Southern Illinois University (3.582) while Central Michigan University (3.572) and Tennessee Technological University (3.572) tied to round out the top-five.
The NFCA Academic Awards program honors both collegiate and high school teams for their submitted GPAs for the 2011-2012 academic year. As a second component of the program, all submitted student-athletes who achieved a 3.50 GPA during last academic year are named as a NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University softball team has started the 2013 campaign with an 8-8 record after 16 games outside the state of Michigan. The Eagles will hit the road one more time before returning home for 10-straight games at Varsity Field. EMU is heading to Louisville, Ky. for the 2013 Louisville Softball Classic at Ulmer Stadium.
EMU will test its talent against a pair of nationally-ranked opponents in the Bluegrass State. Eastern will have a pair of doubleheaders, Friday, March 15, when the Eagles take on Big Ten opponent Wisconsin at 12:30 p.m. before taking on No. 13-ranked and host school, Louisville, at 5 p.m. at Ulmer Stadium. Saturday, March 16, holds another doubleheader in store for the Green and White. EMU opens the day with a 12:30 p.m. tilt versus Wisconsin, before handling No. 25-ranked North Carolina at 5:30 p.m.
SUCCESS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE: The Eagles traveled to Florida for 11 games in a nine day span over which they posted a 6-5 record, including a win over Big Ten opponent, Michigan State, 6-4, March 7. As a team, the Eagles hit just .266 against their opponents, but saw stellar stretches by one of its underclassman pitchers in the Sunshine State.
Lindsay Rich proved to be successful in seven appearances, including three starts in Florida. Rich tossed 18.1 innings, surrendering 13 runs, eight earned, good for a 3.05 earned run average, while striking out 13. She went 3-2 through the nine-day swing.
A GLANCE AT THE COMPETITION: EMU holds a 2-1 record against Wisconsin. The Eagles and Badgers have not seen each other on the diamond for quite some time, as the two teams have not squared off since March, 14, 1997, when the Eagles dropped an 8-2 decision at a tournament hosted by Florida State University.
Eastern and Louisville have played in five games over the years, with the Eagles holding a 3-2 edge in the all-time series. The Cardinals and Eagles have not played since March 13, 2009, when Eastern dropped a 3-2 decision to the then No. 17-ranked Cardinals at the Courtyard by Marriot Cardinal Tournament in Louisville, Ky.
The Eagles have seen North Carolina the most times of this weekend's competition, squaring off with the Tar Heels 15 times over the years, with UNC holding a slight 8-7 edge in the all-time series. The last time the Tar Heels and Eagles met on the diamond was March 6, 1999, when EMU was handed a 5-3 setback at a tournament hosted by the University of Virginia.
STANTON STEPS UP IN FLORIDA: Junior Amanda Stanton hit at a .379 clip in the Eagles 11-game trip through the Sunshine State while accounting for nearly 25 percent of the Eagles run production, knocking in eight RBI, including her second homer of the 2013 campaign. Stanton slugged at a .483 clip, appearing in all 11 games.
WOES FROM WELLS TO START THE SEASON: Junior pitcher Lauren Wells has struggled to start the season. In eight appearances for the 2013 campaign, Wells is 0-5 with a 6.41 earned run average. In 31.2 innings, she has surrendered 35 runs in 31.2 innings of work, while walking 24. The Lowell, Ind. native has a WHIP of 2.37 through the first 16 games of the season. The former Second Team All-MAC award winner looks to get back on track in Louisville and moving forward at Varsity Field.
CLIMBING THE CAREER RANKS: Several players on the EMU squad are making their marks in the program's career records list. Nellie Coquillard sits tied for fourth in career home runs with 19 round-trippers. In the circle, Jenna Ignowski is slowly climbing the ranks in career wins, as she has posted 34 already, which ranks fourth all-time. Ignowski also holds the sixth most strikeouts in EMU history with 296, while tossing 359 innings, good for 10th most in Eastern laurels. Also finding her form in a pair of seasons is pitcher Lauren Wells for the Eagles. She has the 10th most punchouts in a career with 214. Defensively, Katy Blaharski was perfect last season, posting a 1.000 fielding percentage. With a .981 career fielding percentage, Blaharski is tied for 10th all-time in the EMU record book.
EAGLES WELCOME NEW ADDITIONS: The Eagles welcome six newcomers in Myranda Barnes, Cassidy Jenkins, Abby Davidson, Mady Hostetler, Elaine Whitbeck, and Aoife Duffy to the 2013 squad and will be looking to make major contributions this season. Barnes, an Ypsilanti, Mich. native was a four-year letterwinner for Belleville High School where she was a three-time Western Wayne Athletic Conference All-Conference selection.
Jenkins was a four-year varsity letterwinnter at Saint Francis DeSales where she was named All-Conference and second team All-District in her senior season.
Davidson hails from Westerville, Ohio where she was a four-year varsity letterwinner at Olentangy Orange. The Olengtangy Orange MVP looks to help the Eagles in the infield this season.
A native of New Haven, Ind., Hostetler played four seasons at Woodlan High School. She was a four-year varsity letterwinner at Woodlan and four-time All-Conference first team selection. Hostetler earned second team All-State honors in her senior year after hitting .510 with a .558 on-base percentage and .740 slugging percentage.
Whitbeck comes to Ypsilanti from Holland, Mich. where she was a four-year varsity letterwinner for West Ottawa High School. She was a three-time first team All-Area award winner and two-time All-Conference award winner, while setting West Ottawa records for most stolen bases and singles in a season. Whitbeck was a three-year varsity captain of the Panthers.
Coming from Powell, Ohio, Duffy was a three-year varsity letterwinner at Olentangy Liberty High School. She earned the honor of Ohio Capitol Conference's Most Valuable Player, while leading the Patriots to a conference championship.
CONFERENCE TOUR: The Eagles will see a slew of representatives from several different conferences this season, taking on opponents from 12 different leagues in 2013. EMU will square off against teams from the American East (Stony Brook), Atlantic 10 (Butler), Atlantic Coast (Georgia Tech and North Carolina), Atlantic Sun (Kennesaw State and Jacksonville), Big East (Louisville and Notre Dame), Big Ten (Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin), Big 12 (Kansas), Horizon (Valparaiso and Youngstown State), Ivy (Harvard), Mid-Eastern (Florida A&M), Summit (IPFW and Oakland) and the Sun Belt (Florida Atlantic and Florida International) conferences. In addition to those opponents, the Eagles will take on each of the other 11 Mid-American Conference schools prior to the end of 2013.
BAIRD'S BEEN HERE THE LONGEST: In its 33-years of existence the EMU softball team has seen six different head coaches come and go through Ypsilanti. Current Head Coach Karen Baird completed her 10th season at the helm of the softball program in 2012. Completing that season made her the longest-tenured softball coach in EMU history. Current Oakland Head Coach Connie Miner (1988-96) has completed nine seasons as the head woman in Ypsilanti.
EAGLES BOAST NINTH-BEST GPA IN DIVISION I: For the ninth straight year, the Eastern Michigan University softball team has been ranked among the top-20 in all Division I schools in team GPA, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced in its 2012 Top 10 All-Academic Teams.
The Eagles earned the ninth-best team grade point average of 3.552 last year. The Eagles have been making the grade since the 2004 season when they recorded a 3.552 GPA, good for the top mark in the country.
In this years poll, Robert Morris University had the highest GPA among Division I schools with a 3.609 GPA followed by University of Northern Colorado (3.603), Kent State University (3.596), Southern Illinois University (3.582) while Central Michigan University (3.572) and Tennessee Technological University (3.572) tied to round out the top-five.
The NFCA Academic Awards program honors both collegiate and high school teams for their submitted GPAs for the 2011-2012 academic year. As a second component of the program, all submitted student-athletes who achieved a 3.50 GPA during last academic year are named as a NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete.
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