Softball Prepares for Kansas City Weekend

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - Just a dozen regular season games and three weekends remain for the Truman State University softball team, and a race towards the top of the conference table continues this Saturday and Sunday when the Bulldogs head to Kansas City for a pair of doubleheaders against Rockhurst and William Jewell. First pitch of game one each day is set for 12 p.m.

Weekend Outlook
Saturday, April 9 – 12:00 / 2:00 pm – at Rockhurst (14-22 overall, 7-11 GLVC) – Kansas City, Mo.
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Saturday, April 10 – 12:00 / 2:00 pm – at William Jewell (17-19 overall, 8-10 GLVC) – Liberty, Mo.
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K-9 Checkup
The Bulldogs are coming off a 3-3 record of split doubleheaders last week, winning game one action against Quincy (road), Maryville (road), and No. 6 Missouri-St. Louis (home) before dropping game two each set. The loss at QU in game two snapped a nine-game winning streak for the 'Dogs, while the week ended with Truman handing the sixth-ranked Tritons just their fourth loss of the season in game one on Sunday, April 3 in Kirksville.

Truman is batting .280 on the season, which puts the team eighth-best in the GLVC; however, the squad's team ERA of 2.18 is third-best in the league. The Bulldogs are also one of the best in both the conference and the nation in fielding percentage, ranking second in the GLVC and fourth in all of NCAA Div. II with a .978 fielding line (one error per 44.9 chances).

Freshman OF Christa Reisinger leads the team in batting average at .436 and stolen bases (32) and has touched home 35 times this year. Sophomore OF Riley Cook is also making strong contact, batting .361, with a quartet of power hitters – sophomore 1B Ashley Murphy, sophomore SS Jamie Fowle, senior 3B Cate Simon, and junior C Lex Van Nostrand – each hitting better than .260 on the season.

In the circle, all three Bulldog pitchers are posting a sub-2.70 ERA, led by senior Kelsea Dorsey's 2.09 ERA and 13-3 overall record. Fellow senior Kindra Henze has a 2.13 ERA and a 5-6 record, while freshman Lauren Dale is 4-1 overall with a 2.62 ERA. Bulldog pitchers have struck out 213 batters in 214.2 innings and have tossed eight combined shutouts on the year.

Erin Brown is in her 10^th season as the head coach of the Bulldog program and has a record of 242-230 (.513) at the helm of her alma mater. A 2001 graduate, Brown has continued to improve the program each year, culminating in a 98-39 (.715) record since the start of the 2014 season. She is assisted by Bailey Wittenauer, who is in her first season as a program assistant.

Scouting the Opponents
Rockhurst checks into Saturday afternoon winners of four straight, having swept both Missouri S&T (1-0, 5-3) and Drury (3-1, 6-1) last weekend. Prior to that, the Hawks had dropped 10 of their last 12, with the team holding a 3-3 home record this season.

The Hawks are 14^th in the GLVC in offense (.242 AVG), seventh in pitching (3.25 ERA), and 13^th in fielding (.946 / one error per 18.5 chances). Teams have tried to run on RU quite a bit to mixed success, as the Hawks have caught the most would-be base stealers (15) despite also having given up 44 (third-most) in the GLVC.

Hannah Pyle is the team's top hitter with a .381 average, while Madison Wagner has served as the team's table-setter with a .277 average and a team-high 16 stolen bases in 18 attempts. Pyle's four home runs leads a RU squad with just 11 as a team on the year; however, starters Bridgette Sappington (8-10; 2.73 ERA) and Shannon Greene (5-11; 4.10 ERA) have kept opposition homers to a minimum this year as well, giving up just 14 in 234 innings pitched.

William Jewell comes into the weekend having won five of its last six outings, including sweeps last week of Missouri S&T and Rockhurst. The Cardinals rank seventh in the GLVC in batting average (.282), ninth in pitching (3.38 ERA), and 14^th in fielding (.946 / one error per 18.4 chances). William Jewell has allowed only 16 stolen bases all season – third fewest in the GLVC.

The Cardinals feature a balanced lineup that sees six regulars batting .269 or better, including the conference's leading hitter by average – Brooke Bernard. Bernard enters the weekend hitting .459 with nine doubles, five home runs, and 36 RBI. Maddie Greenstreet (.347 AVG) and Nona Pauline (.336 AVG; 4 HR) are also batting better than .300 on the year.

Truman can expect to see Shelby McGraw (10-10, 2.43 ERA) for certain in one of the games in the circle, while both Taylor Friesen (2-4, 4.06 ERA) and Anna Biondo (4-3, 4.20 ERA) have started six games each this year.

Career Chart Check:
Four Bulldogs, two on offense and two in the circle, are making lasting impacts on the Truman softball program by already etching their names into multiple career categories.

Cate Simon – 6^th in home runs (32); 9^th in total bases (275). She is one HR back of a two-way tie for fourth (33; Kristi Bredbenner / Loni Wedemeier) and two HRs back of a two-way tie for second (34; Andrea Klipsch / Liz Leath).

Lex Van Nostrand – T-8^th in home runs (18); four back of Kelsey Bollman for seventh place.

Kelsea Dorsey – 2^nd in wins (66), 2^nd in innings pitched (581.2), 3^rd in strikeouts (503), 9^th in shutouts (15), 5^th in winning percentage (.733), 2^nd in appearances (114), 3^rd in games started (86), 4^th in complete games (64).

Kindra Henze – 5^th in wins (53), 3^rd in innings pitched (557.2), 2^nd in strikeouts (514), 6^th in shutouts (21), 3^rd in appearances (108), 2^nd in games started (89), 6^th in complete games (57).

4^th Inning Magic:
So far in 2016, getting through the fourth inning has been the best pre-cursor for a Bulldog win or loss, as Truman is 17-0 this season when they lead a game after the conclusion of the fourth inning. When trailing, the team is 1-7, and when tied, the Bulldogs have prevailed four out of seven times.

Helping that have been primarily insurance tallies, as the Bulldogs have out-scored their opponents 70-30 from the fifth-inning and on.

Multi-Hit Games:
The Bulldogs have had 62 multi-hit games by individuals this year, including a combined 25 by the typical No. 1 and No. 2 hitters – Reisinger and Cook. Reisinger also holds the team's longest hitting streak of the season – 16 – which was snapped during game two last Sunday against No. 6 UMSL. It was the longest by a Bulldog since Kelsey Bollman reached base via a base hit in 17 straight back in the 2011 campaign.

GLVC Postseason Picture:
With just six doubleheaders remaining for all 16 GLVC teams, the postseason picture is beginning to take shape, with conference tournament play set to begin at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Ill., from April 29 – May 1.

Truman's "magic number" to clinch a bid to the postseason tournament sits at six entering the weekend, as the Bulldogs are currently seven games clear of ninth-place. The top eight teams after a true round-robin doubleheader scheduling format will qualify by winning percentage.

The Bulldogs currently are tied for third-place with both Maryville and Southern Indiana at 14-4 in league play, with the trio trailing UMSL by one game for second-place. Indianapolis is currently the league's front-runner at 17-1, while the Truman/MU/USI trio has a three-game cushion on sixth-place McKendree at 11-7. Those six, plus Bellarmine (10-8) and William Jewell (8-10) would comprise the field were the season to end today.

"Get out the rye bread and mustard, Grandma, it is grand salami time!"
The Bulldog bats have come through in clutch situations often this season, evidenced best by the team's four grand slams already this year. Since 1999, the Truman softball team has hit 23 grand slams, with this season's four already setting a new single-season high (three GS's in 2004).

Doing the honors has been Lex Van Nostrand (Feb. 26 vs. Huntington), Christa Reisinger (March 19 at Lewis), Ashley Murphy (March 20 at Wisconsin-Parkside), and Morgan McMahan (March 29 at Quincy).

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Players Mentioned

#3 Andrea Klipsch: 2B; 5' 6"; Senior; R/R

#8 Liz Leath: 1B; 5' 8"; Senior; R/R

#7 Riley Cook: OF; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#11 Kelsea Dorsey: P; 5' 4"; Senior

#14 Jamie Fowle: SS; 5' 5"; Sophomore

#19 Kindra Henze: P; 6' 1"; Senior; R/R

#8 Ashley Murphy: 1B; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#15 Cate Simon: 3B; 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior

#5 Lex Van Nostrand: C; 5' 6"; Junior

#2 Christa Reisinger: OF; 5' 5"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#3 Andrea Klipsch
: 5' 6"; Senior; R/R
: 2B

#8 Liz Leath
: 5' 8"; Senior; R/R
: 1B

#7 Riley Cook
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: OF

#11 Kelsea Dorsey
: 5' 4"; Senior
: P

#14 Jamie Fowle
: 5' 5"; Sophomore
: SS

#19 Kindra Henze
: 6' 1"; Senior; R/R
: P

#8 Ashley Murphy
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: 1B

#15 Cate Simon
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior
: 3B

#5 Lex Van Nostrand
: 5' 6"; Junior
: C

#2 Christa Reisinger
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: OF