Eastern Caps Off 2015 Season at Varsity Field

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EAGLES CAP OFF REGULAR SEASON AT VARSITY FIELD: The Eastern Michigan University softball team will be playing for a chance to appear in the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the first time since 2011 when it takes on Bowling Green State University and the University of Toledo this weekend. The Eagles and the Falcons will face off on the diamond Friday, May 1 in a 1 p.m. doubleheader, while the Rockets and the Green and White will play single games Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3. Saturday's game is slated for 2 p.m., while Sunday will celebrate the careers of Jenn Lucas and Lindsay Rich in a Senior Day event starting at 1 p.m. For fans who cannot make it to Varsity Field, they can catch all the action live on Eagle All-Access with veteran play-by-play voice of the Eagles Greg Steiner.

ALL-TIME AGAINST WEEKEND OPPONENTS: The Eagles hold a 92-98 all-time record against their weekend opponents, carrying the 55-46 advantage over Toledo and trailing Bowling Green, 37-52 in the all-time series.

BOWLING GREEN BY THE NUMBERS: The Falcons head to Ypsilanti with an 18-26 overall record and a 6-12 record in Mid-American Conference play. BGSU has played just four conference road games in the 2015 season and captured only one win, while going 5-9 at home.
   Bowling Green is hitting .251 overall on the season and .233 in conference action with Aspen Searle hitting at a .347 clip with a team-high 50 hits and 23 RBI. The sophomore shortstop also ties for a team-best 10 doubles and has launched a team-best eight home runs on the season. Furthermore, Searle is batting .377 in conference action to lead the Falcons at the plate. Junior Molly Holiday has also had an impressive season at the plate for BGSU with a team-best .361 batting average, including 48 hits. Once on base, Holiday is a threat to the opposition, swiping 14 bases on 18 attempts, while Marina Cobbs has stolen 12 bases on 13 attempts for the Falcons. Despite having three players hitting above .300, as a team, BGSU is striking out 25 percent of the time with a total of 288 strikeouts on the season.
   The Falcons pitching staff is split between three hurlers, who each carry an ERA below 4.00 on the season. Senior Jamie Kertes leads the team with nine wins on the season, tossing 121.0 innings with a 3.41 ERA, while Briana Combs holds a team-high 3.21 ERA in 87.1 innings of work. Finally, Braiden Dillow has been used mostly in the relief spot, making 30 appearances with nine starts and pitching 78.0 innings for Bowling Green.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE FALCONS: Last season, Eastern Michigan split with Bowling Green on the road. The Eagles shut out BGSU, 3-0, in game one. Lindsay Rich was the story of the game, pitching six innings for the win and driving in all three of Eastern's runs, two of which came on a two-run homer in the top of the fifth inning.
   The Falcons got the best of the Eagles in game two, scoring one run in three of the first four innings. The Green and White trailed early in the contest, but was able to work its way within one of BGSU in the sixth inning with an Amanda Stanton single to center field. Trailing by one in the seventh, the Eagles struggled offensively, retiring in order to close out the game in favor of the Falcons, 3-2.

SCOUTING THE ROCKETS: The University of Toledo is fifth in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference with a 22-30 overall record and a 5-13 record in conference action. The Rockets will be looking for their first conference road win this weekend when they travel to both Central and Eastern Michigan as they are 0-5 in MAC road contests.
   UT is hitting at a .267 clip overall on the season and .245 in conference play, paced by sophomore Celeste Fidge. The sophomore utility player is hitting .349 overall on the season with 53 hits, including 10 doubles, four triples, five home runs and 31 RBI. Junior Jessica Lemieux has also had a hot bat in 2015 for Toledo, hitting at a .329 clip overall and a team-high .309 batting average in MAC play. Lemieux has driven in 30 RBI on 51 hits and knocked a team-best 14 doubles on the season. Much like BGSU, Toledo likes to run, stealing 98 bases in the 2015 season with five players stealing 10 or more bases this season. Lemieux has swiped 20 bases, which ranks second in the MAC, while Alyssa Smith and Ashley Rausch have stolen 12 bases apiece for Toledo.
   Toledo's pitching staff is split between two hurlers, who have both made 30 or more appearances in 2015. Sophomore Emily Anderson has endured most of the work load for the Rockets, pitching 189 innings, including 19 complete games. Anderson has a team-best 3.56 ERA and has earned 11 wins for UT this season, while Maria Gooding has hurled 135.1 innings and carries a 4.76 ERA.

LAST TIME OUT AGAINST UT: Toledo used two big innings in game one against the Eagles to take a 8-1 victory on their home field in the 2014 season. The Green and White's lone run crossed the plate on a bases loaded walk, but EMU was unable to produce any further offense in the opening game.
   Eastern roared back offensively in game two to score 11 runs on nine hits in game two to take home an 11-5 win over the Rockets. The Eagles were led by Michelle Kriegshauser and Lindsay Rich, who each notched two hits on the day, while Rich and Myranda Barnes drove in two runs apiece for the Green and White.

SENIOR DAY SPOTLIGHTS: Sunday's single game against the University of Toledo will honor seniors Jenn Lucas and Lindsay Rich for their hard work and dedication to the program the past four seasons. Below are brief spotlights of their careers as Eagles.

#5 Jenn Lucas: Lucas has appeared in 187 games, starting 172 in her career donning the Green and White. The Pinckney, Mich. native began her career at Eastern Michigan in the outfield before moving to second base in her junior season and making the transition back to the outfield in her senior campaign. Lucas carries a .238 career batting average with 116 hits, including 22 doubles, one triple and 14 home runs, which ranks ninth all-time in EMU laurels. This season, the senior outfielder ranks fourth on the team, posting the best season of her career a tthe plate with a .309 batting average, including 43 hits and eight homers for the Green and White. Furthermore, Lucas posts a .531 slugging percentage and a .351 on-base percentage in her final season as an Eagle, while driving in 24 runs. In conference action, the Pinckney, Mich. native has notched 13 hits, three home runs and eight RBI, while scoring on nine occasions. This season, Lucas has posted nine multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI games en route to an eight-game hitting streak and a 10 game reached base streak in the 2015 campaign.

#15 Lindsay Rich: Rich has appeared in 161 games, starting 109 in her career as an Eagle. The senior hurler surpassed the previous EMU record with 142 appearances in the circle and 67 starts in her four-year career at Eastern Michigan, while ranking fifth in innings pitched with 490.2 tossed. The Perrysburg, Ohio native has written her name into EMU laurels as she currently ranks eighth all-time with 288 strikeouts. Furthermore, Rich's 38 appearances in the 2014 season rank her fifth all-time in single season history at Eastern Michigan, while her 33 appearances in 2015 tie for 12th all-time. This season, Rich has tallied nine of the Eagles' 16 wins, pitching 144 innings with nine complete games and 80 strikeouts. Along with her time in the circle, the Perrysburg, Ohio native has posted 208 at-bats, serving as the designated player when she is not pitching in both her junior and senior season. The senior has notched 45 hits with eight doubles and eight home runs in her time at the plate, while posting a .380 slugging percentage and a .332 on-base percentage. In 2015, Rich carries a .248 batting average, with her best season at the plate, including 25 hits, six doubles, one triple and four home runs. Finally, the senior has a .446 slugging percentage and a .372 on-base percentage in her final season as an Eagle.

HOW CAN EMU GET IN?: With the Mid-American Conference Tournament less than a week away, it is time to see what the Eagles need to do in order to secure a spot for the first time since the 2011 season.
   The MAC takes the top eight teams at the conclusion of the regular season and currently the Green and White sits in ninth overall and is three games back from qualifying for the tournament. There are many different scenarios that need to play out in order for the Eagles to make the trip to Akron, Ohio, May 6-9. First, if EMU sweeps both series against Toledo and Bowling Green and either Ohio or Akron sweep one another or split, Eastern will jump both teams and have an opportunity to compete for its second MAC Championship in school history.
   If Eastern Michigan goes 3-1 this weekend, with its loss coming to Toledo, and Ohio sweeps Akron, the Eagles get the tiebreaker over Akron and will make an appearance in the tournament. Unfortunately, if EMU goes 3-1 this weekend and loses to Toledo and Akron sweeps the Eagles will not make the tournament.
   If the Green and White goes 3-1 on the weekend with its loss coming to Bowling Green and the Falcons sweep Central Michigan in its regular season finale, the Eagles would be left out of the tournament for the fourth-straight season, but if BGSU is swept by Central Michigan or splits the two-game series, the Eagles would still have the chance to go to the tournament.
   Finally, if EMU goes 2-2, they will not make the 2015 MAC Championships.

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Players Mentioned

Myranda Barnes

Michelle Kriegshauser

Jenn Lucas

Lindsay Rich

Amanda Stanton

Eastern Michigan Athletics