?Roos Look to Get Back on Track with Five Games in the Blues City Classic
2/21/2013 2:59:00 PM | Softball
To open the Blues City Classic, Kansas City will face the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars (4-3) on Friday at 1 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday beginning with Indiana State (6-4) at 11 a.m. and Belmont (5-3) at 6:30 p.m. On Sunday, the Kangaroos will finish the weekend with matchups against Nicholls State (4-6) at 9 a.m. and Detroit (1-4) at 11 a.m.
Media Coverage
» Live Stats (For All Games - Free): http://www.gotigersgo.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/2013-blues-city-softbl-tourney.html
» Live Audio (vs. Nicholls State - Free): http://www.thibodauxonline.com/nicholls%20softball.htm#live
The Opponents
» SIU-Edwardsville Cougars (4-3, 0-0 Missouri Valley)
The Cougars enter the Blue City Classic coming off a 2-2 outing in the Kennesaw State Classic last weekend with wins over Liberty and Mercer, while the losses came at the hands of Kennesaw State and UAB.
Leading the offensive attack for SIUE, infielder/utility player C.C. Hutchinson is hitting .385 with nine RBI and three home runs, along with a 1.154 slugging percentage. Behind Hutchinson, outfielder Brittany Toney is batting .467 with five RBI and two doubles, while infielder Chelsea Yankolovich holds a .333 batting average with a team-high eight hits, two home runs and five RBI.
In the circle, junior Haley Chambers sits at 2-1 on the season with a 3.30 ERA and a team-high 28 strikeouts. As for junior Erin Greenwalt, she holds a 1-2 record in three relief appearances, whereas senior Amanda Lambrecht is 1-0 in four starts with eight strikeouts.
» The Head Coach: As the longest tenured coach in the program's history, Sandy Montgomery is in her 25th season at the helm. Currently, Montgomery holds an 853-431-2 overall record.
» The Series: First meeting.
» Indiana State Sycamores (6-4, 0-0 Missouri Valley)
After starting the season 4-1 in the Cyclone Invitational, Indiana State went 2-3 in the Tiger Invitational last weekend.
At the plate, the Sycamores have four players hitting at least .400, led by utility player Megan Stone (.448) with a team-high nine RBI, two home runs, .862 slugging percentage and a .529 on-base percentage. Meanwhile, infielder Morgan Allee is batting .438 with a leading team 14 hits and 12 stolen bases, whereas utility player Shelby Wilson holds a .419 batting average with two home runs and nine RBI. Also, infielder Alexa Calvin is hitting .400 with 12 hits, eight runs scored and three RBI.
Pitching wise, sophomore Steph Fougerousse leads Indiana State with a 4.00 ERA to go along with 17 strikeouts and a 3-2 record in eight appearances, including four starts. Sophomore Ashili Scott, meanwhile, sits at 2-1 with a 4.32 ERA, 17 strikeouts and one shutout.
» The Head Coach: Entering his second season at Indiana State, Shane Bouman led the Sycamores to a 6-20 in conference action and 19-34 overall record in 2012.
» The Series: The Kangaroos are 0-3 all-time against Indiana State.
» Belmont Bruins (5-3, 0-0 Ohio Valley)
After splitting four games in its season opening tournament, including a 10-1 loss to Summit League foe, Western Illinois, Belmont went 3-1 in the Alabama State Invitational this past weekend.
Offensively, despite being second on the team in batting (.357), outfielder Kat Hollingsworth leads the Bruins in runs scored (7), hits (10), doubles (6), home runs (1) and RBI (7). Hitting .348, meanwhile, pitcher/infielder Mia Vierra has eight hits on the season with two doubles, one triple, three walks and six RBI.
In the circle, five pitchers have seen action for Belmont, led by pitcher Carolyn Snodgress holding 2-0 record with a 0.00 ERA, 20 strikeouts, one shutout and nine walks surrendered.
» The Head Coach: In three seasons, Chris Kuhlmeyer is 39-121 throughout his tenure as the program's head coach.
» The Series: Kansas City is 0-1 all-time against the Bruins.
» Nicholls State Colonels (4-6, 0-0 Southland)
Heading into the Blues City Classic, Nicholls State is currently riding a four-game skid, coming off a 1-4 outing in the Purple & Gold Challenge last weekend at LSU.
At the plate, infielder/outfielder Ashley Bertot is hitting .314 with a team-high 11 hits and seven runs scored, while pitcher/designated player Danielle Phillips leads the Colonels with seven RBI, including one home run.
In the bullpen, senior Ashton Bennett is 3-2 on the season with a 1.17 ERA and 18 strikeouts to lead Nicholls State.
» The Head Coach: At the helm, Angel Santiago is in his second season with the Colonels. In his first year, Santiago led Nicholls State to 14 victories, including eight in conference action.
» The Series: Kansas City is 1-0 all-time against Nicholls State.
» Detroit Titans (1-4, 0-0 Horizon League)
To open their season, the Titans went 1-4 two weeks ago in the UNC-Wilmington Beach Blast tournament, including a 7-2 loss to Summit League foe, Omaha.
Throughout those five games, outfielder Katy Severson batted .286 with a team-high five hits, while catcher/infielder Sam Henderson hit two home runs.
In the circle, junior Karyn McCarty sits at 1-0 in four appearances (one start) with a 5.62 ERA to lead the Titans.
» The Head Coach: Liz Young is in her first season with Detroit, after spending her last two seasons on Western Illinois' coaching staff.
» The Series: The Kangaroos are 2-1 all-time against the Titans. Their last meeting came in 2012 as the Kangaroos beat Detroit in the Evansville Tournament, 8-5.
Last Time Out...
The Kangaroos dropped all five games in last weekend's Troy Cox Classic, hosted by the New Mexico State Aggies.
In the first game, Kansas City was no match for Texas Tech as it fell 14-2 in five innings, followed by a 10-1 loss in five innings to the Aggies later in the day.
To begin day two, the Kangaroos fell 11-3 in five innings once again to Texas Tech, yet came close to beating Colorado State in the nightcap in a wild 17-16 contest that finished in nine innings. Between the two squads, this game featured 33 runs scored, 28 hits and four home runs.
To complete the Troy Cox Classic, the Penn State Nittany Lions were too much for the Kangaroos as they came away with a 10-2 victory in five innings.
Ott Becomes the Program's All-Time RBI Queen, Moves Up in Other Career Categories
In the Kangaroos 11-3 loss to Texas Tech, outfielder Emily Ott (1) hit a solo home run to pass Amanda Rice (1999-02) to become the program's all-time in the RBI department with 98.
Meanwhile, Ott also moved into a tie with Amy Barnard (2000-02) for the sixth most doubles (28) and tied Sarah Allen (2003-06) for the 10th most walks (39) in UMKC history.
All-Time Record Watch
Heading into the Blues City Classic, infielder Chelsea Hartwig needs four home runs to pass Amanda Rice (11) to become the program's all-time leader, while Emily Ott (63) is two away from entering UMKC's Top 10 list for most runs scored.
Maples and Kelley Slugging Away
So far this season, infielder Marlee Maples has been stellar for the Kangaroos. In nine games through her sophomore campaign, Maples is batting .333 with nine hits, including a team-high five doubles, 13 RBI and nine runs scored. Also, she is third on the team in stolen bases (2) and second in slugging (.630).
As for freshman Katie Kelley in nine games (eight starts), she leads Kansas City in batting (.478) and slugging (.739) with 11 hits and a team-high two home runs. Throughout the Troy Cox Classic, the Coweta, Okla. native batted .500 with seven hits, three RBI, two home runs and one walk.
Through Nine Games in 2012...
Kansas City was 5-4 coming off an 8-5 victory over Detroit in the Evansville Tournament for their third-straight win.
Next Up for the Kangaroos...
They will return to Missouri to compete in the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament (March 2 - 4), hosted by Southeast Missouri State. Along with Kansas City and the Redhawks, the No. 7 Missouri Tigers and Saint Louis Billikens will take part in the tournament as well.
