UMKC Off To Compete In The UT-Arlington Tournament
2/19/2009 1:30:00 PM | Softball
Kansas City, Mo. -- UMKC is off to Texas to compete in the UT-Arlington Tournament. The Kangaroos will face four opponents in the three-day tournament. UMKC opens up the tournament with Texas Southern at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 20 and will then face host-team UT-Arlington at 3:00 p.m.
The Kangaroos are 2-7 on the season, recording their first wins at the Auburn University Tiger Invitational. UMKC finished the tournament with a 2-2 record, posting a 5-4 win over Morehead State and a 4-2 win over Furman.
Carli Slagle started in all four games for the Kangaroos and batted .400 on the weekend. The junior scored one run off of four hits, including two doubles. Slagle finished the weekend with four RBIs and was named to the Tiger Invitational all-Tournament team.
Leading the way on the mound for UMKC with a 2.92 ERA was Nicholle Ellis. She went 1-0 on the weekend and in two appearances threw 12 innings. Ellis gave up six runs, five of which were earned, off of 13 hits. She walked just four batters and struck out nine, including a career-high strike outs in the 4-2 win over Furman.
UT-Arlington Tournament
Arlington, Texas
Friday, Feb. 20 - Sunday, Feb. 22
Opponent Preview
? UMKC vs. Texas Southern ? Feb. 20, 2009 ? 10 a.m.
? Feb. 21, 2009 ? 3 p.m.
Texas Southern is 0-4 in the 2009 season and will be looking to get its first win at the UT-Arlington Tournament. The Tigers are led by Tenesah Skrine, who is posting a .364 batting average in four games played and started. She has scored two runs off of four hits with one home run and two RBIs. On the mound for Texas Southern with a 5.54 ERA is Katie Ortiz. Ortiz is 0-2 on the season and in 13 innings pitched has given up 16 hits with eight runs scoring. She has walked five batters and recorded one strike out in 2009.
? UMKC at UT-Arlington ? Feb. 20, 2009 ? 3 p.m.
UT-Arlington is 1-4 so far this season, with its only win coming against George Mason (8-0). The Mavericks are led by Heather Fortenberry who is batting .429 on the year. Fortenberry has scored two runs off of six hits with one home run and one RBI. Cara Hulme is 1-2 this season on the mound for UT-Arlington. She leads the team with a 2.61 ERA and in 20.2 innings pitched has allowed seven runs, six earned, to score off of 18 hits. Hulme has walked two batters and struck out 14.
? UMKC vs. Tennessee-Martin ? Feb. 21, 2009 ? 10 a.m.
Tennessee-Martin is 7-2 in 2009 and only fallen to Mississippi Valley State and North Dakota State. The Skyhawks are led by Laura Roberts with a .542 batting average in nine games started. She has scored four runs off of 13 hits with two doubles, one home run and has 11 RBIs. Chelsea Jones posts the best ERA for Tennessee-Martin at 1.59. In 17 innings pitched, Jones has allowed four runs to score, three earned, off of 15 hits. She has walked six batters and struck out 11.
? UMKC vs. Houston Baptist ? Feb. 22, 2009 ? 2 p.m.
Houston Baptist is 2-4 entering the UT-Arlington Tournament. The Huskies are led by Sara Corcoran with a .467 batting average in six games played. She has scored two runs off of seven hits with three doubles and two RBIs. On the mound for Houston Baptist has been Beth Evans, who has a 3.71 ERA. Evans is 1-2 on the season with a 1-2 record. In 17 innings of work, she has given up 17 runs, with seven of those being earned, off of 24 hits. Evans has 10 walks and struck out 14 batters.
Slagle Named to Tiger Invitational all-Tournament Team
Following the conclusion of the Tiger Invitational it was announced that Carli Slagle was named to the all-Tournament team. Slagle finished out the weekend with a .400 batting average. She scored one run off of four hits, highlighted by two doubles. Slagle also drove in the four runs.
Tiger Invitational all-Tournament Team
Lindsay Antone, 1B, WKU
Lauren Guzman, 2B, AU
Rebecca Butler, 3B, Morehead St.
Stephanie Cushing, SS, Furman
Elizabeth Eisterhold, C, Auburn
Carli Slagle, OF, UMKC
Katie Colton, OF, Auburn
Jena Handley, C EKU
Most Valuable Player: Morgan Murphy
Chelsea Hartwig posted the lone home run for the Kangaroos at the Tiger Invitational, putting her at three on the season. Carli Slagle popped one over the fence against Ohio State and Amanda Evans sent one sailing against Cleveland State.
Young Crowd
The Kangaroos are still in the learning portion of their season with a roster composed of just four upper classmen and the rest being sophomores and freshmen. UMKC's young squad consists of 10 freshmen and many of them got to experience what collegiate softball is all about this past weekend in New Mexico.
Ellis Records Career-High Eight Strikeouts To Send UMKC Past Furman, 4-2
UMKC wrapped up competition in the Auburn Tiger Invitational with a 4-2 win over Furman on Sunday morning. The Kangaroos improve to 2-7 on the year, while Furman drops to 2-4. Leading the Kangaroos was Chelsea Hartwig who homered in the first inning, posting two hits and scoring one run. Nicholle Ellis pitched a complete game for UMKC and struck out a career-high eight batters.
Kangaroos Get First Win Against Morehead State
The Kangaroos went 1-1 in day two of the Tiger Invitational on Saturday. UMKC defeated Morehead State 5-4 and then fell to Eastern Kentucky 4-1. Carli Slagle batted .500 on the day, recording three hits with two of those being doubles and posting four RBIs.
Kangaroos Drop Game At Auburn, 11-3
UMKC fell to Auburn 11-3 on Friday afternoon in its first game of the Tiger Invitational. Betsy Hanley, Anna Sokolik and Megan Vicino scored a run a piece during the course of the game.
