THIS WEEK:
vs. Rockhurst Hawks
Friday (March 30) -- S&T Softball Field - Rolla, Mo. @ 12 & 2 p.m. (CT)
vs. William Jewell Cardinals
Saturday (March 31) -- S&T Softball Field - Rolla, Mo. @ 12 & 2 p.m. (CT)
On Deck: The Missouri S&T softball team returns home to the friendly confines of the S&T Softball Field this weekend (March 30-31) for two Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) doubleheaders. The Lady Miners, who have won five of their last six GLVC games to date, square off against Rockhurst this Friday (March 30) before wrapping up their weekend action on the diamond this Saturday (March 31) facing William Jewell.
2018 Record: Missouri S&T presently stands at 17-13 overall and 7-3 in the GLVC this season following this past weekend's 3-1 league road performance. The Lady Miners swept a conference series for the second consecutive time with a pair of victories, 2-0 and 10-4, over Quincy (Ill.) this last Sunday (March 25) at the Mart Heinen Softball Complex. S&T then split a two-game set at Truman State this past Monday (March 26), suffering a 9-1 six-inning setback before bouncing back to notch a 9-7 second-game triumph over the Bulldogs at the Truman Softball Park in Kirksville, Mo. The Lady Miners, who are 9-4 at home, 7-3 on the road, and 1-6 at neutral sites this season, have registered a 9-4 mark in their past 13 outings to date.
Missouri S&T Head Coach - Cathy Monroe (Truman State, 2002), Third Season, 55-79. 0-4 vs. Rockhurst, 1-3 vs. William Jewell.
Monroe guided the 2016 Lady Miners to a five-win improvement in her first season with the squad as S&T made another six-game jump in the win column in 2017 going 22-31 overall and 14-16 in the GLVC. The Lady Miners were in contention for a spot in the GLVC Tournament all the way to the final day of the season with a team that had two all-conference performers. Monroe led S&T to a 16-35 mark in her first year after spending the previous 11 seasons as an assistant coach at Truman State University, the last two as the program's associate head coach. While at Truman, Monroe served as the acting head coach for the Bulldogs for an eight-game stretch during the early stages of the 2015 season and compiled a 7-1 record. Truman State concluded the 2015 campaign with a 33-16 overall record, which included a 21-7 GLVC mark and a second straight NCAA Division II Midwest Regional appearance.
The Opposition: Rockhurst - The Hawks have presently posted a 12-17 overall record with a 6-2 GLVC mark this spring and have won four of their last six contests to date. RU, under first-year head coach Bailey Wittenauer, is 4-10 on the road, 3-1 at home, and 5-6 at neutral sites this campaign. Junior catcher-third baseman Hanna Stam (.386, 6 HR, 29 RBIs, 32 hits) along with sophomore infielder Lauren Marks (.323, 3 HR, 10 RBIs, 30 hits), junior infielder Taylor Rupe (.308, 1 HR, 13 RBIs, 28 hits), and junior outfielder Megan Freitag (.306, 1 HR, 12 RBIs, 19 hits) have paced the Hawks offensively. In the pitching circle, junior Shannon Greene (12-12, 2.19 ERA, 143.2 IP) and freshman Paige Renner (0-5, 9.82 ERA, 30.2 IP) have logged almost all of the action.
William Jewell - The Cardinals, who are 17-11 overall and 4-4 in the GLVC this season, sport a 5-5 mark in their last 10 outings. WJC, which is directed by 12th-year head coach Dustin Combs, is 2-1 on the road, 6-4 at home, and 9-6 at neutral sites this campaign. The Cardinals, who visit Maryville this Friday (March 30) in a conference twinbill, are led in batting by senior outfielder Madi Giles (.367, 0 HR, 8 RBIs, 33 hits), senior infielder Brooke Bernard (.342, 2 HR, 19 RBIs, 27 hits), and senior first baseman Phoebe Dabbour (.286, 3 HR, 19 RBIs, 22 hits). A pair of juniors, Madelynn Greenstreet (7-3, 3.28 ERA, 72.2 IP) and Anna Biondo (7-6, 3.58 ERA, 1 save, 90.0 IP) have been WJC's primary pitchers this campaign.
All-Time Series: Missouri S&T has compiled a 12-18 versus Rockhurst in a series dating back to 2006. The Lady Miners, who are 7-7 at home against RC, are 2-8 in the last 10 meetings and have dropped the last six encounters. A season ago (April 19), S&T dropped a pair of league road matchups, 2-0 and 6-1, to the Hawks in Kansas City, Mo. The Lady Miners sport a 7-19 record against William Jewell in their all-time series, which originated in the 1980 season. S&T is 0-8 at home versus the Cardinals and ended a four-game series losing skid to WJC last season (April 8), winning 10-3 in the nightcap after falling 3-1 in the opener at Liberty, Mo.
Klein Earns GLVC Weekly Award: Sophomore shortstop Abby Klein (Kansas City, MO/Staley) of the Missouri S&T softball team has been tabbed as this week's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Softball Player of the Week for her noteworthy performance in this last Sunday's (March 25) league doubleheader sweep at Quincy as announced Monday (March 26) by the conference office.
Klein batted for a team-leading .857 average (six-for-seven) with two home runs and doubles apiece to go along with a squad-most five RBIs and a 2.000 slugging percentage in those two GLVC contests. The S&T infielder has hit safely in eight of her 10 games played in this season and is midst a current five-game hitting streak (March 17-25) while batting a .647 average (11-17) during that span. Klein turned in a pair of multiple-hit game performances at Quincy (March 25), highlighted by a four-for-four effort with five RBIs and three runs scored in a 10-4 game-two victory over the Hawks. She smacked a second-inning grand slam home run after belting a solo shot in the contest's opening inning. Prior to that contest, Klein garnered a pair of doubles en route to a two-for-three showing at the plate in a game-one 2-0 win versus Quincy.
S&T Diamond Notes: The Lady Miners are 8-2 in their last 10 contests and hitting for a .317 average (89-281) to their opponent's .258 average (67-260). Abby Klein (Kansas City, MO/Staley) is batting a team-best .600 (21-35) with seven extra-base hits and 14 RBIs while sophomore pitcher Avery English (Carterville, Ill./Carterville) (4-1, 1.98 ERA, 2 saves, 35.1 IP) and senior pitcher Kati Viets (Sweet Springs, Mo./Sweet Springs) (4-1, 4.52 ERA, 31.0 IP) have performed well … S&T is 14-0 this season when leading after four innings and 14-1 thru six innings …. Avery English (Carterville, Ill./Carterville) is 7-1 with a 0.85 earned run average and a save in 49.2 innings pitched for 10 home appearances this spring … Sophomore designated player Olivia Young (Milstadt, Ill./Belleville Township) is batting .352 (19-54) with 18 RBIs in 16 March games compared to compiling a .293 hitting average (12-41) with 12 RBIs in 14 February outings … Junior second baseman Hannah Franceschini (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) is three hits shy of reaching the 100 career hits plateau. Franceschini, who has 18 hits in 29 games this season, has currently accumulated 97 career hits in 129 contests … Kati Viets (Sweet Springs, Mo./Sweet Springs) presently ranks seventh on S&T's all-time innings pitched list with a 504.2 total in 98 career appearances and is 50 innings away from moving into a sixth-place tie with Ashley Wallingford (554.2 IP, 2007-10) … Senior third baseman Monica Weiss (St. Louis, Mo./Marquette), who has racked up 168 career hits in 154 games, is only three hits shy of tying Kristen Drage (171 hits, 2008-11) for eighth place on the program's career base hits leaders list … Junior first baseman Gretchen Egly (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield Central) and Olivia Young (Milstadt, Ill./Belleville Township) lead the Lady Miners in multiple-hit games this season with 12 and 10 total, respectively. Young has produced a squad-most 11 multi-RBI contests this spring while Egly has chalked up 10 such statistical outings.
2018 GLVC Standings: Fans can view the complete 2018 GLVC Standings at this link - GLVC Standings. Information for the conference overall and individual statistical leaders is available at GLVC Statistics.
National Statistical Leaders: Click on NCAA Division II team and individual national statistical leaders for the 2018 season. S&T's rankings, both team and individual, can be accessed via this link.
2018 GLVC Preseason Poll: Missouri S&T was chosen to finish 12th in the 2018 GLVC Preseason Softball Coaches Poll as the Lady Miners received 51 points. Southern Indiana was tabbed as preseason favorite with 193 points followed by Missouri-St. Louis (182 pts.) and Truman State (166 pts.). S&T finished six points behind 11th-place Maryville (57 pts.) and 10 points in front of 13th-place Quincy (41 pts.). A season ago, the Lady Miners posted a 22-31 overall record with a 14-16 conference mark.
Up Next: The Lady Miners visit the Drury Panthers Sunday, April 8, for a GLVC twinbill at DU's Thompson Field in Springfield, Mo. The first game gets underway at 12 p.m. (CT) with the second to follow at 2 p.m. (CT). S&T then returns home to take on the Rogers State HIllcats Tuesday, April 10, in a non-league doubleheader at the S&T Softball Field in Rolla, Mo.
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