Softball 2/20/2013 2:18:00 PM Tyler Madsen, Truman Athletics

Softball Heads North for Dome Crossover

Games 7-10: TRUMAN (6-0, 0-0 MIAA) at MIAA/NSIC Crossover Tournament

Dates: Saturday, February 23 – Sunday, February 24, 2013
Location: Rochester, Minn. || RCTC Regional Stadium (Dome)
Live Stats: Not Available
Statistics: Truman || MIAA
Social Media: @TrumanAthletics || @TrumanSoftball

Weekend Schedule:

Date	Time	Opponent	Series Record	Last Meeting
Feb. 23	2:00 PM	Upper Iowa (1-2, 0-0 NSIC)	TSU leads 9-3	March 3, 2012 UIU won 5-2
Feb. 23	8:00 PM	Sioux Falls (S.D.) (0-0, 0-0 NSIC)	Tied 1-1	April 22, 2012 Split DH
Feb. 24	12:00 PM	Winona (Minn.) State (0-0, 0-0 NSIC)	TSU leads 6-2	March 15, 2008 TSU won 2-1
Feb. 24	2:00 PM	Concordia-St. Paul (2-4, 0-0 NSIC)	Tied 4-4	March 21, 2009 CSP won 8-0

First Pitch:
Fresh off a perfect 6-0 weekend at the Alabama-Huntsville Charger Chillout to open the 2013 campaign, the Truman softball team will head north this time around to play four in-region contests at the RCTC Regional Dome Stadium in Rochester, Minnesota.

The Bulldogs, who were one spot out of the NFCA top-25 in this week's coaches' poll, will face Upper Iowa and Sioux Falls (S.D.) on Saturday before turning around for games against tournament-host Winona (Minn.) State and Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.) on Sunday afternoon.

Coaching Staff:
Head Coach: Erin Brown
Division II Career Record: 121-173 || .412 || 7^th season
At Truman: Same
Assistant Coach: Cathy Monroe (7^th season)

Probable Lineup:
#13 – LF – Ally McReynolds – 5'9” – SO – 6 GP, .267 AVG, 3 2B, .421 OBP
#5 – CF – Laura Miller – 5'8” – SR – 5 GP, .308 AVG, 4 RBI, .412 OBP
#12 – RF – Kelsey Bollman – 5'8” – JR – 6 GP, .350 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3-3 SB
#8 – DP – Liz Leath – 5'8” – SO – 6 GP, .235 AVG, 2 RBI, 1 2B
#16 – 1B – Kristin Grossman – 5'9” – SR – 6 GP, .333 AVG, 3 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBI
#15 – 3B – Cate Simon – 5'9” – SO – 6 GP, .316 AVG, .988 OPS, 6 RBI
#3 – 2B – Andrea Klipsch – 5'6” – SO – 6 GP, .294 AVG, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 RBI
#20 – C – Meredith Kusky – 5'8” – SR – 4 GP, .600 AVG, 1.292 OPS, 2 RBI
#2 – SS – Corey Niblett – 5'1” – JR – 6 GP, .235 AVG, 3 RBI, 2-2 SB

Off the Bench:
#1 – OF – Nikki Moss – 5'1” – FR – 5 GP, 1 run, 1-1 SB
#4 – OF – Danielle Lewellen – 5'7” – JR – 5 GP, .333 AVG, 5-5 SB
#21 – IF – Whitney Richardson – 5'6” – FR – 5 GP, .556 AVG, 2 2B, 1.445 OPS

Pitching Staff:
#7 – RHP – Hannah Washburn – 5'6” – JR – 4 APP, 4-0, 0.68 ERA, 20.2 IP, 26 K's
#19 – RHP – Kindra Henze – 6'1” – FR – 3 APP, 1-0, 5.80 ERA, 9.2 IP, 11 K's
#10 – RHP – Kirsten Krause – 5'5” – SR – 5 APP, 1-0, 5.91 ERA, 10.2 IP, 4 K's
#11 – RHP – Kelsea Dorsey – 5'4” – SO – 35 APP, 16-9, 2.72 ERA, 133 K's in 2012

Looking Back:
The Bulldogs opened the 2013 season with a strong start, picking up six wins at the UAH Charger Chillout from Feb. 15-17 in Decatur, Alabama. Highlighted in that stretch was a walkoff single against Ohio Dominican, a run-rule victory against future-GLVC foe Maryville (Mo.), and a 2-1 pitchers' duel win against then- No. 15 Indianapolis to close the weekend.

Truman hit .329 as a team during the six games, led by Meredith Kusky's .600 average in four starts and a .556 average in five games by freshman Whitney Richardson. Kelsey Bollman's .350 average paced five other Bulldogs above the .300 line, as Truman tallied 12 doubles, three home runs and a triple on the weekend.

Meanwhile, in the circle, Hannah Washburn opened her Truman career with a flourish, posting a 4-0 record in four appearances with a 0.68 ERA. She struck out a dozen Indy hitters in Truman's 2-1 win en route to 26 total in 20.2 innings pitched on the weekend. Senior Kirsten Krause saw action in five of the six games and earned a win, while freshman Kindra Hinze logged her first collegiate win entering in relief against Tiffin where she struck out eight.

On the basepaths, Truman was a perfect 14-of-14, highlighted by Danielle Lewellen's five, while the Bulldog defense committed just three errors in 125 total chances.

2013 MIAA Outlook:
The MIAA expanded from 11 to 15 teams last summer, adding in-state rival Lindenwood (Mo.), as well as Nebraska-Kearney, Central Oklahoma and Northeastern (Okla.) State. Truman will play each of the other 14 MIAA teams in one doubleheader, comprising a 28-game conference slate.

Following the regular season schedule, the top eight teams in the MIAA standings will qualify for the MIAA tournament, held in Overland Park, Kansas from May 2-5.

The Bulldogs were picked 12^th in the preseason coaches' poll.

This is the final season of MIAA play for the Bulldog softball team, as the Truman Athletic Department will be shifting to the Great Lakes Valley Conference, effective July 1, 2013.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs head to the southwest corner of the state next weekend to play four games at the MSSU Mathis-Zenner Invitational. Truman will square off with Sioux Falls and Oklahoma Christian on Saturday, March 2 before taking on Newman (Kan.) and Maryville on Sunday, March 3.

Print Friendly Version