Live Stats | 2011 Schedule | 2011 Statistics
KIRKSVILLE - - The Truman softball team, after having started the 2011 season with 16 games away from Kirksville, finally returns to Bulldog Park this Saturday for its MIAA opener against Lincoln (Mo.). First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 1:00 pm.
The Bulldogs have played three tournaments and one non-conference doubleheader to this point, earning a 9-7 record. Included in that stretch was a recent six-game winning streak, before Truman fell to Northeastern (Okla.) State on Sunday (March 6) afternoon.
Three Bulldogs have come out of the gates swinging, as freshman Kelsey Bollman picked up MIAA Hitter of the Week honors on Tuesday for last week's efforts. For the season, Bollman is hitting .468 and has an OPS of 1.363. Twelve of her 22 hits have gone for extra bases, and she is a perfect 6-for-6 on the basepaths.
In addition, sophomore Laura Miller is hitting .400 for the year and has scored a team-high 16 runs, with junior Mary Manley checking in at .389 and a team-leading 16 RBI.
As a team, the Bulldogs are hitting .298 on the season and are among the MIAA leaders in triples with 12, already nine more than the team hit all of last year.
In the circle, the Bulldogs are led by a pair of three-win pitchers in Beth Schnurbusch and Kirsten Krause, though Elizabeth Grover had the team's best stretch last week, throwing nearly 11 innings of one-run softball.
Truman's opponent to kick off MIAA play is Lincoln (Mo.) University, a squad that has played just eight games leading up to a pair of doubleheaders this weekend. The Blue Tigers (4-4) travel to William Jewell (Mo.) on Friday afternoon before hitting Kirksville on Saturday. Lincoln is most recently coming off being shutout in two games at Drury – a team Truman handled in a doubleheader earlier this season – on March 2.
Shante Duren leads the team with a .429 average, while Raschel Hoeflicker ranks second at .391 and has three homeruns.
Up Next: The Bulldogs makeup a previously-scheduled nonconference doubleheader with Maryville (Mo) on Tuesday afternoon before heading to the first MIAA Crossover event of the season next weekend, held in Springfield, Mo.
