EMU Opens Up Mid-American Conference Play With Ball State and Miami

EMU OPENS UP MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE PLAY: The Eastern Michigan University softball team kicks off Mid-American Conference play Friday, March 27 when the Cardinals of Ball State University come to town to faceoff with the Green and White. EMU will first take on the Cardinals in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. on Varsity field before playing Miami University in single games both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's game is slated for 2 p.m. at Varsity Field, while the series finale is set to start at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

ALL-TIME SERIES WITH WEEKEND OPPONENTS: The Green and White hold a 79-95 overall record between this weekends opponents, carrying a 44-36 advantage over Miami. However, EMU trails Ball State 59-35 in the all-time series between the two teams. Furthermore, the Eagles lost to both Ball State and Miami in the meetings between the two teams in 2014. Eastern is looking for its first win over BSU since the 2013 season and looking to sweep the series over the RedHawks after splitting the series in 2014.

EAGLES SPLIT NON-CONFERENCE CONTEST IN DETROIT: The Eastern Michigan University softball team split its mid-week non-conference doubleheader with the Titans of the University of Detroit Wednesday, March 25. The Eagles (8-16) fell 8-7 in game one in eight innings before coming back to defeat the Titans (2-21), 11-8, in game two.
   EMU was led by Myranda Barnes and Abby Davidson in game one as both went 2-for-3 at the dish, while Katy Wyman drove in three runs for the Green and White. Sophomore pitcher Abbie Minsker suffered the loss in game one after pitching five innings in relief of starter Lindsay Rich.
    In game two, the Eagles were paced by senior Jenn Lucas who drove in four runs, while Barnes and Michelle Kriegshauser plated two runs apiece for Eastern. Freshman hurler Trisha Trujillo earned the win in the circle, pitching four innings, while Alyssa Huntley hurled three innings of relief.
    Barnes finished the day going 3-for-7 at the plate and scoring twice for the Eagles, while Kriegshauser went 2-for-5 with two RBI.

FINDING THE RIGHT FIT: Head Coach Melissa Gentile has been trying to find the perfect fit this season in regards to the batting order. So far in 2015, the Eagles have had 20 different lineups in 24 games, while only using the same lineup at most three times. The Green and White went 1-2 when using the same lineup against Columbia, North Dakota and Robert Morris, while posting a pefect 2-0 record with identical batting orders against Siena and UMASS-Lowell. Finally, EMU was 0-2 when using a matching lineup against both Georgia State and UMKC.
   Junior Myranda Barnes has proven to be the most effective leadoff hitter for the Green and White with five hits and two RBI as well as earning six walks. Spending most of the season in the three slot, sophomore Michelle Kriegshauser is hitting .364 with 24 hits and 15 RBI, while Abi Clark has been an effective hitter in the clean-up spot, notching four hits in 12 at-bats for a .333 batting average.

HITTING WITH DUCKS ON THE POND: As a team, Eastern is hitting .251 with runners on base this season with sophomore Michelle Kriegshauser posting a team-best .452 batting average when there are ducks on the pond. The sophomore outfielder is 14-for-31 with runner on the basepath, spending the majority of the season as the No. 3 hitter for the Green and White. Senior Jenn Lucas has also been clutch with runners on, hitting at a .323 clip, while Abi Clark is hitting .318 with runners on base.
   Entering the lineup for Eastern 10 games in, sophomore Katy Wyman has been securing a spot in the starting lineup after hitting .368 with runners on base this season, going 7-for-19 at the dish.

BALL STATE BY THE NUMBERS: The Cardinals enter Mid-American Conference play with a 12-16 overall record and currently sit in second in the West Division behind leaders, Northern Illinois.
   As a team, Ball State is hitting at a .291 clip led by junior Emily Dabkowski who has a team-best batting average of .345 while leading the team with 30 hits and 26 RBI through the first 28 games of the season. The starting second baseman has also driven seven long balls for the Cardinals as well as knocking five doubles and notching one triple. Furthermore, Dabkowski has a .667 slugging percentage and a .388 on-base percentage, while stealing 10 bases on 11 attempts. The BSU lineup has three other hitters hitting .300 or better as Loren Cihlar is hitting .329 and Slena Reyna and Hanne Stuedemann have .326 and .320 batting averages, respectively.
   Despite its success at the plate, the Cardinal pitchers have struggled against the opposition, allowing hitters to carry a .309 batting average. Ace pitcher Nicole Steinbach has made 19 appearances and 16 starts in 2015 for BSU with a 6-8 overall record in 87.1 innings of work. The junior right-handed hurler has tossed eight complete games and has fanned 80 batters this season for Ball State, holding a team-best 4.41 ERA. Following Steinbach, freshman Carolyn Wilmes has made 12 appearances and six starts in her first season as a Cardinal, striking out 14 batters in 38.0 innings of work, while sophomore Jocelyn Rivera has pitched 28.1 innings in 11 appearances and four starts for Ball State.

LOOKING AHEAD TO MIAMI: The RedHawks enter the cross-divisional contest as the No. 2 team in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference with a 16-11 overall record prior to opening conference play.
   Senior Tiyona Marshall has come out strong in her final year at Miami, notching 51 hits with five double and one triple for a .456 batting average, which ties for third in the MAC. The senior outfielder has a .533 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage, while stealing a team-best 10 bases on 11 attempts this season. MAC East Player of the Week selection, Taylor Shuey is hitting at a .357 clip for the RedHawks with 30 hits and a team-best 21 RBI, moving between the three-spot and the five-spot in the lineup this season. Finally, Shanyn McIntyre has blasted a team-high five home runs this season with 14 RBI for a .333 battting average in 17 games.
   Junior Amber Logemann has been the go-to pitcher for Miami this season, making 19 appearances and 13 starts with a 2.03 ERA, which ranks as the third-lowest in the MAC. The right-handed hurler has tossed 96.1 innings with four complete gamesand struck out 100 batters, carrying a 12-5 record into conference action. The Eagles may also face off with seniors Remy Edwards or Megan Mattera, who have combined for 77.2 innings of work with 51 strikeouts and three saves.

ON DECK: Following the conference action, Eastern Michigan will hit the road for a mid-week non-conference single game against Notre Dame. The Eagles and the Fighting Irish are set to play Wednesday, April 1 at 4 p.m. in South Bend, Ind.

EMU Opens Up Mid-American Conference Play With Ball State and Miami

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Players Mentioned

Myranda Barnes

Abi Clark

Abby Davidson

Alyssa Huntley

Michelle Kriegshauser

Jenn Lucas

Abbie Minsker

Lindsay Rich

Trisha Trujillo

Katy Wyman

Eastern Michigan Athletics