Horizon League Softball Release #5

March 11, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Wright State senior outfielder Jherica Williams was selected Horizon League Softball Player of the Week and Valparaiso freshman right-hander Jill Jacobson was named Pitcher of the Week. In four games this past week, Williams posted a .714 batting average and drove in nine runs, while Jacobson went 1-0 and struck out eight in her lone appearance of the week.

Horizon League Player of the Week
Jherica Williams, Wright State
Sr. * OF * Piqua, Ohio
In four games this week, Williams went 10-of-14 (.714) with three home runs and nine RBIs at the New Mexico Classic. The WSU senior opened the week on Friday by going 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and a run-scoring triple against Georgetown. Later that day, Williams went 2-for-4, including a two-run homer against New Mexico. On Saturday, Williams opened the day by going two-for-four with another two-run home run in a victory over Georgetown, She then closed out the tournament by going 3-for-3 against New Mexico.

Horizon League Pitcher of the Week
Jill Jacobson, Valparaiso
Fr. * RHP * Beecher, Ill.
In her only appearance this past week, Jacobson tossed a three-hit shutout and picked up the win against Holy Cross in her first collegiate start. The Valpo right-hander worked 7.0 innings, struck out eight and walked only two batters. In addition, Jacobson allowed only two runners to get into scoring position for the entire game.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending March 9
Kristen Malinkey, Butler
So. * RHP * LaGrange, Ohio
Malinkey led Butler to a 7-0 victory over Penn in the opening game of the Rebel Spring Games, being played this week in Kissimmee, Fla. She tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing just five hits in seven innings. The sophomore right-hander had five strikeouts and no walks in the win. Malinkey also had two of Butler's 10 hits in the game.

Courtney Gill, Detroit
So. * C * Surrey, B.C.
In eight games this past week at the Rebel Spring Games, Gill helped the Titans to a 5-3 mark as she collected 12 hits and drove in eight RBIs. The Titan sophomore catcher also hit two home runs and stole two bases.

Amy Solava, Loyola
So. * RHP * New Lenox, Ill.
Solava appeared in five of Loyola's six games last week and posted a 2-1 mark with a save and a 2.71 ERA in 20.2 innings of work. The 2007 Horizon League Pitcher of the Year has been the winning pitcher in four of the Ramblers' five wins this season. Solava closed out the team's spring break trip to California by throwing consecutive complete-game shutout in victories over Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara. She also earned a save in a 6-3 win at Loyola Marymount.

Sarah Clynes, UIC
Jr. * LHP * Florissant, Mo.
Clynes recorded a 2-1 mark in the USF Under Armour Invitational in Tampa, Fla., with nine strikeouts in 18.0 innings pitched. Clynes notched her first shutout of the season with a 2-0 victory against East Tennessee State on March 9. Clynes owned a 2.33 earned run average for the week and as she walked just three batters.

Shannon Robinson, Valparaiso
Sr. * C * Toronto, Ontario
Robinson batted .473 (9-of-19) for the week and helped the Crusaders to a 5-2 record at the Rebel Spring Games. The Valpo senior catcher totaled five RBIs and scored four runs.

Jamie Perkins, Wright State
So. * P * Piqua, Ohio
Perkins picked up the win in relief this past Saturday against Georgetown as she struck out two in 2.1 innings of work. The WSU sophomore also had two innings of scoreless relief Saturday versus New Mexico.

News From Around the League
Butler
The Bulldogs (6-4) won a pair of games on Sunday defeating Penn (7-0) and IPFW (11-3). On Monday, BU returned to action and shutout Robert Morris (1-0), but in the afternoon contest, the Bulldogs would suffer a shutout themselves losing to Penn 4-0.

In the 7-0 victory over Penn, BU pitcher Kristen Malinkey tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing just five hits in seven innings. Malinkey also had two of Butler's 10 hits in the game.

Returning starters Jenny Jacobs and Annie Dolan are both injured and neither played in the first game in Florida. Their status for the remainder of the week is questionable.

Butler will concluded the week with six more game as part of the Rebel Spring games in Kissimmee, Fla.

Cleveland State
The Vikings (5-2) opened up their 2007-08 campaign at the Eastern Kentucky Invitational by extending their winning streak to five games with a 12-2 triumph over Appalachian State on March 1. CSU then dropped its next two games, losing to Dayton (8-3) and Eastern Kentucky (6-4) on March 2.

Against ASU, junior shortstop Christa Coppus and senior outfielder Whitney Willard combined for six hits and seven RBIs. Willard went two-for-five with three RBI while Coppus, who went 0-10 in CSU's first four games, went four-for-five with four RBI. Coppus then finished the tournament by going 4-for-7 raising her batting average to .364.

The CSU pitching staff struggled in the final two games of the tournament allowing 14 runs on 18 hits. Prior to the Eastern Kentucky Invitational, the Vikings had allowed only two runs.

CSU returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to the Rebel Spring Games in Orlando, Fla.

Detroit
The Titans (5-10) competed in the Rebel Spring Games this past week and finished with a 5-3 mark. UDM went 1-1 on Monday losing to Sacred Heart 6-1, but rebounded in the afternoon game to take down LaSalle 3-2 (8 innings). The Titans then followed with a pair of victories on Tuesday defeating LaSalle 2-1 and Western Carolina 7-2. On Thursday, UDM continued its winning streak with an 8-0 victory (five innings) against Holy Cross, but had its streak snapped in the evening game with an 8-5 loss to Lehigh. The Titans concluded the week on Friday with a 13-7 loss to Lehigh and a 7-6 victory over Holy Cross.

In Tuesday's 2-1 win over LaSalle, Detroit sophomore Jill Perry earned the win as she pitched the entire game and allowed one earned run off 11 hits, while striking out four Explorers.

On Thursday, senior Kelli Short pitched a two-hitter for the Titans and struck-out four in an 8-0 victory over Holy Cross. Detroit scored eight runs off of seven hits and tallied six RBI against Holy Cross to increase its winning streak to four games. The four-game winning streak was its longest since the 2005 season.

After falling in game one against Lehigh (13-7) on Friday, the Titans responded with a 7-6 victory over Holy Cross to close out the week. The Titans scored four of their seven runs in the third inning.

The Titans return to action on March 21 when they open League play against Wright State.

Green Bay
The Phoenix (0-5) opened its season Feb. 9 and played five games in two days at the Fargodome Tournament in Fargo, N.D.

The Phoenix began the tournament on Saturday and struggled offensively as it was shutout in the first two games losing to North Dakota State (8-0) and Iowa State (8-0). In the loss to Iowa State, Green Bay was held without of hit.

Green Bay's offense rebounded in the final game as it collected 13 hits, but fell short in a 10-5 loss to North Dakota State.

In the second day of the tournament on Sunday Green Bay's offensive struggles continued as it lost to Iowa State (8-0) and North Dakota State (7-2).

Green Bay returns to action in the Rebel games on Friday.

Loyola
The Ramblers (5-10) went 3-3 this past week, while competing against west coast schools Loyola Marymount (double-header), San Diego State, Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara (double-header).

LU opened the week with a double-header on Tuesday against Loyola Marymount. In game one, Nora Schober and Angie Funston each drove in three runs to help the Ramblers to a 6-3 victory. With the win, the Ramblers put an end to a six-game losing skid.

On Wednesday against nationally ranked San Diego State, Ellen Kresl went 2-for-3, but Loyola University Chicago managed only three hits in a 12-1 loss. The Ramblers' loss to SDSU marked the fourth time LU had fallen to a ranked opponent.

Loyola rebounded on Thursday with a 7-0 victory over Cal State Fullerton. Funston went 4-for-4 and Schober went 3-for-4 and 2007 Horizon League Pitcher of the Year Amy Solava yielded only two hits and no walks, while striking out six.

Loyola closed out its spring trip to California by splitting a doubleheader at UC Santa Barbara, dropping game one, 10-2 in six innings, before posting a 3-0 victory in the nightcap.

The Ramblers return to action on March 21 when they face off against Butler to open League play.

UIC
The Flames (5-14) went 2-3 this past week at the USF Under Armour Tournament posting wins over Coastal Carolina and East Tennessee State.

UIC opened the tournament with a 5-0 triumph over Coastal Carolina on Friday. Alicia Abbott was 2-for-3 at the plate with a team-best two RBI. Sarah Clynes (2-7) picked up her first shutout of the season after she fanned three batters in 4.0 innings pitched.

On Saturday, UIC fell 7-6 lost its first game of the day to No. 13 Baylor. Ashlee Ackerman was 2-for-3 at the plate with three runs. In addition, Melissa Marinacci notched a hit and two RBI against the Bears, while Nicole Robinson, Brooke Frydendall and Lauren Brennan each picked up an RBI.

In the afternoon game, the Flames fell 2-0 to Hofstra. UIC's Carly Demarco took the loss despite giving up just two runs on four hits.

On Sunday, UIC fell 7-1 to Michigan State in the first game of the day, but rebounded with a 2-0 triumph over East Tennessee State. Sarah Clynes notched her second home run of the season, while Brittany Dixon picked up her first in 2008.

The Flames return to action on Friday as they travel to the Loyola Marymount Tournament in Los Angeles, Calif.

Valparaiso
The Crusaders (8-4) dropped two games in a triple header on Monday, but rebounded to win four straight games to close out play at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla.

The Crusaders are in the midst of a five-game winning streak, which is their longest streak since April 13-18, 2007. Andrea Zappia threw 12.1 innings last week without allowing an earned run to lower her season earned run average to 0.83.

This past week, the Crusaders owned a team ERA of just 1.27.

On the base paths, Valpo stole 26 bases on 30 attempts last week, led by Karen Korb going 7-for-7. Twelve of the 17 Crusaders who reached base on the week stole at least one base. Valpo has now swiped 39 bases on 46 attempts this year.

Wright State
The Raiders (7-12) split four games at the UNM Classic in Albuquerque over the weekend, defeating Georgetown twice and falling to host New Mexico twice.

The Raiders hit .360 as a team for the tournament, led by the .714 hitting of Jherica Williams as she smacked a two-run home run in three consecutive games and drove in nine overall. Five other Wright State players hit .333 or better over the weekend, including Jamie Perkins (.467), Justine Shilt (.444), Louie Haney (.333), Allison Cox (.333) and Kristen Bradshaw (.333).

Wright State is off this week in preparation for finals and will not be in action until hosting Findlay in a doubleheader on Thursday, March 20. The Raiders will then host Detroit that weekend to begin Horizon League play.

Youngstown State
The Penguins were slated to compete in the George Mason Tournament this past weekend, but the event was canceled due to poor weather conditions.

YSU opened the season with seven straight loses in the Santa Clara Tournament Feb. 29-March 2, losing to Saint Mary's (Calif.) twice (6-1, 6-3), Sacramento State (8-0), Providence (9-1), Campbell (8-0), Santa Clara (8-4) and North Dakota State (8-4).

Sophomore transfer Kristin Bair is off to a hot start for the Penguins as she leads the squad with a .529 batting average through her first seven games.

YSU returns to action on March 21-23 in the Miami (Ohio) Tournament.