Softball 4/4/2012 10:03:00 AM

Weekend Games Open Home Stretch for Softball

TRUMAN vs. Central Missouri – Friday (2:00/4:00); Kirksville
TRUMAN vs. Southwest Baptist – Saturday (12:00/2:00); Kirksville
TRUMAN vs. Lindenwood – Tuesday (2:00/4:00); Kirksville

Live Stats | Season Statistics | Season Schedule

Week At-A-Glance:
After having played at home just twice through the first two months of the season, the Truman softball team will remain in Kirksville for all but one of the regular season doubleheaders to finish out the season. On Friday, the Bulldogs start their homestretch by welcoming the University of Central Missouri Jennies at 2:00 pm before hosting Southwest Baptist (Mo.) University for a pair on Saturday at noon.

The Bulldogs will take Easter Sunday and Monday off before hosting future conference opponent Lindenwood (Mo.) University for a rescheduled doubleheader that was initially scheduled to take place on March 11.

Week In Review:
After taking two from William Jewell (Mo.) College, the Bulldogs went on the road and continued their winning streak by taking a pair from Northeastern (Okla.) State University, 7-3 and 3-2. Their winning streak ended on Sunday after the 6^th-ranked Central Oklahoma Broncos defeated the 'Dogs 8-12 and 0-9.

Scouting the Competition:
As a conference rival, Central Missouri has posted a 16-23 overall record and 1-9 record in the MIAA. Last week, the Jennies were swept by Southwest Baptist University in Warrensburg. Braylyn Bivens acts as a strong offensive threat, averaging .330 with 36 total hits. She ranks third on the team with 41 total bases and leads the Jennies in stolen bases with successfully stealing 18 of them.

Sitting seventh in the conference rankings, Southwest Baptist has compiled an 11-19 overall record and 3-7 record in the MIAA. BreAnn Proctor leads the Bearcats with a .373 batting average, while Autumn Lamie leads the squad in homeruns with four. The Bearcats have turned four double plays this season.

As a future member of the MIAA, the Lindenwood (Mo.) University Lions are 11-23 on the year. The Lions were originally scheduled to play the Bulldogs on March 11, but the game was postponed due to rainy conditions. As a squad, the Lions average .257 with their primary offensive threat being Alexandra Newcomb who averages .317 with 32 hits. She has five doubles and one homerun this season and sits second on the squad with 14 RBI's.

Current Weather Forecast:
The National Weather Service has forecasted some cooler temperatures in the Kirksville area this upcoming weekend, with a high of 64 on Friday with sunny skies and a 0% chance of precipitation. Saturday's forecast is a high of 66 degrees with a 40 percent chance of scattered T-storms. Temperatures will remain about the same on Tuesday, with a high of 60 degrees and sunny skies.

Conference Outlook:
With just ten MIAA regular season games remaining on the schedule, the Bulldogs sit in a tie for 10^th with UCM but are just three games back of Washburn (5-7) for sixth-place in the league.

The Bulldogs played four of the top five conference schools (ESU, PSU, MWSU, MSSU) during the first half of the MIAA slate and still have to face-off against four of the five (not including Truman) schools in the lower half of the standings. The full standings are posted at http://themiaa.com/sports/sball/index.

Conference Stats At The Plate:
The Bulldogs have many players holding top spots in MIAA individual categories:

Bridget Schade leads the MIAA in walks and on-base percentage, sits second in batting average and slugging percentage, third in total bases, fourth in homeruns, fifth in RBI's and seventh in runs.
Kelsey Bollman is the conference-leader in doubles while also ranking fourth in total bases and fifth in runs scored.
Kelsea Dorsey sits in first for most appearances and most saves of any pitcher in the league. She also ranks fourth in K's and walks, sixth in innings pitched.
Cate Simon ranks sixth in the conference in homeruns.
Liz Leath sits in third in the MIAA in doubles.
Corey Niblett ranks fifth in the stolen base category.

As a team, Truman ranks in the top-four in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. The Truman pitching staff sits seventh in the league in ERA, while the Bulldog defense is the fifth-best in the league.

Top Ten Lists:
Five members of the Bulldog squad have crept up onto three of Truman's all-time top ten lists.

Kelsey Bollman sits at eighth all-time on the doubles list with 29 in her career. She sits three back of LeAnn Paul (2001-04) and Loni Wedemeier (2003-06) for sixth.
Bollman also sits in a tie for 10^th on the home run all-time charts with 10. She is one homerun shy of Stephanie Schlegel (1997-2000) who is ninth on the list.
Bridget Schade sits third on the all-time career batting average list with a .372 average. Also, with her eight home runs this season, Schade has jumped to a tie for fifth with Courtney Strubel with 14 homeruns.
Laura Miller has moved up to eighth on the all-time stolen bases chart with 41 in her career. She recently surpassed 2011 graduate Alex Weber and is two behind Jessie Shelman (2006-07) for seventh. Christen Belcher is the record holder by a landslide, stealing 153 bases while at Truman.
Ashley Rotkvich sits at third on the all-time appearances in Truman history with 97, sliding to just seven back of Loni Wedemier (2003-06) for second all-time. She has also moved up to 10^th all-time in total strikeouts with 142. This puts her 28 K's behind Shannon Johnson (1994-97) for ninth.
Mary Manley is fifth all-time in doubles with 33, landing two behind Jen Wright (1997-2000) for fourth. Kristi Bredbenner is on top the list with 55.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs will remain at home for their next two doubleheaders, hosting Fort Hays (Kan.) State University on Friday, April 13. On Saturday, the Bulldogs will welcome Washburn (Kan.) University to Kirksville. Both doubleheaders are scheduled to start at noon.

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