Softball Weekly Release #8

April 9, 2007

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Player of the Week

McKenzie Bedra, Youngstown State
Junior * 3B * Bowling Green, Ohio
Bedra became YSU's all-time home runs leader with 19 after two home runs last week to lead the Penguinsto a 2-1 record last week. Bedra, who batted .455, tied the record with a two-run blast against Cleveland State on April 3. She broke the record with a solo shot in a 2-1 loss at St. Francis. She also ripped a single against the Vikings and posted three hits in the first game of a twinbill against St. Francis. Bedra also moved into fifth place on the YSU career RBI list with 73.

Pitcher of the Week

Amy Solava, Loyola
Freshman * RHP * New Lenox, Ill.
Solava turned in an impressive outing on Friday afternoon, working all nine innings of Loyola's 3-2 victory over Wright State. The 5-foot-9 right-hander allowed just two hits and one earned run while fanning 14 Raiders in the complete-game effort. On the season, Solava has a 5-6 record with a 3.19 ERA in 72.1 innings in the circle.

Other Top Performances From the Week Ending April 8

Courtney Gill, Detroit
Freshman * C / INF * Surrey, British Columbia
Gill hit .333 in two games this week. The freshman catcher/infielder slugged a pair of home runs, including a solo shot in the Titans' victory over Michigan State. Her second long ball of the week was a two-run shot, giving her three runs batted in.

Kelli Short, Detroit
Junior * RHP * Toledo, Ohio
Short went 1-0 this week, allowing no earned runs in Detroit's win over Big Ten member Michigan State on Tuesday. The 6-foot-1 junior scattered four hits and struck out three in the complete-game victory.

Liz Jacoby, UIC
Senior * C/OF * Beacher, Ill.
Jacoby went 1-for-2 in the Flames' loss to Wisconsin on Tuesday. The senior notched UIC's only run against the Badgers, while posting a 1.000 fielding percentage with three putouts.

Ashley Mitchell, Loyola
Graduate Student * 1B * Kennesaw, Ga.
Mitchell batted .750 (6-for-8) with a pair of doubles, a stolen base and three RBI in a pair of games against Wright State last week as the Ramblers ran their winning streak to five contests. The left-handed lead-off hitter went 4-for-4 with a stolen base and a RBI in Loyola's 4-0 victory over the Raiders in game one of a doubleheader on April 6, then was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI in a 3-2, extra-inning win in the nightcap.

Allison Cox, Wright State
Freshman * RHP * Chillicothe, Ohio
Cox picked up two victories last week. She earned the win in relief against IUPUI and followed that with a complete-game victory versus Eastern Kentucky.

Kristen Farley, Wright State
Senior * C * Marysville, Ohio
Farley smacked a game-winning two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh against IUPUI and drove in three runs in the contest. She singled and scored in the first game with Eastern Kentucky then had a two-run homer in second game against EKU. On the week, Farley went 5-for-16 with two home runs and five RBI.

Karlie Burnell, Youngstown State
Senior * RHP * Brampton, Ohio
Burnell picked up her sixth victory of the season and the 34th of her career in a 4-2 win over Horizon League foe Cleveland State on Tuesday. She scattered eight hits in her eighth complete game of the season.

Horizon League News & Notes

Butler Bulldogs
- Junior Jenny Jacobs has already hit five home runs this season, matching her team-leading total of a year ago. She set a Butler single season record with nine home runs as a freshman, and has 19 roundtrippers in her career.

- Sophomore Lindsay Schluge had her 10-game hitting streak end last week, as she went 0-for-3 against Purdue on Tuesday. During the streak, she hit .405 with six runs scored and five RBI.

- Senior Jamie Wonderly also had a streak end in Tuesday's contest against the Boilers. She had won six straight decisions, since beginning the 2007 season with three straight losses, but Purdue pinned Wonderly with her first loss since March 4.

Cleveland State Vikings
- Eight regulars in the CSU line-up are batting .282 or better as the Vikings are hitting .338 as a team. A trio of sophomores are pacing the offense, with Christa Coppus leading the way at .397, followed closely by Amanda Houchin (.394) and Haley Keller (.379).

- Freshman Amanda Macenko is already seventh on the CSU single-season list with 14 victories, despite the fact that the Vikings haven't even reached the halfway point of the schedule. Amy Kyler set the school record with 24 wins in 1997.

- As a team, CSU leads the League with a 1.35 ERA in 23 contests. Junior Christina Swierz leads the staff with a 1.20 ERA, while Macenko (1.34 ERA) and sophomore Tara Meyer (1.71 ERA) have also posted sub-two ERAs.

Detroit Titans
- Junior Kaleigh Rafter moved into second place in the Titans' all-time record book for home runs this week with her first-inning blast against Central Michigan last week. Rafter, who has 17 career homers, needs just one more to tie for the all-time record at Detroit (Tricia Cohoon, 1993-96). What makes this feat more impressive is that as a freshman in 2005 Rafter did hit a single long ball and has put up her 17 in just one and 1/4 seasons.

- Freshman Courtney Gill broke out of a slump with two homers on Tuesday against the Spartans of Michigan State. The freshman hadn't hit a homer since the Titans' game against Radford as part of the Catamount Classic in Cullowhee, NC. Gill is now tied for second on the team with four home runs.

- Senior pitcher Adrienne Baran's bat has come alive thus far in 2007 as she ranks second on the squad with a .429 average to go along with 18 RBI and four homers. Baran has also made her mark in the circle with a career-best 43 strike outs.

UIC Flames
- Sophomore Sarah Clynes leads the League in innings pitched (120.1) and appearances (25), while placing second in wins (nine) and strikeouts (72). The Florissant, Mo., native has also gotten the job done at the plate, leading the Flames with a .340 batting average.

- Senior Liz Jacoby paces the loop in doubles this season with 10. She also has team-best marks in home runs (four) and slugging percentage (.527), while tying with freshman Brooke Frydendall for the lead in RBI (17).

- Freshman Chelsea Fuemmeler picked up her second UIC win in the circle versus YSU on April 1. Fuemmeler totaled ten strikeouts in two appearances and 7.2 innings pitched.

Loyola Ramblers
- Loyola brings a five-game winning streak, its longest since March 2005, into this week's action. The Ramblers have outscored their opponents, 34-10, in during the five-game stretch.

- At 5-0, the Ramblers are off to their best start in Horizon League play since winning their first 10 League tilts to open up the 2002 campaign.

- Sophomore Krista Crosson tossed a complete-game shutout and fanned a career-best 10 batters in the Ramblers' 4-0 victory over Wright State on Friday.

- Junior Kat Krause has hit safely in each of the last eight games and is batting .500 (14-for-28) with nine runs, 13 RBI, five doubles and five home runs.

UW-Green Bay Phoenix
- After playing its first 19 games of the season on the road, UW-Green Bay was set to open a stretch during which it was supposed to play 15 of 18 games at home. Due to inclement weather conditions, the Phoenix was forced to cancel the home opener with UIC and will now make its 2007 home debut on Wednesday with a doubleheader against Minnesota.

- The Phoenix is 7-0 when scoring four or more runs in a game this season and 2-10 when scoring three runs or less.

- Freshman Katie Cooney has hit safely in each of the last seven games and leads the Phoenix with a .364 batting average and 12 RBI this season.

Wright State Raiders
- After rallying for three runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the series finale with Butler last week, Wright State started a new week the same way, using a two-run Kristen Farley home run in the bottom of the seventh to record an 8-7 win over IUPUI.

- Jamie Perkins and Loyola's Amy Solava hooked up in quite a pitcher's duel between freshmen in the second game Friday. Perkins scattered eight hits over eight innings with nine strikeouts and only one walk while Solava fanned 14 in nine innings and gave up just two hits, the first of those by Michelle Logan with one out in the sixth.

- Despite not being at home this week, the Raiders stay in the Buckeye State as they face Ohio State for two on Wednesday followed by a three-game series at Cleveland State this weekend.

Youngstown State Penguins
- Senior Megan Bricker and junior Becky Hibner each tied the school mark for most hits in a game with four base knocks in game two against St. Francis (Pa.). One of Bricker's four hits was her first career home run, while Hibner needs just two more hits to collect the 100th base hit of her career.

- Junior McKenzie Bedra broke the YSU all-time home run mark with a solo homer against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday. Earlier in the week, she tied the record with a two-run shot against Cleveland State.

- Sophomore Kristen McDonnell moved into sole possession of fourth place on the home run list with her 13th career blast, a grand slam, on April 1.

- YSU's 17 hits against UIC on April 1 tied a school record for most hits in a single game. the last time the Penguins accomplished that feat was against Penn on March 10, 2004.

Valparaiso Crusaders (join HL July 1, 2007)
- The Crusaders earned the 400th win in program history with a 7-6 victory in game one on March 31.

- Junior Mallory Gill hit her third career home run and first career grand slam to give Valpo the lead for good in the victory.

- Valpo trailed 5-1 on March 31 before scoring four in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at five and send it into extra innings before eventually falling.

- The Crusaders' postponed contest against Notre Dame has been reschedule for April 19 at 5 p.m., while their postponed series at Oakland will now be played on May 6 and 7.