Kangaroos Open Home, Conference Slate Against Oakland Friday
3/13/2008 5:30:00 PM | Softball
After two postponements, UMKC opens the home portion of its schedule this weekend, hosting Oakland in the first games of action in The Summit League for both teams. The first game of the three-game set is slated for a 3 p.m. start on Friday. The Kangaroos and Golden Grizzlies will duel in a doubleheader on Friday before playing a single contest at noon on Saturday.
Quick Hits
? UMKC and Oakland have played 38 times, with the Kangaroos winning 16 times and dropping 22.
? Both teams are perfect on the base paths this season, having not been caught stealing thus far.
? The Kangaroos have been bedeviled by the Golden Grizzlies in the post season tournament, twice dropping back-to-back games in the championship of the double-elimination tournament in back-to-back seasons (2002, 2003) to Oakland.
Scouting the Golden Grizzlies
Oakland has posted a 7-7 record thus far, with a pair of wins at the Charleston Southern tournament and a sweep of South Carolina State among the highlights. Like the Kangaroos, the Golden Grizzlies have lost several games to inclement weather this year, as last weekend's slate at the Morehead State tournament as well as a scheduled doubleheader against the tournament hosts was cancelled.
Offensively, Oakland claims four players with batting averages of .400 or better, although just two of those players are regular contributors to the squad. Kelsey Krych has posted a .421 average on the year, collecting three RBI and one home run. She leads the Golden Grizzlies with four stolen bases in four attempts. Also swinging hot bats for Oakland are Angela Righetti (.400, 5 RBI, 4 2B, 1 3B) and Roberta Ches (.385, 12 RBI, 1 2B, 3 HR). As a team, Oakland has posted eight dingers on the year and a team batting average of .280, slightly under their opponents' mark of .285.
In the circle, Oakland has a large staff - five pitchers have seen time for the Golden Grizzlies - with Marisa Everitt claiming low ERA at 2.92 on the season. Jessica Granger has done the lion's share of the work for Oakland, however, hurling 47.1 of the squad's 87.0 innings this season, collecting 45 strikeouts and issuing just 15 walks. The staff ERA for Oakland stands at 3.38 on the campaign, with Brittany Grys and Dayna Peters collecting the two shutouts for the team.
Youth Is Served
With just four players returning from last year's squad, it is not unfair to say that the Kangaroos are a young squad. Against Idaho State, UMKC started freshmen in seven of the nine slots in the lineup, with the Kangaroos averaging six freshmen in the starting nine thus far on the season.
Ding, Ding, Ding
Freshman Julie Hartung found her stroke quickly, cranking a home run in just her seventh collegiate at-bat. The Macon, Mo., native scored one of two UMKC runs against #3 Arizona State on Sunday with a longball off the Sun Devils' Amanda Nesbitt. Also ringing up the first four-bagger of her career was Samantha Hurst, whose solo shot to right center against South Dakota State came in the midst of a comeback attempt for the Kangaroos.
Youth Is Served Too...
As an institution, UMKC has always been willing to take its chances with young coaches, but Meredith Smith is part of a considerable resurgence in that trend. Aged 25 years, 166 days at the time of her appointment, she was the youngest coach among her league counterparts, and with the resignation of former interim Volleyball coach Chrissy Elder, she became the youngest at UMKC. Her reign as youngest head coach at UMKC was truncated with the appointment of Courtney Mahon to head the women's golf team, as Mahon is just 24 years old.
The Kangaroos currently have three head coaches under the age of 30 - Candace White, Smith and Mahon. The youngest head coach ever appointed at UMKC was Angela Garbe, who was tabbed in September 1991 to head the women's tennis team at the tender age of 22 years, 164 days.
Going The (Extra) Distance
UMKC's eight-inning win over Missouri State was the first time that the Kangaroos were forced into extra frames since the 2005 season. UMKC was also victorious in that outing, downing IUPUI 2-1 in 10 innings.
UMKC is 6-13 in extra-inning contests throughout its history, and has twice battled beyond seven innings in both games of a scheduled doubleheader.
Mother Nature Is A Real Mother
Although living in the Midwest brings with it an appreciation for varying weather patterns, the Kangaroos are surely sick of it. So far this season, UMKC has had to endure five schedule changes due to weather.
The team's doubleheader at Missouri slated for February 22 was originally moved indoors but later rescheduled by agreement between the coaches. UMKC's participation in the All Missouri Cancer Classic was curtailed, as host Southeast Missouri State was forced to postpone Saturday's action - leaving the Kangaroos to take on Missouri State and Saint Louis in Springfield, Mo., before bowing out of the tournament due to NCAA regulations limiting games played in a day.
Finally, UMKC has twice seen its home opener cancelled owing to unplayable conditions at Cleveland Park. The Kangaroos were forced to cancel the one-off contest against Iowa State originally scheduled for Thursday and changed venues for Monday's contest against Indiana State, moving an hour-and-a-half west to Lawrence, Kan.
Injury Bug Bites (Really Bites)
After a recruiting odyssey that saw her bring in 12 new players, head coach Meredith Smith again finds herself battling the injury bug, as UMKC had just 10 players available for last weekend's action. The Kangaroos acquitted themselves well, however, earning a split on the weekend.
Tough Crowd
Although the Kangaroos went winless at the Kajikawa Classic, there were several encouraging signs. Alicia Baker led the team with a .333 batting average through five contests, collecting four hits and two RBI on the weekend. In just 9.0 innings of work, Samantha Hurst collected eight strikeouts, with Taya Upkes and Ashton Kistler each hurling a complete game. All of this against a tough schedule, including two teams ranked in the Top 25 in both the ESPN/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA polls, as well as a team that knocked off the no. 11-ranked team in the nation.
Playing In Honor and Memory
Throughout the 2008 season, the Kangaroos will be playing in memory of UMKC Assistant AD for Compliance Cynthia Joy Gabel, who lost a lengthy battle with cancer before the 2007-08 school year. As part of the continued recognition and commitment to breast cancer awareness, UMKC and South Dakota State have pledged to commit the final game of each season's league set between the two schools to raising money and awareness by playing in commemorative pink jerseys. Fans can purchase and dedicate the jerseys to loved ones who are battling or whom have lost the battle to cancer. Each jersey will bear the name of the person to whom they are dedicated and - after being worn in the game by the respective teams - will be given to the purchaser. Proceeds from this year's contest will go to benefit the Susan G. Komen foundation, with proceeds from next year's return engagement in Kansas City to benefit the Cynthia Joy Gabel Scholarship Fund at UMKC. For more information on this program, contact head coach Meredith Smith at smithmer@umkc.edu or call the UMKC Athletics office at (816) 235-1036.
Media Guide Available
The 2008 UMKC Softball Media Guide is available for download at www.umkckangaroos.com, the official website of UMKC Athletics.
