?Roos Close Out WAC Regular Season at UVU
4/24/2015 12:39:00 AM | Softball
Site: Orem, Utah. / Wolverine Softball Field
Live Stats: WolverineGreen.com
Live Video (4/25): WAC Digital Network
Twitter: @KCRoos_Softball
OREM, Utah - UMKC will take on Utah Valley in Orem, Utah, this weekend in what will serve as the conference regular season finale for both teams.
Significant seeding implications exist for both teams, with the 'Roos in a position to potentially move as high as the No. 2 seed with a series of victories and a little help elsewhere.
The teams will play a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. (CST) on Friday, followed by a 1 p.m. (CST) contest on Saturday to wrap up the series. Game times for Friday were moved up in an effort to avoid inclement weather that is expected to hit the area later in the afternoon.
Saturday's game will be featured on the WAC Digital Network.
Dynamic Duo chasing single-season hits record
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – If the season were to end today, Katie Kelley would stand alone as the program's new record-holder for doubles (16), single-season homers (14), RBI (54) and slugging (.747). But it appears as though there's another mark that the Coweta, Okla., native has her sights set on: the single-season hits record.
The thing is, Kelley has company in the form of senior Cinda Ramos, who fell just short during a brilliant 2014 campaign and has been tracking the hits record with a torrid pace during her final season in Kansas City.
With five games to play in the regular season, Ramos (61) sits just four hits back of Kaelene Curry's school record set in 2011, but Kelley now has 60 hits of her own after going 3-for-6 last weekend. With a solid showing in Orem, Utah, either player could return home atop the program hit list. No matter, this one looks as though it will come down to the wire.
Parker, Kelley move atop career lists
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Juniors Brooke Parker and Katie Kelley continued what has become one of the prevailing themes of the 2015 season for UMKC, moving to the top of the career leaderboard in two more statistical categories last weekend.
Parker, a Blue Springs, Mo., native, moved atop the all-time steals list with the 67th stolen base of her career and now stands alone as the single-season steals leader, as well, with steals 25-27 last weekend, making Parker the program's all-time queen of thievery with a full season still left to play.
Similarly, Kelley has broken her own one-year-old single-season home run mark this season, blasting her 14th of the season last weekend. She now has 30 career long balls and, like Parker, the Coweta, Okla., native still has another season to wear blue and gold in Kansas City.
Elsewhere, seniors Marlee Maples and Caitlin Christopher have been pacing one another on the school's all-time home run list. The pair is currently in lockstep for second most homers in a career with 19 a piece. Maples, for her part, has blasted a career-high nine home runs this season, which would have broken the single-season record prior to Kelley re-writing the book.
Smith-Neal continues to add to win total
Now in her ninth 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 fourth consecutive postseason appearance in 2014, qualifying for the WAC Tournament with a 7-8 conference record. The 'Roos won 20-or-more games for the fourth time in the past five seasons -- a feat UMKC accomplished just once in the six years prior to Smith Neal's arrival.
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 163-243 (.401).
In 2011, Smith Neal guided the 'Roos to school records of 38 overall wins and 18 Summit League wins en route to being named The Summit League Coach of the Year. Under her guidance, five 'Roos were named All-Summit League performers, including Kaelene Curry and Deanna Friese, who were named The Summit League Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. The duo also garnered national recognition under Smith's watch, as both were named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-Central Region Second Team.
Smith moved to Kansas City after serving as the Director of Softball Operations at Tennessee during the 2005-'06 season, helping to guide the Vols to the WCWS.
