Eastern Michigan Athletics
Thursday, March 9
Long Beach, Calif.
12 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
vs
Boston
Photo by: Jason Roberts/Envision Sports Media
Softball Treks to California for Louisville Slugger Invitational
3/8/2017 3:05:00 PM | Softball
EMU will play five games over a three-day span, March 9-11
| Softball at Louisville Slugger Invitational | |
| Date | Thursday-Saturday, March 9-11 |
| Venue | Long Beach, Calif. |
| Game Notes | EMU Notes |
| Live Stats | Fan Stats |
| @EMUSoftball | @EMUAthletics | |
LONG BEACH, Calif. (EMUEagles.com) - After a 10-day break, the Eastern Michigan University softball team is back in action this weekend, March 9-11, at the Louisville Slugger Invitational in Long Beach, Calif. The tournament, hosted by Long Beach State University, pits the Eagles against Boston University, LBSU, Longwood University, UCLA, and San Diego State University.
TALE OF THE TAPE: The Green and White have limited history with this weekend's opponents, having met no team more than five times.
EMU's most common opponent of the group is San Diego State, who the Eagles have squared off with five times. EMU trails in the series with SDSU, 4-1. Eastern also trails in the all-time tally with UCLA, sitting at 0-2 against the Bruins. On the flip side, Eastern Michigan is undefeated against Boston and Longwood. The Eagles are 2-0 against the Terriers after topping them in the season opener, while EMU is 1-0 versus the Lancers all-time.
WEST COAST HOMECOMING: For eight Eagles this weekend's west coast trip will serve as a homecoming of sorts, as juniors Trisha Trujillo and Brandice Olmos, sophomores Amanda Akles, Lucy Lopez, Nicolle Miranda, and Sam Saporito, and freshmen Danielle Rico and Savanah White will play in their home state for the first time in their collegiate careers.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE: The Eagles will play in the state of California for the first time since Feb. 25-28, 2008, when the Green and White battled Fresno State, UC-Riverside, San Diego, and San Diego State.
COMIN' HOME HOT: Sophomore Lucy Lopez comes into the weekend riding one of the hottest stretches of her career, amid a six-game span in which the Bakersfield, Calif. native is hitting a blistering .533 at the plate. Currently, Lopez is riding a streak of six consecutive at bats with a hit, after turning in a pair of 3-for-3 performances, Feb. 26. Lopez has seen her season batting average jump from .273 to .423 over the past six games.
TRIPLE CLUTCH: Senior Michelle Kriegshauser provided another clutch run-scoring hit to lead the Eagles to their third walk-off of the season, 5-4, over Detroit Mercy, Feb. 26. It marked the third time Kriegshauser has brought in the winning run for the Green and White to end the game this season, making her the most clutch player in the country. No player in the nation has matched Kriegshauser's timely play at the plate, and only two teams has recorded more walk-off wins (South Carolina/North Carolina - 4).
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!: Since Melissa Gentile took over at EMU, Eastern Michigan has played 16 extra inning games, the most recent of which took place at the EMU Madeira Beach Invitational, Feb. 26. With a 5-4 walk-off win over Detroit Mercy, the Eagles moved to 8-8 in extra inning contests under the guidance of Gentile, dating back to the 2014 campaign. Escaping with a win in extras, the Eagles posted their first extra-inning victory since April 14, 2015, snapping a three-game losing skid in extended games.
EASTERN AGAINST THE NATIONALLY RANKED: The Eagles are 0-15 against ranked opponents since knocking off No. 23 Louisville during the 2009 season. EMU upended the Cardinals, 3-2, Feb. 22, 2009. This weekend, the Green and White are tasked with taking on No. 10/11 UCLA.
SO WE MEET AGAIN: Eastern Michigan will take on Boston for the second time this season when the teams meet at the Louisville Slugger Invitational, March 9. The meeting between the Eagles are Terriers is just the first time since 2005 that EMU has battled a non-conference opponent as part of two separate tournaments in the same season. The Eagles will also tangle with the Titans of Detroit Mercy again later this season, April 5, in the Motor City after squaring off with UDM at the EMU Madeira Beach Invitational, Feb. 26.
THE THREE MUSKETEERS: Eastern Michigan is the only team in the Mid-American Conference to have three players ranked inside the league's top-15 in batting average. Michelle Kriegshauser paces the Eagles, hitting a team-best .439, which ranks sixth in th conference. Taylor Wagner comes in at seventh, hitting .438, while Brandice Olmos is slotted 11th with an average of .394.
STACKING UP IN THE MAC: As a team, the Eagles have positioned themselves near the top in several categories in the Mid-American Conference standings. EMU's team on-base percentage (.377) ranks second in the league. With a .293 team batting average, the Green and White boast the conference's third-best average in the MAC. On the defensive side of things, Eastern is slotted fourth in fielding percentage (.971) and fifth in team earned run average (3.63).
KRIEGSHAUSER PICKS UP MAC WEST HONORS: Senior Michelle Kriegshauser was named Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday, Feb. 27.
Kriegshauser was unstoppable for the Eagles last week, Feb. 23-26, leading EMU to a 3-3 mark over the six-game stretch, earning the third weekly MAC award of her career. Additionally, she is the first Eagle to earn the honor this season. On the week, the New Lenox, Ill. native hit a blistering .500 with 10 hits, 10 RBIs, and five runs scored, while also boasting an .850 slugging percentage. Kriegshauser's big week also catapulted her up the EMU rankings, as she now sits 14th all-time in hits, seventh all-time in RBIs, tied for the program record in career doubles, and number one in career batting average.
TRUJILLO'S TRICKERY: Junior Trisha Trujillo logged a team-high 20.0 innings over a busy week for the Eastern Michigan University softball team, Feb. 23-26. Trujillo compiled a 2-1 record in the circle, while allowing 11 runs, six of which were earned, on 23 hits. The Whittier, Calif. product also fanned eight, including the 100th of her career.
JUST HUNNIDS: Junior Trisha Trujillo broke into the 100 strikeout club at the EMU Madeira Beach Invitational, Feb. 24-26. Entering the final day of the weekend with 94 career K's, Trujillo struck out seven to lead the Eagles to a pair of wins.
NEARING THAT CENTURY MARK: One EMU hurler is quickly approaching the century mark in career strikeouts. Sophomore Nicolle Miranda sits at 96 K's for her career.
RECORD WATCH: Senior Michelle Kriegshauser heads into the weekend one double shy of breaking the EMU career record. With 44 career doubles to her credit, Kriegshauser is tied with McKenna Russ' for the program standard.
ON DECK: Eastern is back in action next weekend, March 17-18, for its final weekend tournament of the season in Macon, Ga. At the Mercer Tournament, the Eagles will clash with Eastern Illinois, Belmont, Mercer, and Savannah State.
Players Mentioned
3B/1B
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OF
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OF
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P
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2B/SS
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3B/2B
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C/OF
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P
/ Softball
C
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P
/ SoftballThank You, Team 38
Monday, May 07
Overcoming Adversity: A Lauren Holdsworth Feature
Saturday, February 24
Closing Out a Legacy: Michelle Kriegshauser
Thursday, May 18
EMU Softball Signs Alyssa Feiler
Saturday, March 25