Softball 4/25/2013 9:40:00 AM Tyler Madsen, Truman Athletics

Softball Travels to Sunflower State to Close Regular Season

Truman Softball Weekend Notes (Games 41-44)

Truman (25-15, 13-11 MIAA) at Washburn (9-31, 5-17 MIAA)

Date: Friday, April 26 (2:00 pm; DH)
Location: Topeka, Kan. || Washburn Softball Complex
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/washburn/softball/scoreboard.aspx
Series Record: WU leads, 34-30.
Last Meetings: TSU won 4-3; WU won 1-0 (8 innings) in Kirksville (4/17/12)

Truman (25-15, 13-11 MIAA) at Emporia State (31-14, 16-8 MIAA)
Date: Saturday, April 27 (1:00 pm; DH)
Location: Emporia, Kan. || Trusler Sports Complex
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/emporia/softball/scoreboard.aspx
Series Record: ESU leads, 35-25.
Last Meetings: ESU won 10-0; ESU won 8-0 in Emporia (3/16/12)

Statistics: Truman || MIAA || Washburn || Emporia
Social Media: @TrumanAthletics || @TrumanSoftball

First Pitch:
The final weekend of the 2013 regular season has arrived for the Truman softball team, as the Bulldogs look to clinch a berth into the MIAA tournament with a pair of road doubleheaders at Washburn (Kan.) and Emporia (Kan.) State this Friday and Saturday.

The Bulldogs are coming off a 4-2 weekend at home that saw the squad split with then-No. 7 Central Oklahoma on Senior Day, April 20. Truman also split with Northeastern (Okla.) State on Friday, April 19 before sweeping Nebraska-Kearney on Sunday, April 21.

Truman also learned on Wednesday it was once again 10th in the NCAA-II Central region rankings, with the top-8 qualifying for the NCAA tournament in mid-May.

This weekend will mark the final scheduled MIAA games in program history as well, with the Truman athletic department re-aligning to the Great Lakes Valley Conference on July 1.

Coaching Staff:
Head Coach: Erin Brown
Division II Career Record: 140-188 || .427 || 7^th season
At Truman: Same
Assistant Coach: Cathy Monroe (7^th season)

Probable Lineup:
#5 – CF – Laura Miller – 5'8” – SR – 29 GP, .329 AVG, 18 RBI, 20 R, 6-6 SB
#3 – 2B – Andrea Klipsch – 5'6” – SO – 40 GP, .324 AVG, .406 OBP, 7 HR, 25 RBI
#12 – RF – Kelsey Bollman – 5'8” – JR – 39 GP, .378 AVG, 9 2B, 5 HR, 13-14 SB
#16 – 1B – Kristin Grossman – 5'9” – SR – 40 GP, .370 AVG, 7 2B, 10 HR, 35 RBI
#8 – DP – Liz Leath – 5'8” – SO – 37 GP, .354 AVG, 5 2B, 6 HR, 25 RBI
#15 – 3B – Cate Simon – 5'9” – SO – 40 GP, .342 AVG, 7 HR, 25 RBI
#20 – C – Meredith Kusky – 5'8” – SR – 31 GP, .313 AVG, 6 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, .411 OBP
#4 – LF – Danielle Lewellen – 5'7” – JR – 36 GP, .258 AVG, 21-26 SB
#2 – SS – Corey Niblett – 5'1” – JR – 40 GP, .222 AVG, 2 2B, 7 RBI, 8-12 SB

Off the Bench:
#1 – OF – Nikki Moss – 5'1” – FR – 32 GP, 11 R, 8-8 SB
#13 – OF – Ally McReynolds – 5'9” – SO – 31 GP, .297 AVG, 4 2B, 2 HR, 9-11 SB
#21 – IF – Whitney Richardson – 5'6” – FR – 26 GP, .231 AVG, 3 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI

Probable Starters:
#7 – RHP – Hannah Washburn – 5'6” – JR – 20 GS, 15-6, 2.55 ERA, 123.1 IP, 126 K's
#19 – RHP – Kindra Henze – 6'1” – FR – 17 GS, 7-7, 4.41 ERA, 95.1 IP, 86 K's

Bullpen:
#10 – RHP – Kirsten Krause – 5'5” – SR – 19 APP, 3-2, 3.32 ERA, 38 IP, 19 K's
#11 – RHP – Kelsea Dorsey – 5'4” – SO – 35 APP, 16-9, 2.72 ERA, 133 K's in 2012

A Look at the Conference/National Statistics:
Through all games as of April 22, the Bulldogs as a team rank third in team hitting (.319), seventh in team pitching (3.35 ERA), and eighth in team fielding (.958 pct).

Kelsey Bollman (11^th) and Kristin Grossman (13^th) rank amongst the top-15 in individual hitting, while Hannah Washburn sits eighth in individual ERA.

Meanwhile, nationally the Bulldogs are ninth in the nation in home runs per game (1.13) and are also in the top-40 in slugging percentage (30^th; .493), stolen bases per game (32^nd; 1.75), and batting average (40^th; .319).

Catching the Career Leaders:
A handful of Bulldogs are inching up the career leader charts as the regular season draws to a close this weekend.

Name	Hits	Runs	2B	HR	TB	RBI	SB
L. Miller	173 (10^th) Next: 179	104 (6^th) Next: 109	35 (5^th) Next: 43		241 (8^th) Next: 257		50 (6^th) Next: 65
K. Bollman		97 (8^th) Next: 102	43 (4^th) Next: 50	15 (T-6^th) Next: 17	257 (7^th) Next: 265	83 (11^th) Next: 84
K. Grossman				17 (5^th) Next: 18
L. Leath				13 (T-9^th) Next: 14
C. Simon				12 (12^th) Next: 13

Scouting Report:
·         Washburn (9-31, 5-17 MIAA) travels to Southwest Baptist on Thursday (April 25) before hosting Truman and Lindenwood (April 27) this weekend.
·         The Lady Blues have lost 11 straight (all on the road) and are searching for their first win since an 8-6, 9-inning home win against Pittsburg (Kan.) State on April 6.
·         Washburn ranks 11^th in the MIAA in hitting (.273 AVG), 15^th in pitching (8.19 ERA), and 11^th in fielding (.952 pct).
·         Deidra Jones (.415 AVG, 6 HR) and Alex Zordel (.364 AVG, 6 HR) lead WU offensively, while Lauren Thimmesch (7-14; 6.13 ERA) is the team's top pitcher.

·         Emporia State (31-14, 16-8 MIAA), ranked one spot ahead of Truman in the NCAA-II Central regional rankings at No. 9, hosts Truman and Lindenwood (April 28) this weekend.
·         The Hornets have won three straight after dropping five of seven.
·         Emporia ranks fifth in the MIAA in hitting (.309 AVG), third in pitching (2.50 ERA), and fifth in fielding (.964 pct).
·         Taylor Zordel (.403 AVG, 13 2B, 5 HR) and Cacy Williams (.397 AVG, 14 2B, 9 HR) lead ESU offensively, while Karley Schmelzer (24-6, 1.85 ERA) is the team's top pitcher

MIAA Tournament Outlook:
Four teams have punched their ticket to Overland Park, Kan., for the 2013 MIAA tournament, five have been eliminated, and six others are battling for the remaining four slots entering the final weekend of action.

The Bulldogs are currently tied for seventh with Central Missouri at 13-11 and sit one game behind Northwest Missouri (13-9) for sixth. Truman and UCM are one game clear of ninth-place Pittsburg (Kan.) State (12-12).

This weekend, while Truman is at WU and ESU, UCM travels to PSU (April 27) and Missouri Southern (10-14; April 28). PSU, prior to hosting UCM on Saturday, hosts Southwest Baptist (0-22) on Friday afternoon.

Central Oklahoma (19-3) is currently one game and two losses ahead of Fort Hays (Kan.) State (19-5) in the race for the conference title. Missouri Western (18-6) is two games and three losses back of the league-leading Bronchos.

The official tournament bracket will be released the evening of April 30.

Up Next:
Should the Bulldogs qualify for the eight-team MIAA tournament, the team would open play on Thursday, May 2 at 6:00 pm, with a second game either in the winner's or consolation bracket to follow at 8:00 pm.

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