Kangaroos Host IUPUI To Wrap Up 2008 League Home Schedule

The UMKC softball team will honor seniors Alicia Baker and Monica Canisales as the squad returns to the diamond after an idle week. The Kangaroos host IUPUI in a three-game set to conclude the league portion of their home schedule this weekend, with the first pitch in Friday's doubleheader slated to be tossed at 2 p.m. A short ceremony to honor Baker and Canisales will precede the series finale on Saturday, set for a noon start.

Quick Hits
? The Kangaroos hold a 18-18 record against IUPUI.
? UMKC has battled into extra innings once against the Jaguars, coming away with a 2-1 road win after 10 innings on May 6, 2005.
? The Kangaroos have outscored the Jaguars 129-109 in the 36 previous meetings, with UMKC twice topping the 10-run plateau.
? The road team has had the better of this series, with UMKC holding an 11-8 record in Indianapolis and a 7-9 mark in Kansas City.

Scouting the Jaguars
The Jaguars come to UMKC having suffered many of the same weather troubles that UMKC has battled throughout the 2008 season. Maggie Calcaterra's squad has assembled a 6-22 overall record, with a 1-11 mark in The Summit League.

As a team, the Jaguars are hitting .222, with 11 home runs on the campaign. Individually, freshman Amy Raker leads the team with a .295 batting average, collecting three home runs in her 23 hits on the year, driving in a team-high 13 runs. Sophomore Mia Ettl sits just behind Raker with a .290 batting average, but leads regular contributors with a .388 on-base percentage.

Raker is also one of four pitchers to see time in the circle for IUPUI this season, compiling a 6.43 ERA in 49.0 innings of work. Senior Meaghan Raynes leads the staff with a 5.00 ERA and has collected three of IUPUI's wins on the year. As a team, the Jaguars have posted a 6.18 ERA, striking out just 117 batters and walking 102.

Baserunning has not been kind to the Jaguars defensively, as they have given up 67 swipes in 78 attempts on the year, mustering just nine steals on the offensive side of the ledger. The Jaguars have posted a fielding percentage of .953 on the year.

At The Summit Of The Summit League
After cruising past her single-season strikeout mark from last year, Samantha Hurst has continued to rack up the K's. She currently has the highest strikeout per game rate among pitchers in The Summit League, averaging 7.21 K's per game. Her 14-strikeout effort against IPFW was just one shy of the top single-game mark in the league this season (15 by WIU's Kamren Ferguson against Pittsburgh) and included a streak of six consecutive retired batters.

And One For Good Measure
Samantha Hurst did something in her complete game win against IPFW that is somewhat rare, as she recorded four strikeouts in the second inning. Her final delivery to the first batter of the second inning had so much movement that it eluded both the Mastodon bat and catcher Lauren Rodrigues' glove. The junior calmly retired the next three batters, however, en route to a string of six.

While rare overall, the feat was the fourth time this season that it has happened. Arkansas' Miranda Dixon, Morehead State's Sarah Funston and (former Mid-Con foe) Valparaiso's Andrea Zappia have all recorded four-strikeout innings on the 2008 campaign.

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. Seven of the 10 regular starters for UMKC are underclassmen, with junior Samantha Hurst and seniors Alicia Baker and Monica Canisales representing the elder set.

What A Difference A Year Makes
Although second-year head coach Meredith Smith leads a young squad, it is certainly a talented bunch with considerable potential for the future. Looking back just one season the difference is clear. Aside from the obvious difference in record - UMKC posted just four wins through its entire championship season schedule in 2007 - there have been improvements in all aspects of the game for the Kangaroos.

Although the team's batting average is slightly lower than last season's mark, the 2008 squad has still belted five more doubles than through the same point last season, striking out 22 fewer times and collecting 10 more walks in 2008. The team has also collected 53 RBI this year to just 48 last season. The Kangaroos have also pounded out 10 more sacrifice bunts and one additional sac fly on the 2008 campaign.

Baserunning also shows a marked improvement, although more clearly on the defensive side of the ledger. UMKC has been caught stealing just three times in 15 attempts this year - compared to eight times in 16 attempts last year - but has yielded just 47 swipes this year to a monstrous 80 last season. The Kangaroos have gunned down eight baserunners this season - one in just under every seven attempts - to just six last season - one in 13.

All four returning players have seen their individual stats improve as well, led by Alicia Baker. Through 29 games on the slate, the senior has collected 26 hits, nearly double that of last season and she has knocked in 13 runs this year to just two in 2007. Samantha Hurst has raised her average to .268 this season, with her three extra-base hits - a double, a triple and a home run - each marking the first of her career.

The Kangaroos have improved in the circle as well, dropping their team ERA by nearly a run with a mark of 5.59 this year to last season's 6.54 mark. The UMKC staff has also struck out 27 more batters and issued an amazing 39 fewer walks through 26 games in 2008. The staff has also hit 12 fewer batters and yielded four fewer home runs.

Most notably, all of this has come against a considerably tougher group of opponents. Through 29 games this season, UMKC has already faced two teams ranked in the national polls (Washington, Arizona St.) and two that were receiving votes (Nevada, Wichita St.) at gametime, whereas Oklahoma marked the only ranked foe among the first 29 games for the Kangaroos last season.

On A Streak
Coming into this weekend's series, Julie Hartung is in the midst of a four-game hitting streak. The mark is tied with Alicia Baker and Samantha Hurst for teh second-longest streak among the 2008 squad, with Megan Ussary's six-game mark taking top honors. Ussary collected nine hits in six games (Idaho State - Wichita State) before being held hitless in UMKC's second game against South Dakota State in the Shocker Invitational. She did, however, reach base safely in that game with a walk.

In addition to Hartung's hitting streak, Ussary and Lauren Cross have each reached base safely (through hit/walk) in each of the past three games.

In A Pinch
Although Alicia Baker was not expected to see time in the circle this year, she was forced to step in during the second game of UMKC's doubleheader against Oakland as Taya Upkes was unable to continue after taking a pitch off her own pitching hand. The senior performed as well as could be expected under the circumstances, working one inning and giving up just one walk. She has continued to pitch solidly, dropping her career ERA by better than a run in just four appearances on the campaign.

Ding, Ding, Ding
Four players have collected their first career home run for UMKC this season. 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. She added a solo shot against Creighton earlier this season as well.

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.

Carli Slagle also notched her first-ever dinger in the series finale against Centenary, easily clearing the fence in right center at Cleveland Park, adding a second in the first win over IPFW this season.

Lauren Rodrigues joined the longball ladies in that game as well, hitting a game-winning two-run bomb in the fifth.

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.

Keeping It Close
Although the Kangaroos have been on the wrong end of a couple of blowouts this season, lost in the analysis is that UMKC has only seen 13 games end with margins of five runs or higher, compared to just seven games with margins CLOSER than five runs in 2007. UMKC has battled to pick up wins in three of the six one-run contests it has faced on the year. In 2007, the Kangaroos lost all eight of their games that finished with either a one-run or two-run margin.

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.

Perfection Is Perfected
In the Kangaroos' second game against South Dakota State in the Shocker Invitational, senior Alicia Baker was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, driving in three runs on the afternoon.

Have Another
UMKC has seen 28 multiple-hit outings on the season from nine different players. Alicia Baker and Megan Ussary each have belted out multiple hits on six occasions. Baker has collected two three-hit games and one four-hit afternoon, and is also the team leader in multiple-RBI games with four. All told, the Kangaroos have seen seven three-hit outings and one four-hit afternoon on the campaign.

With a team total of 11 multiple-RBI games, Julie Hartung and Lauren Rodrigues join Baker as the only players to have driven in three or more runs in a contest.

When A Bell Rings...
In UMKC's 7-6 loss to Southern Utah earlier this year, Alicia Baker finished just a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. She started off the game with a single, collected an RBI triple in the fifth and doubled home Monica Canisales in the sixth. She reached base safely in all four appearances on the afternoon, with an error by the third baseman helping her reach in the third.

Nine Times? Nine Times...
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 nine schedule changes due to weather. Originally moved to Sioux Falls, S.D., owing to snow on the NDSU competition field, this weekend's league series with North Dakota State saw another venue change on Wednesday. The games will now be played at Claussen-Westgate Field on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, while the UNO Mavericks host a tournament elsewhere in the city.

The Kangaroos' 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.

UMKC twice saw 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 March 6 and changed venues for their contest against Indiana State, moving an hour-and-a-half west to Lawrence, Kan.

The final game of the Kangaroos' Summit League-opening series against Oakland was canceled due to a wind chill below allowable league levels and this week's series against Centenary was pushed back a day due to thunderstorms pelting the Kansas City area.

Weather has been a large factor throughout The Summit League this year, with IUPUI taking the cake with 12 cancellations on the year.

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 against Missouri State and Saint Louis. 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.

Reaching For The Summit
This year marks the first season of The Summit League, as the Mid-Continent Conference changed its name following the 2006-07 school year. The league welcomes newcomers North Dakota State, South Dakota State and IPFW for the 2007-08 season as charter member Valparaiso departs for the Horizon League. Of the three incoming schools, only IPFW will be eligible to qualify for the conference tournament this year, as both Dakota schools are completing the transition process to Division I and are therefore ineligible to compete in the NCAA Tournament.

The name change is part of a larger initiative, called The Summit Plan, launched by the league's President's Council in June 2007. The initiative looks to improve the overall athletic image of the conference and bring a more intense focus to the overall welfare of the student-athletes at the member institutions.

Media Guide Available
The 2008 UMKC Softball Media Guide is available for download at www.umkckangaroos.com, the official website of UMKC Athletics.