Horizon League Softball Weekly Release #8

April 5, 2005

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Softball Player of the Week

SARA HERNANDEZ

UIC, Senior, 3B, Rowland Heights, Calif.

UIC senior Sara Hernandez is the Horizon League Softball Player of the Week for the period ending

April 4.

Hernandez helped UIC to a 4-1 record last week and a 3-0 start in Horizon League play as she batted .500 (8-for-16) with two doubles, a home run and six RBI. The California native also walked on three occasions for a .579 on-base percentage. Hernandez dominated in the Flames' three-game sweep of Youngstown State over the weekend, going 6-for-10 at the plate with two doubles, a homer and five RBI. She highlighted the series with a season-high three hits in the finale, including the game-winning, two-run double with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, which gave the Flames an 8-7 come-from-behind victory. For the season, Hernandez is now batting .292 with two homers and 17 RBI.

Softball Pitcher of the Week

NIKKI NAFFZIGER

Butler, Freshman, RHP, Indianapolis, Ind.

Butler freshman Nikki Naffziger is the Horizon League Softball Pitcher of the Week for the period ending April 4.

Naffziger posted a minute ERA of 0.68 and struck out a staggering 44 batters in 30.2 innings of work last week. Naffziger went 2-1 in five appearances and threw three complete games and a shutout. She started off the week by allowing just one run in 10 innings against Bradley Tuesday. Against Bellarmine Thursday, Naffziger pitched a combined 11.2 innings and struck out 20 batters. The Knights posted just five hits. In Butler's doubleheader sweep of Horizon League foe Wright State Sunday, Naffziger got the win with a nine-inning performance where she allowed just two runs and struck out 13 Raiders. On the season, Naffziger is 9-4 with a 2.21 ERA. She has struck out 108 batters in 85.1 innings on the mound.

Other Top Player Performances - April 4

Melissa Lemrick, Butler, Senior, 3B (Indianapolis, Ind.)

Senior Melissa Lemrick led the Bulldogs to a pair of impressive Horizon League wins and a 3-3 overall record by batting .375 last week. Lemrick had six hits and drew five walks to post a .545 on-base percentage. She added two doubles and swiped two bases.

Kristin Martin, Detroit, Junior, OF (Sterling Heights, Mich.)

Was 5-for-12 this week for the Titans. Recorded the assist that ended the Titans' win over Loyola in the top of the seventh, preserving a 1-0 win. Also drove in the winning run against the Ramblers. Hit .417, slugged .417, had a .385 on-base percentage, a sacrifice fly, seven putouts, an assist and was 1-for-1 in stolen bases.

Raven Gengler, Loyola, Sophomore, Catcher (Chicago, Ill.)

Gengler hit safely in three of her four appearances last week, batting .308 with three extra-base hits. The sophomore drove in a run with a double in a 5-1 loss to Northern Illinois on March 29, then came back in game two versus the Huskies to belt her second home run of the season. Gengler went 2 for 4 with a double and RBI in the Ramblers' 6-0 win at Detroit on April 3.

Brittany Riddle, Wright State, Freshman, Catcher (Tampa, Fla.)                           

Three hits and three RBI against Dayton...two hits, including a double, and three RBI in Morehead State doubleheader...doubled in first game with Butler.

McKenzie Bedra, Youngstown State, Freshman, INF (Bowling Green, Ohio)

 Bedra batted .444 in four games for the Penguins last week. Bedra tallied the game-winning hit against Pittsburgh and also went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run and three runs batted in against UIC on Sunday. For the week, Bedra drove in four runs and finished with a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .444 on-base percentage. For the season, Bedra is batting .273 with 10 runs scored, six doubles, three home runs and 15 RBI.

Other Top Pitching Performances - April 4

Grace Luginbuhl, Cleveland State, Junior, RHP (Lima, Ohio)
Luginbuhl gave up just one earned run in 10.2 innings of work en route to picking up a save and a win to lead the Vikings to a doubleheader sweep of Robert Morris last Monday. In the opener, she pitched 2.2 hitless innings in relief, striking out four to pick up her first save of the season. Luginbuhl then relieved CSU's starter with no outs in the first inning of game two and went the distance in an eight-inning victory. She surrendered just five hits and one earned run while striking out six -- including three straight whiffs with a runner on third in the top of the eighth.

Lindsay Roy, Detroit, Pitcher, Junior (Brampton, Ontario)

Went 1-0 with a complete game shutout over Loyola. Threw all seven innings, walking just one and striking out a pair.

Mercedes Lovato, UIC, Pitcher, Freshman (Simi Valley, Calif.)
Lovato picked up three more wins last week, going 3-0 in two starts and one relief appearance while posting a 2.38 ERA. Lovato opened the week by picking up the win in the Flames' 14-3 victory over Indiana. She then racked up two more victories over the weekend in UIC's series sweep of Youngstown State. In her first outing against the Penguins she tossed a two-hitter, allowing just one unearned run to cross the plate in the Flames' 3-1 victory. Lovato then entered in relief in the series finale and picked up the win, working 5 2/3 innings while surrendering a trio of runs. For the season, Lovato is now 14-6 with a 3.44 ERA.

Katie Schupbach, Loyola, LHP, Freshman (Rockford, Ill.)

Schupbach tossed a two-hit shutout and struck out three in Loyola's 6-0 victory over Detroit on April 3. The left-hander appeared in four of the Ramblers' five contests last week and posted a 2.92 ERA. In five of her last six starts, Schupbach has surrendered two or fewer earned runs. For the year, she leads Loyola with a 3.28 ERA and six complete games.

Jessica Lander, Wright State, Pitcher, Freshman (Lebanon, Ohio)                                     

Struck out seven in start against Butler...fanned six in 2.2 innings of relief in picking up the win over Dayton...five strikeouts in win versus Morehead State.

Horizon League News & Notes

Butler Bulldogs (10-9, 1-1 HL)

Freshman Jenny Jacobs' four home runs this season tie her for Butler's single-season mark...Butler has split all three of its home doubleheaders this season....the Bulldogs are just three wins shy of their 2004 total.

Cleveland State (4-13, 0-0 HL)

Cleveland State's three-game series with UW-Green Bay April 2-3 was cancelled due to poor weather in the Cleveland area...the Vikings are back in action on Tuesday, April 5 with a doubleheader at Akron beginning at 3:00 p.m. EST...CSU will finally open league play at Butler with a twinbill on April 9 and a single contest the following day in Indianapolis.

Detroit Titans (5-10, 1-1 HL)

Detroit looks to win the "Showdown In Motown" this week with games at Oakland and Wayne State...the Titans travel up Interstate 75 on Tuesday to battle OU and down M-10 Thursday afternoon to play their rivals in the City of Detroit, the WSU Warriors...last season the Titans were 3-1 against OU and WSU...Detroit also travels to Youngstown State this weekend for their second league series of the year...last year the Penguins won the season series 2-1 at Buysse Ballpark and the Titans look to return the favor this season in Ohio.

UIC Flames (23-16, 3-0 HL)

UIC moved into first-place (3-0) in the League standings after sweeping Youngstown State on April 2-3 at Flames Field in Chicago...the Flames have a busy week this week as they travel to Bradley for a doubleheader (April 5), host Wisconsin (April 6) and then head to DePaul for a twinbill on April 7...UIC then travels to UW-Green Bay to take on the Phoenix with a double-dip on April 9 and the series finale the following day.

Loyola Ramblers (8-15, 1-1 HL)

Loyola is 6-0 this season when scoring four or more runs...the Ramblers have been shutout in four of their last seven defeats...after committing four errors in a 9-2 loss to Northern Illinois on March 29, Loyola has been much better defensively, committing only two errors in the last three contests...senior Andrea Wise notched her first career triple in game two versus Northern Illinois on March 29...the Ramblers play a pair of midweek double dips against Big Ten Conference foes, traveling to Michigan State on April 5, in a makeup of a March 26 rain out, before heading to Illinois on April 6...Loyola plays its first home Horizon League contests this weekend when it entertains Wright State for a three-game set...after going 2 for 25 (.080) to open the year, freshman Kat Krause has hits in 4 of her last 6 (.667) at bats...senior SS Keilah Williams was hit by a pitch against Northern Illinois and is expected to be sidelined indefinitely.

UW-Green Bay Phoenix (7-8, 0-0 HL)

UW-Green Bay's three-game series with Cleveland State April 2 and 3 was cancelled due to poor weather conditions in the Cleveland area...the Phoenix have not played a game since a 2-1 victory over Siena on March 19 in their final game of the Rebel Spring Games...UW-Green Bay gets back into action April 6 as it travels to Minnesota for a contest against the Gophers beginning at 5:00 p.m. EST.

Wright State Raiders (6-8, 0-2 HL)

Wright State went 2-3 in its opening home stand last week, defeating Dayton and Morehead State before dropping a pair to Butler on Sunday to open Horizon League play.  The Raiders are now on the road for 10 straight, starting this week with Ohio on Wednesday and a three-game weekend series at Loyola.

Youngstown State (11-16, 1-4 HL)

Junior Tiffany Patteson moved into third place on the YSU all-time doubles chart with 38...she needs five more to move into second place.