Horizon League Softball Weekly Release #6
March 22, 2005
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Softball Player of the Week
NICOLE SHEPARD
UIC, Junior, Outfield,
UIC Junior Nicole Shepard is the Horizon League Softball Player of the Week for the period ending March 21.
Shepard helped pace UIC to a perfect 7-0 record last week and the title at the 2005 Wolfpack Challenge, batting a team-high .450 with three doubles, a home run and four RBI. For her efforts, Shepard was named the Wolfpack Challenge Tournament MVP. She highlighted her performance in the title game as she hit a home run in the bottom of the seventh inning that cut Purdue's lead to 2-1. Shepard then delivered the game-winning single in the bottom of the eighth. For the season, Shepard is now batting .369 with two homers and 11 RBI.
Softball Pitcher of the Week
ASHLEY LOCKMILLER
Lockmiller went 3-0 last week with a 1.24 earned-run average while throwing two complete games and her first career shutout. She allowed just nine hits and three runs in 17 innings pitched. Lockmiller also fired a one-hitter with five strikeouts in a 3-0 defeat of
Other Top Player Performances - March 21
Amy Hyerczyk,
Freshman first baseman Amy Hyerczyk led the Bulldogs by getting hits in 10 of her 21 (.476) at-bats during the team's Spring Break trip to the Rebel Games in
Keilah Williams, Loyola, Senior, Shortstop,
Williams batted .500 (5 for 10) with a double, home run and three RBI in four games last week. The senior shortstop posted a .900 slugging percentage to go with a .583 on-base percentage as the Ramblers went 2-2 for the week and won the IU Classic on March 20. Williams went 3 for 4 with a RBI double and belted a walk-off home run in Loyola's 7-6 victory over IPFW on March 20. She then went 2 for 3 with a RBI in a 6-1 win at
Tiffany Patteson,
Patteson led the Penguins to a 6-4 record last week and posted a .441 batting average (15-for-34) with three doubles and two triples. She also scored nine times and owned a slugging percentage of .647. Patteson recorded at least one hit in eight of the 10 games, including the first seven contests at the Rebel Games, and collected six multi-hit games last week.
Other Top Pitching Performances - March 21
Nikki Naffziger,
Freshman right-hander Nikki Naffziger posted a 3-1 record at the Rebel Games in
Kristen Cefalu, Loyola, Freshman, RH Pitcher,
Cefalu went 2-1 with a 3.23 ERA in three appearances last week and also batted .571 (4 for 7) with three runs scored and a pair of RBI. The right-hander threw one scoreless inning of relief and earned the win in the Ramblers 7-6 decision over IPFW on March 20. She bounced back later that day to hurl a four-hitter, while allowing only one unearned run in a 6-1 victory at
Mercedes Lovato, UIC, Freshman, Pitcher,
Lovato was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 2005 Wolfpack Challenge, posting a 4-0 record with a 1.59 ERA as the Flames claimed a tournament crown. She tallied three wins in a starting role and one in relief in UIC's win over
Horizon League News & Notes
Butler finished up its trip to the Rebel Spring Games in Orlando, Fla. with a 4-3 record with wins over Fairleigh Dickinson, Army and Bucknell twice -- The Bulldogs had four games cancelled during their trip to the Sunshine State -- Butler hosts a doubleheader with IPFW on March 22 before opening up Horizon League play Friday, March 25 with a doubleheader against Youngstown State beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST in Indianapolis and the three-game series finale on Saturday beginning at 11:00 a.m.
Cleveland State struggled this past week in the Rebel Spring Games in Orlando, Fla. as the Vikings went 1-9 during the seven-day event -- The Vikings lone victory came in a 10-6 decision against Monmouth on March 12 -- Cleveland State was also scheduled to play two games on March 17, but the games were cancelled due to rain -- The Vikings are back in action on Sat., March 26 with a doubleheader at IPFW (2:00 p.m. EST) before hosting a double-dip against Robert Morris on March 28 starting at 3:00 p.m.
With her three wins thus far in 2005, senior pitcher Lisa Ferguson has already doubled her career win total of three. The righty from Clarkston, Mich. has been the Titans most consistent reliever out of the bullpen throughout most of her career and now as six career wins under her belt -- With their three homeruns on the spring trip (A fourth for sophomore infielder Michelle Baggio was wiped out due to a rain out) the Titans have tripled their home run output from this point a year ago. After nine games in 2004,
UIC Flames (15-15, 0-0 HL)
UIC went undefeated this past week in the N.C. State Tournament in Raleigh, N.C. with a perfect 7-0 record -- The Flames picked up wins against Central Connecticut State, Canisius, UNC-Wilmington (twice), St. John's, Akron and Purdue -- UIC travels to Charlotte on March 22 for a doubleheader beginning at noon, followed by two games at Elon the next day starting at noon.
Loyola Ramblers (7-11, 0-0 HL)
Loyola snapped a five-game losing skid by capturing a pair of games and the title, at the IU Classic on March 2 -- Senior SS Keilah Williams belted her second home run of the season, a walk-off blast, to lead Loyola to a 7-6 win over IPFW on March 20 -- The Ramblers are now 3-3 in one-run contests -- Loyola is 5-0 when it scores four or more runs this season -- The victory over Indiana was Loyola's first against a Big Ten Conference team since April 25, 2001 when it topped Illinois, 1-0 -- Loyola travels to Michigan State on March 26 for a doubleheader -- sophomore CF Tara Miller has hit safely in each of the last three games -- Senior 1B Allison Scanlin needs two RBI to move into a tie for fourth place on the Loyola all-time list as the left-handed hitter has driven in 70 runs in her career
After being idle for nearly a month, UW-Green Bay resumed its season at the Rebel Spring Games in Orlando, Fla. this past week -- The Phoenix went an impressive 7-2 during their trip with victories over Columbia, Bucknell (twice), George Washington, IUPUI, Rider and Siena -- UW-Green Bay opens Horizon League play April 2-3 with a doubleheader on Saturday at home against Cleveland State beginning at 2:00 p.m. EST with the finale on Sunday beginning at noon.
Wright State was idle this past week -- The Raiders went 2-2 at the Hilltopper Classic in Bowling Green, Ky. on March 12-13 as they grabbed two victories over Belmont (8-3 and 9-5) -- Wright State's schedule is full this week beginning with a doubleheader at Southeast Missouri State on March 22 at 3:00 p.m. EST, a double-dip at Southern Illinois the following day at 4:00 p.m. and two games with Missouri on March 24 starting at 1:00 p.m.
Freshmen Sara Conklin and Sarah Berry turned in explosive offensive performances last week. Conklin, who played in eight games, batted .450 (9-for-20) with a double and two runs batted in while
