Softball Weekly Release #5

March 20, 2007

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Player of the Week

Michelle Baggio, Detroit
Senior * OF * Windsor, Ontario
Baggio hit a team leading .533 this week, going 8-for-15 at the Catamount Classic in being named to the All-Tournament Team. Of Baggio's eight hits, four were for extra bases, including a trio of home runs which moved the senior clean up hitter into third place all-time at Detroit for long balls. She extended her season opening hitting streak to 14 games before seeing the streak come to an end in Sunday's tournament finale. Baggio slugged at a 1.200 clip and posted a .650 on-base percentage in five games.

Pitcher of the Week

Amanda Macenko, Cleveland State
Freshman * RHP * Brunswick, Ohio
Macenko went 5-1 with a save last week, allowing just four earned runs in 41.2 innings pitched (0.67 ERA). She fanned 37, walked just three and held CSU's opponents to a .222 batting average. Macenko completed all four games she started, including a three-hit shutout against Colgate in which she struck out seven. Her four relief appearances (0 ER in 14.2 innings) included a career-high tying eight strikeouts in 5.1 innings in a victory versus Rider.

Other Top Performances From the Week Ending March 18

Whitney Willard, Cleveland State
Junior * OF * Nova, Ohio
Willard hit .524 (11-for-21) in six games last week to extend her hitting streak to a career-high tying 11 games. She was also a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen bases, scored five runs and drove in a pair while slugging .619. Against Rider, she was 3-for-4 with four stolen bases and two runs scored and then went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI and two runs scored versus Lafayette. Willard then capped off her week with a two-hit performance against Colgate.

Kat Krause, Loyola
Junior * 3B * Arlington Heights, Ill.
Krause was nearly perfect at the plate as Loyola split a doubleheader at No. 17 Illinois State on Wednesday, going 4-for-5 (.800) with three runs, a triple, two home runs and five RBI. The slugger, who hold the Loyola career home run record, belted a two-run homer in each game against the Redbirds and was 2-for-3 with a homer and a pair of RBI in a 3-0 victory, the team's first over a ranked foe since 2000. She then went 2-for-2 with two runs, three RBI, a roundtripper, double and a walk.

Krista Crosson, Loyola
Sophomore * RHP * Lake Stevens, Wash.
Crosson threw her first shutout of the year and only the second of her career in Loyola's 3-0 victory at No. 17 Illinois State. The right-hander was dazzling, scattering three hits while striking out three en route to the win.

Katie Cooney, UW-Green Bay
Freshman * DP / P * East Moline, Ill.
Cooney led the Phoenix with a .379 batting average in the team's 10 games last week, helping lead UW-Green Bay to a 7-3 record at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla. The freshman paced the Phoenix with 11 hits, nine RBI, three doubles and a .483 slugging percentage. In an 11-5 win over Florida A&M Saturday, she went 3-for-4 with two doubles and five RBI. The five RBI were the most by a Phoenix player in a game since at least the 1998 season. Cooney also posted a 2-0 record in the pitcher's circle with a 1.91 ERA, tossing a pair of complete-game victories. She struck out a career-high six in a victory over Saint Louis Tuesday. In 18.1 innings pitched she struck out 15 while walking just two.

Horizon League News and Notes

Butler Bulldogs
- The Bulldogs went 6-4 last week at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla. Butler had victories over Hartford (8-0), Army (10-1), Colgate (6-1), Yale (7-2), Columbia (3-1) and Florida A&M (9-1), while taking losses against Bucknell (2-1), Vermont (7-2), George Washington (3-2) and Rider (5-2).

- Butler opened the 2007 season with five games at Kentucky March 2-4. The Bulldogs dropped a doubleheader to the host Wildcats on March 2, and then participated in the four-team Frostbite Classic hosted by Kentucky on Saturday and Sunday.

- 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.

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

Cleveland State Vikings
- At 11-2, Cleveland State is off to the best 13-game start in school history, edging the 1997 and 2006 squads by a single victory. The Vikings went 8-2 at the Rebel Spring Games for the second consecutive season.

- The Vikings have outscored their opponents by a 65-18 margin so far this year. In addition, Cleveland State has stolen 40 bases as compared to just seven by the opposition. Junior Whitney Willard -- who has a hit in all 11 games in which she has played -- is a perfect 15-for-15 in stolen bases on her own.

- Freshman Amanda Macenko continues to impress in the circle. She has appeared in 12 of CSU's 13 games, allowing just four earned runs in 60.1 innings (0.46 ERA) en route to posting an 8-1 record with one save. Her most impressive stat may be her nearly 9:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (52-6).

Detroit Titans
- Junior Kaleigh Rafter slugged a pair of homers, including a game-winning, walk-off blast in the Titans' 8-7 come from behind win over UNC Wilmington on Saturday. The homers increased Rafter's career total to 16, which puts her into a tie for second all-time at Detroit with former teammate Katrina Klemp (2003-06). Rafter needs just two more round-trippers to move into a tie for first place and three to claim the spot outright.

- Senior pitcher Adrienne Baran hit her first three career homers this past weekend at the Catamount Classic. Baran, who had not hit a homer in her first three seasons in Detroit, connected on her third to help her own cause during Sunday's 7-1 win over UNC Wilmington.

- Sophomore Jacqueline Nortman must like the water in North Carolina as the 5-1 "slugger" hit her third career homer and second long ball at the Western Carolina Catamount Classic this weekend. A year ago Nortman connected on her first career blast en route to All-Tournament honors. This year Nortman hit at a .455 clip in the five games in Cullowhee, N.C.

UIC Flames
- UIC went 3-3 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 (seven-for-18) 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.

- With this weekend off, the Flames are back in action on March 21 when they face Illinois for the first time in regular season action in Champaign.

Loyola Ramblers
- Loyola notched its first win over a ranked opponent when it topped No. 17 Illinois State, 3-0 in game one of a doubleheader on Wednesday.

- The Ramblers have now played seven of their first 15 games of the year versus Top 25 foes.

- Over the last four games, junior Kat Krause is batting .545 (6-for-11) with two homers, two triples and six RBI to raise her batting average from .214 to .308.

- Right-hander Krista Crosson picked up her first shutout the year and only the second of her career, by scattering three hits in the 3-0 win at Illinois State.

- Loyola is 4-3 this season when scoring three or more runs and 4-2 when it scores first. The team is also 3-0 when leading after four innings of play.

UW-Green Bay Phoenix
- After starting the season 2-6, UW-Green Bay has won six of its last eight. The Phoenix posted a 7-5 record overall at the Rebel Spring Games.

- Senior Andrea Kurzynske led the Phoenix with a .474 batting average (9-for-19) at the Rebel Spring Games, while freshman Katie Cooney posted a .371 batting average (13-for-35) in the 12 contests. Cooney had five of her team-high nine RBI in an 11-5 win over Florida A&M. The five RBI were the most by a UW-Green Bay player in a game since at least the 1998 season.

- UW-Green Bay will take the week off from competition before returning to action March 31 and April 1 when it opens Horizon League play at Cleveland State. That series will wrap up a stretch during which the Phoenix will have played its 19 games of the season away from home. The Phoenix will make up for it by playing 15 of the ensuing 18 games in Green Bay.

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 March 9-11 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 the 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
- The Penguins batted .331 as a team pounding out 39 hits in four games, including 14 extra-base hits at the George Mason Invitational March 9-11. 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 March 11 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 had its eight-game winning streak snapped with a pair of losses at Garner-Webb last week. The Crusaders then split a double dip at East Tennessee State with sophomore Stephanie Kelly's complete game, one-run effort giving the team a 4-1 victory in the nightcap.

- With her double last week, Megan Carroll moved into a tie for second all-time at Valpo in career two-baggers (27).

- Taylor Callahan had three hits last week to move into fourth all-time in Crusader history in career hits (129) and third all-time in career runs scored (69).