?Roos Welcome UNC, Western for UMKC Invitational
3/14/2014 4:48:00 PM | Softball
UMKC INVITATIONAL
Date(s): March 15-16, 2014Site: Kansas City, Mo. / Missouri 3&2 Softball Complex
Live Stats/Radio: UMKCKangaroos.com
Twitter: @KCRoos_Softball
(Kansas City, Mo.) – After sweeping a two-game home series versus Northern Illinois, the Kangaroos will welcome Northern Colorado and Western Illinois to Kansas City for the UMKC Invitational.
The 'Roos have overcome a string of injuries and righted the ship after stumbling in Arlington, Texas, and in the tournament-opener against Wichita State last weekend. Kansas City battled highly-touted San Diego State in a 4-2 defeat before run-ruling South Dakota State and handling the double-dip with Northern Illinois.
THE VENUEUMKC reached an agreement with the city of Kansas City in the fall of 2011 to begin playing its softball games at Missouri 3&2 Complex, 9600 Blue River Road.
The 'Roos opened play at 3&2 in the spring of 2012, hosting the Missouri Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, as well as the Summit League Championships.
The fences that surround the field have been refurbished and a new scoreboard was added, as well. The facility features a natural playing surface, surrounded by a warning track.
Fans taking in the action from behind home plate are shielded from the elements by a large, over-reaching coverage awning, while the host Kangaroos have the benefit of an enclosed dugout down the first base line.
Kansas City opened play at 3&2 with a 7-1 victory over Saint Louis in the first game of the Missouri Coaches vs. Cancer Classic on March 2, 2012 -- a win that sparked a three-game home winning streak.
Other noteworthy home victories include a 4-1 victory over Wichita State on May 2, 2012, and a 10-0 victory over Southern Utah during the 2012 Summit League Championships.
THE OPPONENTNorthern Colorado, off to a 4-21 start, has not posted desirable tallies in the win-loss column, but its record may be misleading. Of the Bears' 21 losses, one-third of those have come at the hands of BCS conference opponents, including second-ranked Tennessee, Texas Tech, Iowa State and Ole Miss.
Though UNC has had its share of struggles inside of the circle, the team packs plenty of pop at the plate, with five players collecting three-or-more homeruns to date.
The Bears are led offensively by junior Mikayla Duffy and freshman Erica Dick. Duffy is batting .316 with a team-leading five homeruns and 14 RBI, while Dick paces UNC with a .329 batting average, four homeruns and 13 runs driven in.
Western Illinois has run out to a 12-8 record through its first 20 games of 2014, a mark strengthened by the fact that the 13th-ranked Oklahoma and 20th-ranked Tulsa are responsible for half of the Leathernecks' defeats. WIU split a pair with Wichita State on Wednesday.
The Leathernecks have benefitted from a pair of monster hitting performances by juniors Sammy Marshall and Teagan Walsh and pose a lineup comprised almost entirely of .300-or-better hitters.
Of players with at least 16 games, Marshall's .486 batting average is good for 11th in the nation. She leads The Summit League in hitting, triples, and stolen bases. Meanwhile, Walsh is batting .426 with 25 RBI – good for fifth and third in The Summit League, respectively.
THE COACHESNow in her eighth season as the head coach at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, head coach Meredith Smith Neal has transformed the UMKC softball program into a formidable contender in the Western Athletic Conference and beyond, becoming one of sport's up-and-comers in the process.
Under Smith Neal, Kansas City clinched its third consecutive postseason appearance in 2013, qualifying for The Summit League Tournament with a 6-7 conference record.
In 2008, UMKC finished with an 8-31 overall record, doubling its win total from 2007 despite fielding a team with nine freshmen. The .205 winning percentage was the program's best since 2003, and the modest improvement was the start of a four-year run of increased victory totals.
Smith Neal stands as the program's all-time winningest coach with an overall record of 137-210 (.395).
Shana Easley arrived at Northern Colorado after spending the previous four years as an assistant coach at UMKC. During her time with the 'Roos, she helped turn the program into a perennial contender in the Summit League.
As the 'Roos third-base coach, Easley helped lead the team to a Summit League championship in 2011, and behind her aggressive coaching the 'Roos finished the season as the second-best base stealing team in the nation.
To go along with her duties on the field, Easley also created UMKC's scouting reports and assisted in recruiting.
Before beginning her coaching career in Kansas City, Easley was a four-year starting catcher for the Arkansas Razorbacks, becoming one of the program's most prolific players during her time in Fayetteville.
In eighth seasons, Western Illinois head softball coach Holly Van Vlymen has led the Fighting Leathernecks to the school's first NCAA Tournament win, a Summit League Tournament Title and three regular-season conference titles as well as being named the conference's Coach of the Year three times.
Van Vlymen is currently the Chair of the NFCA Nominating Committee and was appointed to that role in 2012.
The 2013 Leathernecks boasted The Summit League's 'Player of the Year' and NCAA stolen bases champion, then-sophomore shortstop Sammy Marshall. Marshall set the WIU record for stolen bases in a career (76) after only her second season at Western and was also named to the Midwest's 2013 NFCA Division I All-Region Second Team.
INJURIES PILING UPIn many ways, the 2014 season, to this point, has been characterized by who's not in uniform for the 'Roos just as often as who is. An unprecedented run of lost players began during spring training with a pair season-ending injuries to sophomore infielder Jenna Rangel and the multi-faceted Kendra Leach. Outfielder Carnecia Kirkwood's season came to an end weeks later after she suffered an injury in practice, and Kansas City was without its leading hitter, junior Bri Wyatt, for two weeks after Wyatt collided with the left field wall at UT-Arlington.
On Saturday, as a result of injury and illness, the 'Roos could have as few as 10 active players.
PICKING UP THE SLACKWith the outfield ailing in the absence of Wyatt and Kirkwood, junior captain Cinda Ramos responded brilliantly, hitting .667 at the Shocker Softball Classic, and then starring for the 'Roos in a pair of victories over NIU.
Ramos went 2-for-3 in game one of the doubleheader vs. the Huskies, showing a flair for the dramatic with a walk-off three-run homerun and four total RBI in a 5-2 victory. In game two, pitching in relief, the Olathe, Kan., native gave Kansas City 4.1 innings of three-hit softball to earn her second win in as many appearances.
UP NEXTThe 'Roos will trek to Columbia, Mo., for the Mizzou Tournament, where they'll meet Missouri, Oklahoma State, Ball State, and North Dakota State, before a spring break trip to Los Angeles, Calif., for a pair vs. Loyola Marymount and one vs. Hawaii.
