Softball Weekly Release #14 - NCAA Tournament

May 15, 2006

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NCAA Tournament - Ann Arbor Regional
Friday, May 19
Youngstown State at #9 Michigan- 7 p.m.
Oklahoma vs. Kent State- TBA

Horizon League Softball Championship
Thursday, May 11
#7 Wright State 6, #2 Cleveland State 3
#6 Youngstown State 12, #3 Detroit 3 (5 inn.)
#4 UW-Green Bay 6, #5 Loyola 3
#1 UIC 7, #8 Butler 0
#2 Cleveland State 6, #3 Detroit 0

Friday, May 12
#5 Loyola 11, #8 Butler 0
#6 Youngstown State 6, #7 Wright State 4
#1 UIC 4, #4 UW-Green Bay 2 (8 inn.)
#2 Cleveland State 9, #4 UW-Green Bay 0 (6 inn.)
#5 Loyola 9, #7 Wright State 7
#6 Youngstown State 3, #1 UIC 2
#2 Cleveland State 5, #5 Loyola 4

Saturday, May 13
#1 UIC 2, #2 Cleveland State 1
#6 Youngstown State 2, #1 UIC 1 (Championship Game)

2006 Horizon League All-Tournament Team

McKenzie Bedra, Youngstown State - DP
Sophomore * Bowling Green, Ohio
Bedra went 7-for-10 with five home runs and nine RBI in the League summit. She notched a 2.200 slugging percentage and was on base at a .714 clip. Bedra set a new standard for home runs and total bases (22) on the way to Tournament MVP and Best Offensive Player honors. The sophomore hit two round-trippers in each of the Penguins first two games and belted a game-tying solo shot in the sixth inning of the championship game.

Sarah Clynes, UIC - P
Freshman * St. Louis, Mo.
Clynes did it both in the circle and at the plate in the loop tournament. The freshman went 3-1 with a 0.49 ERA, surrendering only two earned runs and 14 hits in 28.1 innings of work in earning the tournament's Best Pitcher award. At the plate, she batted .400 with two home runs and two doubles. Clynes went 2-for-2 in the opener before going 2-for-3 with a walk-off round-tripper in the eighth inning against UW-Green Bay. On Saturday, she belted a game-tying home run in the bottom of the sixth to open the door for the Flames to steal a 2-1 victory from Cleveland State.

Tiffany Patteson, Youngstown State - SS
Senior * Guelph, Ontario
Patteson capped off an outstanding tournament with a walk-off solo home run over the right-field fence of McCune Park. The senior hit .467 (7-for-15) with two doubles, three runs and four RBI during the week.

Karlie Burnell, Youngstown State - P
Junior * Brampton, Ontario
Burnell earned all four victories for the Ramblers last week. She finished with a 2.76 ERA in 25.1 innings of work. The Brampton, Ontario, native surrendered only three earned runs over the final two games against top-seeded UIC.

Liz Jacoby, UIC - C/DP
Junior * Beecher, Ill.
Jacoby hit .412 (7-for-17) with two doubles and six RBI last week. She got off the a quick start with a 3-for-4, four RBI performance against No. 8 Butler. The junior notched a hit in four of the Flames' five contests and an RBI in three of the five.

Nicole Shepard, UIC - INF/OF
Senior * Diamond Bar, Calif.
Shepard went 7-for-15 for a .467 batting average and .556 on-base percentage last week. She went 3-for-4 in the Flames' first matchup against Youngstown State and then finished the tournament with a 2-for-3, one RBI performance against the Penguins.

Michele Penney, Cleveland State - OF
Junior * Ravenna, Ohio
Penney notched a .294 batting average with a pair of home runs and six RBI in CSU's five games. She scored three times during the week and posted a .647 slugging percentage.

Nora Schober, Loyola - OF
Junior * Palos Park, Ill.
Schober batted .500 with a 1.250 slugging percentage and a tournament-record 10 RBI last week. The outfielder went 2-for-4 with a grand slam and six RBI in a 9-7 victory over Wright State. She finished with a 2-for-2, three RBI performance in the Ramblers' 5-4 loss to Cleveland State.

Tara Miller, Loyola - OF
Junior * Mokena, Ill.
Miller finished the loop summit with a .545 average, going 6-for-11 at the plate. She had seven runs, three doubles, three stolen bases and a solo home run. The junior filled the lead-off role for the Ramblers, reaching base in her first at-bat of all four games.

Horizon League News and Notes

Butler Bulldogs
- Butler went 0-2 at the 2006 Horizon League Championship. Outfielder Jenny Jacobs led the Bulldogs' offense, going 2-for-5 in the two contests.

- The Bulldogs had two players honored on the All-League teams. First baseman Amy Hyerczyk earned First-Team honors while Jacobs earned a spot on the second squad.

- Hyerczyk led the Bulldog offense in '06 with a .333 average with 14 doubles, five home runs and 24 RBI.

Cleveland State Vikings
- The Vikings set a school record with 38 victories after going 3-2 at the loop summit and making an exit in the final game of the loser's bracket. Outfielder Michele Penney earned a spot on the All-Tournament team, hitting .294 with two home runs and six RBI.

- Cleveland State had five players honored on the All-League Teams. Penney, outfielder Whitney Willard and pitcher Grace Luginbuhl all earned First-Team nods, while shortstop Christa Coppus and catcher J.J. Thornberry took a place on the Second-Team. Luginbuhl also earned her second-straight Pitcher of the Year award after going 11-5 with a 2.22 ERA in League play.

- Willard paced the Viking offense this year with a .353 batting average. She finished with 28 runs and 20 stolen bases. In the circle, the combination of Kortney Spidell (13-3, 1.85 ERA) and Luginbuhl (23-11, 2.17 ERA) pitched the Vikings to 36 of their 38 victories.

Detroit Titans
- The Titans took the third seed into the League Championship, but ran into a 12-run outburst from Youngstown State and a complete-game shutout by Cleveland State's Kortney Spidell.

- Detroit was well represented on the All-League squads, garnering three First-Teamers (shortstop Sarah Dickey, catcher Katrina Klemp and infielder/catcher Kaleigh Rafter) and one Second-Team accolade (infielder Michelle Baggio).

- Rafter, the League's Player of the Year, led the Detroit at a .359 clip with 12 home runs, 12 doubles and 35 RBI.

UIC Flames
- The Flames went 3-2 in Canfield, Ohio last week with both losses coming at the hands of Youngstown State. UIC pitcher Sarah Clynes earned the Best Pitcher of the Tournament, firing a one-hitter and a no-hitter while giving up only two earned runs. Also, earning a spot on the All-Tournament team were catcher/designated player Liz Jacoby and utility Nikki Shepard.

- Shortstop Joyce Cathey found a spot on the First-Team All-League group, while infielder Nicole Robinson and Clynes each were on the second squad.

- Cathey headed the Flames' offense with a .328 average along with six homers, six doubles, four triples and 25 RBI. Clynes had an impressive rookie campaign, finishing with a 16-6 record and a 2.44 ERA.

Loyola Ramblers
- Loyola played four times in the League's tournament. It was enough time for outfielder's Nora Schober and Tara Miller to impress. Schober set a tournament record with 10 and Miller reached base in all four of her lead-off at bats. They both were honored on the All-Tournament Team.

- Miller (First-Team) and Schober (Second-Team) along with shortstop Katerina Krause (Second-Team) were all named to the All-League Teams.

- Miller was atop the Ramblers' final statistics with a .357 average, including eight homers, eight doubles and 34 stolen bases.

UW-Green Bay Phoenix
- UW-Green Bay played three games in Canfield, Ohio last week. After posting a 6-3 victory over Loyola behind Anna Nieznanski's grand slam, the Phoenix dropped two-straight to UIC and Cleveland State.

- The Phoenix had three players earn First-Team accolades (second baseman Jenna Woepse, designated player Kate Sullivan and pitcher Lisa Meissner) and one player on the Second-Team (Nieznanski).

- Sullivan, the League's batting champion, led the Phoenix with a .398 average and 29 RBI. Meissner pitched her way to a 10-15 standard with a 2.98 ERA and 233 strikeouts.

Wright State Raiders
- After upsetting Cleveland State in the first game of the Horizon League Championship, Wright State fell to Youngstown State and Loyola on the second day. Pitcher/designated player Amanda Cody earned a complete-game victory against CSU and then blasted a grand slam against the Ramblers.

- Cody was the only Raider honored on the All-League teams with a spot on the Second-Team.

- Finishing just 10 at-bats shy of the League minimum, Cody paced the Raiders with a .419 average. She also topped the team in home runs (eight) and doubles (eight).

Youngstown State Penguins
- Youngstown State stormed through the 2006 Horizon League Championship with four-straight victories, including two over the top-seeded UIC Flames. Designated player McKenzie Bedra earned tournament MVP and Best Offensive Player awards. Karlie Burnell and Tiffany Patteson earned spots on the All-Tournament squad.

- Patteson and Burnell represented the Penguins on the second team of the All-League teams.

- Patteson hit at a .356 clip during the 2006 season, while also topping the team charts in runs (27), doubles (14) and triples (three). Burnell did it in the circle for the Penguins with a 16-8 mark and 3.07 ERA in 168.2 innings of work.