Eagles Head to Sunshine State to Host 2016 Madeira Beach Invitational

Softball at 2016 EMU Madeira Beach Invitational presented by HumaneX
Date	Friday, Feb. 19 - Sunday, Feb. 21 \| Tournament Home Page
Venue	Madeira Beach, Fla.
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats
Watch	N/A
Listen	N/A
Twitter	@EMUS oftball \| @EMUAthletics

MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. (EMUEagles.com) - Following a winless opening weekend at the Trojan Invite, the Eastern Michigan University softball team heads to Madeira Beach, Fla. for the second annual EMU Madeira Beach Invitational. In the Sunshine State, the Eagles will take on five different teams over a three-day span, beginning Feb. 19 against UMASS-Lowell.

PLAYING WITH FIRE: Freshman pitcher Nicolle Miranda has been described as a talented, fiery, and competitive hurler by Head Coach Melissa Gentile. While Gentile and her staff have had the fall and preseason to work with and evaluate Miranda, the rest of us got our first chance to see the Wilmington, Calif. native in action. Miranda pitched 8.0 innings in her EMU debut, fanning 10, becoming the first Eagle to register double-digit K's since Jenna Ignowski accomplished the feat, May 2, 2013, against Ohio. Ignowski was a senior when she achieved double-digit strikeouts. Miranda is the first freshman to fulfill the task since Lauren Wells did so against Northern Illinois, Apr. 1, 2011.

HOSTETLER HEADLINES OPENING WEEKEND: Playing in just 12 games her junior year, Mady Hostetler came into the 2016 campaign with a chip on her shoulder. A highly touted recruit out of New Haven, Ind., Hostetler earned a spot in the Eagles' season-opening lineup. She took full advantage of the opportunity, going 2-for-3 at the plate, driving in two. Playing in four of the Green and White's five games over the weekend, Hostetler ranks first on the team with a .400 batting average. In total, she registered three RBIs on the weekend, which ties for the team lead. The senior outfielder entered the season with eight career RBIs, and now stands just two away from her highest season-total with 45 games to play.

SIX FRESH FACES MAKE EMU DEBUTS: All six freshman made appearances in Troy, Ala. as the Eagles opened the 2016 campaign. Nicolle Miranda, Olivia Logan, Sam Saporito, and Amanda Akles all earned slots on Eastern's opening day lineup card. Lucy Lopez made her first career start later in the weekend, while Alex Peters entered the game as a pinch runner.

GROWING PAINS: The young Eagles squad committed eight errors over the weekend, including three against Evansville, Feb. 12, and Troy, Feb. 13.

PICKING UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF: Michelle Kriegshauser and Abi Clark have become known for their power at the plate over the course of their careers, and the duo lived up to the hype this past weekend. Kriegshauser delivered a two-run home run in the eighth inning of EMU's season-opening loss to Evansville, Feb. 12, while Clark's two-run shot over the right field fence gave Eastern a 7-4 lead over Alabama State, Feb. 13. Together, the power hitters comined for five RBIs, or 33.3 percent of EMU's runs.

RECAPPING OPENING WEEKEND: Opening weekend was not kind to the Eastern Michigan University softball team, sending the Eagles home with an 0-5 record. The Green and White dropped a pair of five-inning games to tournament host, Troy, at the Trojan Invite while also falling in a pair of heartbreaking extra-inning contests before closing out the weekend with a 3-1 setback at the hands of Evansville.

A TASTE OF THE MAAC: The Eagles will take on three Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference institutions this weekend at the Madeira Beach Invitational. Those three schools include Manhattan, Marist, and Siena who combined for a 75-73-1 record a season ago.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Of this weekend's five opponents, Eastern has previously met three of them while never having faced Manhattan or Marist. The Eagles hold a 3-0 mark overall with one win against UMASS-Lowell, Siena, and George Mason. The Green and White recorded wins against UMASS-Lowell and Siena during the 2015 campaign in the team's first ever meetings. Meanwhile, EMU will tangle with George Mason for the first time since the 1996 season when the Eagles topped the Patriots, 6-3.

READING UP ON THE RIVER HAWKS: The Eagles will mark the start of the 2016 season for the River Hawks when the teams square off, Feb. 19. UMASS-Lowell enters the year on the heels of a 17-30 showing a season ago.
   The River Hawks return their leading hitter from 2015 in junior shortstop Alisha Welch. Welch led a UMASS-Lowell club that boasted a team batting average of .243. Welch paced the River Hawks, hitting .299 at the plate. A significant part of UMASS-Lowell's game last season was the ability to swipe bases, but is a question mark ahead of Friday's season opener. The River Hawks will be without a pair of speedsters from last year's roster that combined to record 34 of the team's 48 stolen bases.
   Opponents hit .304 off of the River Hawks' pitchers last season, that returns one of its three starters. Marielle Handley enters her senior year as UMASS-Lowell's lone starting hurler from 2015. In 25 outings, Handley compiled a 9-11 record with a 4.68 earned run average. Pitching a team-high 131.2 innings, Handley fanned a team-best 72 while allowing 22 home runs.

MASTERING MANHATTAN: The Madeira Beach Invitational marks the start of the season for the Jaspers. Coming off a 2015 season in which they put together a 26-20 mark, highlighted by a run in its conference tournament.
   Manhattan is paced by the play of preseason MAAC Player of the Year, Elena Bowman. Tabbed as one one of the top-50 players in the nation ahead of this season, Bowman belted a MAAC-best 16 home runs while hitting .448 as a junior. While Bowman's offensive numbers speak for themselves, the senior backstop did not commit an error in 266 chances last season.
   Bowman is set to work with Briana Matazinsky, the second year pitcher who totaled nearly half of Manhattan's starts in the circle a season ago. In her first collegiate season, Matazinsky put together a 9-7 record while owning a 3.91 earned run average. In 96.2 innings pitched, Matazinsky threw two shutouts and retired 48 on strikes. Three other pitchers return for the Jaspers that earned spot starts while doing a majority of their work in relief appearances giving Manhattan a veteran battery with plenty of experience working together.

HUNTING THE RED FOXES: Marist opens the season in the Sunshine State after a 28-26 ledger last season that left them just short of the postseason. The Red Foxes hit .301 as team in 2015, carrying a team earned run average of 3.31.
   The Red Foxes landed four on the Preseason All-MAAC squad ahead of their season opener. The talented quartet is made up of three position players, all of whom hit better than .305 at the plate, and one pitcher. Leading the way for Marist is Maureen Duddy, the Red Foxes' single-season record holder for stolen bases. Duddy swiped 32 bases last season while boasting a .349 batting average.
   Jayne Oberdorf earned the preseason recognition on the heels of a season in which she compiled a 9-9 record with a staggering 2.56 earned run average. Striking out 112 in 142 innings of work, Oberdorf's ERA led the conference in 2015.

A SNEAK PEEK AT THE SAINTS: Siena is set to open the season at the Madeira Beach Invitational for the second consecutive year. The Saints came away winless in their first go-around, including a 5-4 loss to the Eagles. The Saints went on to finish the year with a 21-27-1 record.
   After posting a 10-win season in the circle as a freshman, Lauren Butts returns for her second year with the Saints. Butts led Siena with a team-best earned run average just south of 3.50. Starting 19 games, Butts went the distance in 10 while striking out 127.
   Butts and the rest of Siena's pitching staff struggled for run support in 2015, with the Saints averaging less than four runs a game. With the loss of its top two hitters from last year, Siena will turn to Paige Hess and Melanie Kalesse to pace the offense. Hess ranked third on the team in batting average, hitting .342 while Kalesse hit .340. The duo were one two of four Saints to hit better than .300 at the plate.

SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS: George Mason is set to take on Siena, Villanova, Manhattan, and Providence before closing out the weekend against the Eagles on Sunday. The Patriots posted a 23-29 season in 2015, holding a 11-12 mark in Atlantic 10 play.
   At the plate, Liz Seymour returns as the Patriots top threat. Hitting a team-best .387 last season, Seymour led George Mason with six triples while adding 10 doubles.
   Sarah Kleinfelter enters the season as the Patriots top hurler after making 32 appearances in the circle. Tossing 105.2 innings, Kleinfelter tallied 40 strikeouts but struggled with control, totaling 20 wild pitches and handing out 47 free passes.

ON DECK: The Eagles will remain in Florida following this weekend's Madeira Beach Invitational, making the short trip to Clearwater, Fla. to take part in the USF Under Armour Series, Feb. 26-28. There, the Green and White will tangle with Seton Hall, Georgia State, and Villanova.

Eagles Head to Sunshine State to Host 2016 Madeira Beach Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Amanda Akles

Abi Clark

Mady Hostetler

Michelle Kriegshauser

Olivia Logan

Lucy Lopez

Nicolle Miranda

Alex Peters

Sam Saporito

Eastern Michigan Athletics