UMKC Set to Close Out Utah Road Trip Against the Thunderbirds
3/29/2012 3:16:00 PM | Softball
Currently, Southern Utah sits fourth behind Western Illinois (17-14, 7-2 SL), IPFW (24-7, 7-2 SL), and North Dakota State (22-11, 6-0 SL) in the league standings, while UMKC is sixth behind South Dakota (7-25, 5-4 SL).
THE OPPONENT
» Southern Utah Thunderbirds (16-13, 6-3 Summit League as of March 29)
Heading into the series against UMKC, Southern Utah swept UNLV in a doubleheader earlier in the week on Wednesday for its third straight win.
Offensively, the Thunderbirds lead the league in batting (.321) with eight players hitting over .300, spearheaded by infielder Mikkel Griffin (.430) and utility player Terysa Dyer (.419). Also, Griffin leads the team in hits (40) and stolen bases (7).
RBI wise, Southern Utah has three players with at least 20 led by infielder Kelsey Bryant (27), while utility player's Kadi Henderson is second (24) and Haylee Hoch is third (20).
In the home run department, infielder Madison Resley leads the team with six to go along with 19 RBI, while Griffin and Bryant are tied for second with five.
On the mound, Heather Black (12-8) has made a team-high 21 appearances and struck out a team-best 84 batters to go along with a 2.72 ERA. As for Dainelle Axe (4-3), she has tallied 25 strikeouts in 14 appearances while holding a 4.57 ERA.
» The Head Coach: In his second season at the helm, Kyle Magnusson currently holds a 43-47 (.477) overall record. In 2011, Southern Utah more than doubled its win total from the previous season with 25 on its way to a No. 4 seed in The Summit League Championships.
» The Series: UMKC is 25-33 all-time against the Thunderbirds. Last season, the two squads met five times with UMKC sweeping the regular season series.
In The Summit League Championships, the Thunderbirds defeated UMKC, 1-0, in the first game of the tournament. Later in the week, UMKC avenged that loss with a 4-3 victory to advance to the championship game against North Dakota State.
LAST TIME OUT...
The Kangaroos went 1-3 in doubleheaders against BYU and Utah Valley earlier in the week. On Tuesday against the Cougars, UMKC fell 8-2 in game one and 16-1 in five innings in the finale.
The next day, the Blue & Gold settled for a split against the Wolverines as it took game one, 9-8, but fell 10-7 in game two.
OTT IS HOT
Heading into the series against Southern Utah, outfielder/pitcher Emily Ott (1-0) is riding a seven-game hit streak batting .417 with 10 hits, seven RBI, and three runs to go along with a .542 slugging percentage and .481 on-base percentage.
In the 9-8 win over Utah Valley on March 28, Ott picked up her first win of the season as she allowed five hits and two earned runs to go along with one strikeout in two innings of work in a relief appearance.
Currently, the Des Plaines, Ill. native leads the Kangaroos in RBI (18), slugging (.440), and on-base percentage, and tied for team lead in hits (30) with infielder Kaelene Curry.
WHERE THEY STAND IN THE RPI
Earlier this week, the NCAA released its first RPI rankings of 2012 as the Kangaroos claimed the 141st spot. Last season, UMKC finished with its highest ranking in team history at 117.
FRIESE APPROACHING UMKC CAREER MILESTONES
With the Kangaroos playing three games in the next two days, pitcher Deanna Friese (4-9) needs to complete one game to pass Lindsey Davis (2002-03) for the most completed games (56) along with needing to pitch at least 4.2 more innings to pass Erin Brown (1997-00) for most innings pitched (499.0).
If she also appears in two more games, Friese would pass Emily Montesano (1996-00) for the second most games pitched (95).
Presently, the Kennesaw, Ga. native sits first in UMKC career wins (44) and most strikeouts (630). This season, the reigning Summit League Pitcher of the Year holds a 3.15 ERA with a team-high 112 strikeouts and two saves in 20 appearances.
MOVING UP THE CAREER LIST
Earlier this week, four Kangaroo student-athletes moved up the all-time UMKC career list in six different categories.
Infielder Kelly Fischer moved into seventh for most games played (180), while Curry now claims the eighth slot (178).
As for outfielder Anna Sokolik, she is now eighth in doubles (22) and ninth in most game pitched (55), while she moved into a tie with Danielle Bennefeld for the sixth most runs (67) and a three-way tie with Jennifer Heavener (1997-00) and Marci Wedel (1998-00) for the ninth most hits (123).
Also, Ott is tied with Julie Harding (1992-95) for the seventh most doubles (24).
THROUGH 29 GAMES IN 2011...
The 'Roos were 5-4 in The Summit League and 18-11 overall coming off a 4-2 loss to Kansas on March 30 in the finale of a doubleheader after defeating the Jayhawks, 2-1, earlier in the day for the first time in school history.
Currently, the Blue & Gold are 13-16 (2-4 SL) through 29 games heading into a three-game series against Southern Utah.
NEXT UP FOR THE KANGAROOS...
Will be a doubleheader matchup against the Missouri State Bears at home on Tuesday, April 3 (3 p.m. and 5 p.m.). Earlier in the season, UMKC defeated the Bears, 7-0, in the sixth game of the Missouri Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament on March 3 here in Kansas City.
In that game, head coach Meredith Smith became the first coach in the program's history to reach the century mark in wins.
