With the Regular Season Winding Down, ?Roos Look to Make a Push on the Road Against IUPUI Over the Weekend
4/19/2013 10:00:00 AM | Softball
(Kansas City, Mo.) – After not playing in Wednesday's doubleheader at Iowa State due to inclement weather, the Kansas City Kangaroos (14-17, 3-3 SL) will head to Indianapolis, Ind. to face the IUPUI Jaguars (17-23, 7-11 SL) on Sunday (11 a.m.) and Monday (11 a.m. and 1 p.m.) in a pivotal Summit League series matchup.
Currently in the league standings, the Blue & Gold sit fifth, whereas the Jags are right on the heels of the Kangaroos holding down the sixth spot.
The Opponent
» IUPUI Jaguars 17-23, (7-11 Summit League)
The Jags head into the weekend at 2-3 in their last five games. Earlier in the week, after suffering a sweep at the hands of Omaha on the road, IUPUI traveled to Western Illinois and took two out of three.
At the plate, infielder Ali Mosier is batting .301 with a team-high 37 hits and 27 RBI, to go along with 16 stolen bases, 19 runs, nine doubles and three home runs. Adding to IUPUI's offensive attack, outfielder Jessica Lam has tallied a team-high six home runs and sits second behind Mosier in RBI with 17, while catcher Eryn Dillon is batting .299 with 32 hits, 20 runs, seven doubles and 16 RBI.
In the circle, five pitchers have recorded a win this season, led by freshman Cassie Vodde's 7-3 record with a 3.44 ERA in 17 appearances (nine starts). Leading the Jags in strikeouts, meanwhile, is junior Jocelyn Oppenhuis (4-8) with 74, along with a team-best 3.19 ERA. In addition, junior Nikki Thomas (2-6) sits second on the team in strikeouts (52) with a 3.59 ERA in 17 appearances (11 starts), while sophomore Emili Escamilla (3-3) maintains a 4.31 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 15 appearances (four starts).
» The Head Coach: Amanda Rivera is in her first season with the Jags. Before coming to IUPUI, Rivera was an assistant coach at Indiana for three seasons.
» The Series: The Kangaroos are 29-21 all-time against IUPUI. In their last meeting, Kansas City avoided a sweep by coming away with a 2-0 victory at home in 2012.
Last Time Out…
The Kangaroos took two out of three at home in their series against the Western Illinois Leathernecks.
In game one, two runs scored by the Leathernecks in the first inning turned out to be just enough to sneak past UMKC with a 2-1 victory. Despite suffering the loss, pitcher Deanna Friese (9-9) allowed one earned run and six hits, while recording nine strikeouts and surrendering two walks. Offensively, infielder Marlee Maples turned in a 3-for-3 performance at the plate with two doubles and a single, along with driving in UMKC's lone run.
However, the Kangaroos erased an early 3-0 deficit in game two and came out with a 7-5 win. At game's end, Kansas City's offensive attack managed 10 hits compared to Western Illinois' nine, led by outfielder Emily Ott going 3-for-3. Also, turning a solid outing at the plate was catcher Alexandra Friloux with a 2-for-3 performance, to go along with three RBI and a run scored, whereas infielder Liz Broyles drew two walks, scored once and tallied a double.
Pitching wise, starter Cinda Ramos (4-7) allowed nine hits, three earned runs, three walks and recorded three K's, while Friese (2) picked up the save.
In the series finale, the Kangaroos jumped all over Western Illinois to win 9-0 in five innings. At the plate, Kansas City tallied eight hits, led by Maples going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a home run, along with Ott turning in a 2-for-2 performance at the plate with a walk, two RBI and a run scored. In addition, infielder Chelsea Hartwig drove in two runs with her first home run of the season.
As for Friese, she allowed three hits, one walk and tallied three K's in her third shutout win of the season.
Friese Throwing Fire of Late
After picking up her first Summit League Pitcher of the Week award this season last week, senior Deanna Friese continued her dominance against Western Illinois this past weekend. In three appearances, including two starts, Friese went 1-1 with a 0.71 ERA while surrendering nine hits, one earned run and three walks, to go along with 12 K's and recording her second save of the season.
In her last five appearances, including four starts, the Kennesaw, Ga. native, is 2-2 while holding a 0.91 ERA in the process of allowing 15 hits, three earned runs and 12 walks in 29.2 innings of work. Friese has also recorded 31 strikeouts and only allowed four extra base hits.
For the season, Friese leads Kansas City's pitching staff in ERA (6.07), shutouts (3), saves (2) and strikeouts (135) in 112.2 innings of work, while sitting 35th in the nation for most strikeouts per game (8.40).
Ott Showing Her Worth
In her final go-around as a Kangaroo, senior Emily Ott getting hot at the right time as UMKC is looking to make a push for league tournament.
Starting in every game against Western Illinois this past weekend, Ott went 6-for-8 (.750) with a walk, a double and two RBI, to go along with .778 on-base percentage and .875 slugging percentage. With these efforts, she now leads UMKC in batting (.381), slugging (.560) and doubles (9), while tied for first in hits with freshman Liz Broyles (32), sits second in RBI (19) and in a two-way tie for second in home runs (2).
Earlier in the season against Texas Tech on Feb. 16, Ott hit a solo home run to pass Amanda Rice (1999-02) to become the program's all-time in the RBI department with 98. Currently, her career RBI total stands at 112.
Amongst the League Leaders
Heading into the weekend, UMKC currently have six players in the top 10 in multiple statistical categories across The Summit League.
Offensively, Emily Ott is sixth in batting (.381), fourth in doubles (9) and ninth in slugging (.560), while infielder Liz Broyles sits ninth in batting (.370) and fifth in triples (2). Meanwhile, Marlee Maples is sixth in RBI (27), whereas Brooke Parker sits seventh (10) and Bri Wyatt (9) is ninth in the stolen base department.
Pitching wise, Deanna Friese is third in strikeouts (135), second in strikeouts per game (8.39), fifth in wins (9), second in saves (2) and fifth in innings pitched (112.2).
Where They Stand in the RPI
Monday, the NCAA released its fourth RPI rankings of the season as the Kangaroos held down the 159th spot. After finishing the 2011 with their highest ranking in team history at 117th, the Kangaroos finished last season ranked 150th.
Moving Up the Career List
After this past weekend, three players moved up in the UMKC record books.
Career wise, Emily Ott is now fifth in hits (173), third in doubles (34) and eighth in walks (41), while Chelsea Hartwig is now second in home runs (12) and 10th in games played (178).
Meanwhile, Marlee Maples is now tied for the seventh most RBI (27) in single-season history.
Doubleheader at Iowa State Rescheduled for April 29
Due to heavy rain in the Ames, Iowa area earlier this week on Wednesday, the doubleheader between the Kangaroos and Iowa State Cyclones has been rescheduled for Monday, April 29 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Over the course of 2013, Kansas City has lost 15 games due to inclement weather, including nine Summit League games.
Through 31 Games in 2012...
The Kangaroos were 3-5 in Summit League play and 14-17 overall, coming off a 5-3 loss at Southern Utah.
Next Up for the Kangaroos...
Will be a doubleheader at home this Tuesday (5 p.m. and 7 p.m.) against the Kansas Jayhawks.
