Softball Weekly Release #4

March 13, 2007

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Player of the Week

Jherica Williams, Wright State
Junior * OF * Piqua, Ohio
Williams led the Raiders to three wins in four games at the Eagle Round Robin in Morehead, Kentucky, hitting .538 with two homers, two doubles and eight runs scored in the four games. She went two-for-three in Saturday's game versus Oakland, hitting her first collegiate home run, and scoring twice. Williams then doubled and homered in Sunday's game against Oakland.

Pitcher of the Week

Amanda Macenko, Cleveland State
Freshman * RHP * Brunswick, Ohio
Macenko extended her streak without allowing an earned run to 18.2 innings with a pair of victories on CSU's opening day at the Rebel Spring Games. Against Lafayette, she collected the win with 3.0 innings of one-hit relief, striking out four in the process. Macenko then tossed her second complete game of the year against Army, giving up five hits and a pair of unearned runs while fanning five.

Other Top Performances From the Week Ending March 11

Christa Coppus, Cleveland State
Sophomore * SS * Tiffin, Ohio
Coppus went 5-for-9 (.556) in CSU's opening day sweep at the Rebel Spring Games. The sophomore shortstop was 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI and a run scored versus Lafayette. She then went 3-for-4 and drove in another run against Army.

Michelle Baggio, Detroit
Senior * INF * Windsor, Ontario
Baggio hit .400 in eight games, all starts for Detroit. She blasted two homers and posted a triple for her extra-base hits on the week. Baggio collected 12 hits and drove in seven runs, while slugging at a .667 clip and had a .455 on-base percentage.

Adrienne Baran, Detroit
Senior * RHP * Richmond, Mich.
Baran went 2-1 in 23 innings this week for Detroit. The senior righty struck out 19 hitters, while only walking nine and giving up 10 earned runs. She also helped herself at the plate, posting a .667 average in 15 at-bats with two doubles and eight runs batted in.

Ashlee Ackerman, UIC
Junior * CF * Alta Loma, Calif.
Ackerman posted a .389 batting average at the USF Adidas Invitational in Clearwater, Florida last weekend. Ackerman was 7-for-18 from the plate and totaled four runs scored and two RBI. The junior transfer also posted a 1.000 fielding average in center field in six games.

Sarah Clynes, UIC
Sophomore * RHP * St. Louis, Mo.
Clynes recorded a perfect 3-0 record in the circle for the Flames last weekend at the USF Adidas Invitational in Clearwater, Florida. Clynes posted a 1.22 ERA and fanned 16 batters in 28.2 innings pitched.

Raven Gengler, Loyola
Senior * C * Oak Park, Ill.
Gengler batted .389 (7-for-18) with a double, triple, home run and four RBI for Loyola last week against some tough west coast competition.

Amy Solava, Loyola
Freshman * RHP * New Lenox, Ill.
Solava was solid in six appearances last week and posted a 1-2 record with a save and 26 strikeouts in 23.2 innings of work. In a 5-2 win over Sacramento State, Solava was dazzling, striking out 13, while allowing only three hits and no earned runs.

Allison Cox, Wright State
Freshman * DP / P * Chillicothe, Ohio
Cox threw the first complete-game shutout of her career as she allowed just five hits against Morehead State. She struck out three in complete-game win over Oakland.

Autumn Grove, Youngstown State
Freshman * INF * Massillion, Ohio
Grove helped the Penguins to a 3-1 record at the George Mason Invitational. She collected at least one hit in each of the games she played. Grove went 2-for-3 with a home run and three runs scored against George Mason then collected two hits, including a double, in a 6-3 loss to Brown.

Karlie Burnell, Youngstown State
Senior * RHP * Brampton, Ontario
Burnell pitched two complete-game victories and allowed just four earned runs in 14 innings pitch with 10 strikeouts. She struck out five batters against George Mason on Saturday and Brown on Sunday. Since May 7, 2006, Burnell owns a record of 7-2.

Horizon League News & Notes

Butler Bulldogs


- Butler opened the 2007 season with five games at Kentucky March 2-4. The Bulldogs dropped a doubleheader to the host Wildcats on Friday, and then participated in the four-team Frostbite Classic hosted by Kentucky on Saturday and Sunday. Butler dropped games in the tournament to Kentucky (12-3) and Evansville (6-3), while defeating IUPUI (9-1).

- Junior Amy Hyerczyk looked to be in mid-season form on the season-opening weekend for the Bulldogs. The Butler first baseman had 11 hits in five games, including two doubles, a triple and a grand slam home run. She had s slugging percentage of 1.059 for the opening weekend.

- Freshman right-hander Jennifer Chasteen picked up her first collegiate victory in Butler's win over IUPUI. Chasteen was given her first collegiate start in the game and pitched all six innings, allowing just one unearned run on three hits. She had one strikeout and one walk in the game.

- Butler had two grand slams in the five games down at Kentucky. Jenny Jacobs hit a grand slam in Butler's 10-5 loss to Kentucky on Friday, and then Amy Hyerczyk hit a grand slam in the Bulldogs' victory over IUPUI on Saturday.

Cleveland State Vikings


- With its wins over Lafayette and Army on Sunday, Cleveland State joined the 1997 squad as the only teams in school history to open the season 5-0.

- The Vikings scored 25 runs on 30 hits on the opening day of the Rebel Spring Games. The offensive outburst helped raise the team batting average to .381. The 13 runs scored against Lafayette were the most by a CSU squad since a 15-0 win over St. Francis (Pa.) on April 21, 2004.

- On the flip side, CSU pitchers have given up just two earned runs (five total) in 32.0 innings of work this year for a 0.44 ERA. Freshman Amanda Macenko has yet to surrender an earned run in 18.2 innings in the circle to post a perfect 4-0 mark.

Detroit Titans


- Junior Kaleigh Rafter moved into third place in the all-time record books with her 14th career home run last week. Rafter needs just four more long balls to tie and a fifth to lock up the top spot in Titan history.

- Rafter, who was second on the team with 11 walks all of last season, was given 11 free passes last week alone. Two of those walks were of the intentional variety.

- Freshman Jill Perry picked up the first win of her collegiate career against IPFW. The left hander threw a complete-game three-hitter in the 9-1 Titan win. Perry, the first left hander in the Wilkerson era of Titan softball, struck out three in her first win.

UIC Flames


- UIC went 3-3 last weekend at the USF Adidas Invitational in Clearwater, Florida. The Flames picked up big wins over Northern Illinois (3-1), Indiana (2-0) and No. 20 Georgia Tech (4-3).

- Junior Ashlee Ackerman and sophomore Sarah Clynes each posted a .389 batting average in six games. Ackerman totaled four runs scored and two RBI, while Clynes tallied two runs and three RBI. Junior Nicole Robinson was 6-for-20 (.300) on the weekend with four runs scored, two doubles and three RBI.

- Sophomore Sarah Clynes improved her record to 6-6 in the circle after recording a perfect 3-0 mark at the tournament. Clynes posted a 1.22 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 28.2 innings pitched.

Loyola Ramblers


- Freshman Amy Solava struck out a season-best 13 batters in a 5-2 victory over Sacramento State. She allowed only three hits and no earned runs in the outing.

- Senior catcher Raven Gengler went 2 for 3 with a triple, home run and three RBI in a 6-4 loss to UC Santa Barbara. Her round-tripper was the 14th of her career, moving her within one homer of teammate Kat Krause's all-time school mark of 15.

- Four of Loyola's 10 losses this season have come at the hands of ranked opponents.

- Graduate student Ashley Mitchell hit safely in nine of the first ten games of the year but has gone hitless in each of the last three contests.

UW-Green Bay Phoenix


- UW-Green Bay started competition at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla., Sunday and will continue play through Saturday. The Phoenix will play two games per day - with the exception of Wednesday when it takes the day off - and will play a total of 12 games overall.

- The Phoenix did not allow an earned run in either of its two games against Columbia and Colgate on Sunday, but errors led to a big inning for eachUW-Green Bay opponent in the two losses.

- Junior shortstop Jenna Woepse, a first-team All-Horizon League pick last season, posted her second multi-hit game of the season Sunday against Colgate and leads the Phoenix with a .353 batting average through its first six games. She also paces the squad with two doubles and two stolen bases through games played Sunday.

Wright State Raiders


- After starting the season 0-7, the Raiders have won six of their last nine games, including three this past week at Morehead State. WSU defeated Morehead State twice and split a pair of games with Oakland, with both decisions coming by one run. Wright State is now just one win shy of its entire victory total from last season.

- The Raiders flashed a little speed over the weekend as Wright State stole 11 bases, four each from juniors Michelle Logan and Jherica Williams. Heading into the four games, WSU had swiped just 12.

- Freshman Allison Cox threw her first complete-game shutout of her collegiate career as she blanked Morehead State on five hits. She also picked up another complete-game win over Oakland as she drove in the winning runs in the bottom of the seventh with a two-run, two-out double.

Youngstown State Penguins


- Last weekend, the Penguins batted .331 as a team pounding out 39 hits in four games, including 14 extra-base hits. YSU also slugged at a .508 clip and scored 21 runs.

- Sophomore Kristen McDonnell, who batted .375 over the weekend, hit her 11th career home run and moved into a tie for fifth place on the YSU career home runs list with Tiffany Patteson (2003-06).

- Senior Karlie Burnell picked up her 30th career victory on Sunday against Brown, which moves her into a tie for fourth place on the YSU all-time wins list. She is just the fifth pitcher in school history to post at least 30 victories in a career.

Valparaiso Crusaders (join HL July 1, 2007)


- Valpo is currently on an eight-game winning streak, which matches the second-longest winning streak in school history one short of the mark set in 1987, when the Crusaders logged nine-straight wins. The last five games have all been one-run victories for the Crusaders.

- The team's 9-3 record is the best 12-game start in Crusader history.

- Taylor Callahan broke the school record for assists in a career against Detroit, eclipsing the previous mark of 353. Callahan currently has 360.