May 2, 2005
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Softball Player of the Week
JACKIE CORNELIUS
Cleveland State, Senior, C, Cincinnati, Ohio
Cleveland State senior Jackie Cornelius is the Horizon League Softball Player of the Week for the period ending May 1.
Cornelius helped the Vikings to three wins last week, including their first-ever series win over UIC. She went 6-for-12 (.500) at the plate with a 1.083 slugging percentage, four runs scored and three walks. In Saturday's doubleheader with the Flames, she went 4-for-5 with her first career grand slam, a pair of triples and eight RBI. She drove in a career-high five runs to help CSU win the opener, then followed with three more RBI in the nightcap.
Softball Pitcher of the Week
MIA PANGERE
Loyola, Senior, RHP, Crown Point, Ind.
Loyola senior Mia Pangere is the Horizon League Softball Pitcher of the Week for the period ending May 1.
Pangere won a pair of Horizon League contests last week and was a hard-luck loser in another. The right-hander scattered three hits and allowed only one run in a 10-1 victory versus UW-Green Bay on April 28. She earned the victory in a 7-6 decision versus Butler on April 30, striking out two. Pangere then was a hard-luck loser in a 2-1 setback to the Bulldogs on May 1 as she allowed only one earned run, while yielding only five hits and striking out five in the complete-game effort. Pangere has prevailed in six of her last eight decisions.
Other Top Player Performances - May 2
Maria Marchesano, Butler, Sr., SS (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
Senior Maria Marchesano led the Bulldogs with a .357 batting average last week, which included a double among her five hits. The senior also scored a team-high five runs.
Katie Groshek, UW-Green Bay, Jr., 3B (Cudahy, Wis.)
Groshek led the Phoenix in RBI (3) and batting average (.364) during the team's 2-2 week against Horizon League foes. Against the Titans, Groshek had an RBI in each of the three games in aiding the Phoenix to its 2-1 record at home, which included the team's 10th league win of the season Sunday. Groshek was also perfect at the hot corner on 13 chances.
Maria Marchesano, Butler, Sr., SS (Ft. Wayne, Ind.)
Michelle Baggio, Detroit, So., INF (Windsor, Ontario)
Hit .375 in three games for the Titans...collected two doubles and a triple to go along with a pair of RBIs...scored the game winning run against UWGB on Saturday in game one...slugged .875, had a .375 on-base precentage and also posted a sacrifice hit along with six putouts and four assists.
Cameron Astiazaran, UIC, Sr., OF/DP (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.)
Astiazaran led UIC to a 3-2 record last week, batting .571 (4-for-7) with a double, two home runs and five RBI while boasting a 1.571 slugging percentage. The Horizon League's top hitter saw few opportunities to swing the bat as she was walked 12 times giving her an .800 on-base percentage. In the Flames' three-game weekend series with Cleveland State, Astiazaran led off game one with a home run and then was walked six straight times until her final at bat in the second game, when she homered again. The Rolling Hills Estates, Calif., native drew a free pass in all four of her trips to the plate in Sunday's series finale. For the season, Astiazaran is now batting .483 with 24 doubles, 14 home runs and 46 RBI. Her average improves to .514 with a .667 on-base percentage against league opponents.
Tara Miller, Loyola, So., CF (Mokena, Ill.)
Miller batted .444 (8 for 18), hitting safely in five of Loyola's six contests last week to raise her batting average by 35 points. The sophomore went 3 for 4 with a double and stolen base in an 8-4 loss to Bradley to start her current five-game hitting streak. Miller then went 2 for 3 with a double, a pair of runs scored and a RBI in a 10-1 victory against UW-Green Bay. She finished up the week by going 3 for 7 (.429) with a home run and two RBI in a three-game series versus Butler. A First Team All-Horizon League performer as a freshman, Miller has hit safely in nine of the Ramblers' last 10 outings. Her slugging percentage for the week was a robust .722, to go with a .474 on-base percentage.
Mary Jane D'Arcy, Wright State, So., OF (Sacramento, Calif.)
D'Arcy went 3-for-4 in the opener with Youngstown State on April 30, including a double, two runs scored and a RBI. She went 2-for-3 with a run scored in the series finale the following day.
McKenzie Bedra, Youngstown State, Fr., INF (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Bedra led the Penguins to a 2-1 record last week by batting .556 at the plate. Bedra went 5-for-9 with two runs scored, two home runs and two RBI. She also finished with a slugging percentage of 1.222 and an on-base percentage of .600. Both of Bedra's home runs came in the two YSU victories over Wright State.
Other Top Pitching Performances - May 2
Nikki Naffziger, Butler, Fr., RHP (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Freshman Nikki Naffziger came on in relief Sunday to pick up the win in the team's 2-1 victory at Loyola. Naffziger allowed just one hit in three scoreless innings of work. She pitched well this week, but didn't get much help from her defense as only four of the 14 runs she allowed were earned. She posted a 2.00 ERA and had 10 strikeouts in two starts.
Anna Ollgaard, Detroit, Sr., P (Portage, Mich.)
Went 1-1 for the Titans in 12.1 innings of work...struck out three...threw a complete game to win game one on Saturday against UWGB, a 4-1 Titan victory...scattered six Phoenix hits over seven innings and recorded a pair of strikeouts in picking up her third league win of the season.
Mercedes Lovato, UIC, Fr., P (Simi Valley, Calif.)
Lovato made the most of her one appearance in the circle for the Flames last week, going 1-0 with a 0.88 ERA. Lovato picked up the win in UIC's 6-4 win over Cleveland State on Saturday, allowing just one earned run while striking out one and walking none.
Lisa Meissner, UW-Green Bay, Jr., RHP (Two Rivers, Wis.)
Meissner improved to 6-5 on the season and 3-1 in the Horizon League with her compete game shutout against Detroit April 30. Meissner struck out six while walking just one and scattering five hits in her second shutout of the year. The junior righthander owns a 2.41 ERA in 13 games and leads the Phoenix with 77 strikeouts.
Jessica Lander, Wright State, Fr., P (Lebanon, Ohio)
Lander picked up a complete-game victory over Youngstown State, scattering 10 hits and two walks while striking out two. She struck out four in five innings in Sunday's start against the Penguins.
Horizon League News & Notes
Butler Bulldogs (19-31, 7-12 HL)
Butler's 2-1 win at Loyola Sunday snapped the team's 10-game losing skid...the game also served as the team's regular season finale. The team will take this week off to focus on final exams...freshman Nikki Naffziger's 195 strikeouts this season are a Butler single-season record...Butler has had eight players (including two of the team's three pitchers) hit home runs this season. Freshman Jenny Jacobs leads the team with a Butler single-season record of eight.
Cleveland State (17-23, 6-5 HL)
Cleveland State closes out its two-week, nine-game road trip with single games against Youngstown State (Tuesday) and Kent State (Thursday). The Vikings will then close out the regular season with a three-game set with Loyola at Viking Field over the weekend...The Vikings have won 11 of their last 15 games, including their first-ever...series win against UIC over the weekend. The Flames had not dropped a home series since the league went to the three-game format to start the 2003 season. It was their first series loss anywhere since losing 2-of-3 at Wright State a little more than two years ago (April 26-27, 2003)...Heading into the last week of the season, Cleveland State can finish as high as first with four victories (and some help) or as low as sixth.
Detroit Titans (15-19, 6-7 HL)
After taking last week off for finals, the Titans jump back into action full swing this week with games against Wright State (1), Northwood (2) and Michigan State (2) before closing out the regular season next weekend at UIC (3)...With their six league wins thusfar in 2005, the Titans have equaled their confrerence win total from last season with four games left....Senior pitcher Anna Ollgaard has turned around from a sub-par 2004 season to make her senior season her best ever. The righty from Portage, Michigan leads the team with six wins after recording just three last year. She is also in the top three on the team in hitting and RBIs as well.
UIC Flames (35-23, 11-4 HL)
UIC toppled Big Ten leader #15 Northwestern on Wednesday, April 20, snapping the Wildcats' 14-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory at Flames Field...the win over a nationally-ranked opponent was the Flames first since downing then-#10 Tennessee, 6-5, back on May 22, 2004 at the NCAA Regional Championships...Senior Cameron Astiazaran continues to close in on the NCAA single-season doubles record of 29 set by Fresno State's Nina Lindenberg back in 1996...Astiazaran currently has 24 doubles this season with one week remaining in the regular-season.
Loyola Ramblers (17-28, 8-6 HL)
Loyola closes out the home portion of its 2005 schedule this week when it hosts Western Michigan in a doubleheader on May 3...the Ramblers had a three-game winning streak, their second-longest stretch of the year, snapped with a 2-1 loss to Butler on May 1...sophomore catcher Raven Gengler homered in three straight games, April 28-30, to run her team-leading season total to seven...that ties her for second place on the Loyola single-season chart with seven roundtrippers...senior 1B Allison Scanlin needs one RBI to tie the Loyola all-time record of 85 RBI, held by Stephanie Trenerry (1991-95)...after going through a prolonged slump, center fielder Tara Miller has started to regain her rookie season form...Miller has hit safely in nine of the last 10 games, batting .414 (12 for 29) with five stolen bases, three doubles and a home run...over the last nine contests, LF Nora Schober is batting .438 (14 for 32) with nine runs, three doubles and three stolen bases...Lindsay O'Gean's 15 stolen bases rank fourth on the LU single-season chart.
UW-Green Bay Phoenix (17-15, 10-5 HL)
For the first time since joining the Horizon League in 1995, the Phoenix has guaranteed a winning season as UW-Green Bay owns a 10-5 record with three games left, a three-game homestand against Wright State May 7-8...Freshman Dana Brockman had a solid weekend for the Phoenix as the newcomer from Freedom, Wis. stepped into the starting left field role with a pair of Phoenix injuries. Brockman got her first hit of the season - a triple - in UW-Green Bay's 3-0 win over Detroit April 30 and led the Phoenix with three runs on the weekend...Junior Ali Rostkowski took over the team lead in batting average, as the shorstop leads the Phoenix with a .304 average at the plate. Rostkowski leads UW-Green Bay with 16 runs, 24 hits, two triples, two home runs and a .494 slugging percentage.
Wright State Raiders (14-17, 6-7 HL)
Wright State took one of three from Youngstown State in its first action in nine days due to the weather. The Raiders wrap up the home portion of their schedule Tuesday against Detroit and, after visiting crosstown rival Dayton on Thursday, head to Wisconsin for an extended stay. Following the three-game series at UW-Green Bay this weekend, WSU visits UW-Oshkosh next Tuesday before taking part in the Horizon League Tournament.
Youngstown State (18-30, 4-12 HL)
McKenzie Bedra, who leads the team with seven home runs, has moved into a tie for third place on the YSU single-season home run chart...Junior Tiffany Patteson has moved into fifth place on the YSU all-time hits list with 164. She needs six more to move into third place. Patteson has also become YSU all-time runs leader with 97 runs scored during her career.
