Game of the Week: Bethany Lutheran vs. St. Scholastica - Softball
UMAC Game of the Week Archives
ST. PAUL -- The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Game of the Week is a feature that takes place each week throughout the conference portion of the season with one contest being selected and highlighted as the UMAC Game of the Week.
This week's UMAC Game of the Week will take place on Saturday, April 5 at 6 p.m. at the Vadnais Heights Dome as the College of St. Scholastica and Bethany Lutheran College will meet in UMAC softball action. The Saints and Vikings were picked to finish first and second respectively in the 2014 UMAC Coaches' Preseason Poll following a 2013 season that saw the Saints claim the conference regular season title and the Vikings win the postseason tournament trophy.
About the Saints
The St. Scholastica softball team is off to a 6-10 start this season. In its first 16 games of the season, CSS has played three ranked opponents with one win against then fifth-ranked SUNY-Cortland on its Spring Break trip in mid-March. The Saints offense has performed well for the most part this season, recording more hits than their opponents (143-127), which also includes more extra base hits (doubles, triples and home runs). Clutch hitting has come back to haunt the Saints in some games this year. CSS is batting only .295 with runners in scoring position. The Saints will enter conference play on a six-game losing streak, its longest such streak since the 2009 season.
Pitching has struggled early this season for the Saints. CSS has issued 75 walks and have recorded only 63 strikeouts. The Saints' opponents have 68 strikeouts and only 44 walks. Opponents are also 30-for-40 in stolen bases on the year. The Saints don't steal as much, but are effective as they are 10-of-12 on the base paths.
The 2013 UMAC Rookie of the Year Rnedi Johnson leads the team at the plate and on the rubber this season. Johnson is batting a team-high .383 and also has a team-best 3.72 earned run average. Fellow sophomore Kara Warren leads the team with eight doubles and 14 RBIs. Another sophomore, Micah McGuiness leads the team with 28 strikeouts.
About the Vikings
It's been a rough start for the defending UMAC tournament champions, but two players who have swung the bat well are seniors Rebecca Ludewig and Gena Chester. Ludewig leads the team with a .410 batting average which places her ninth in the conference. She also leads the squad in on-base percentage (.452) and in slugging percentage (.641).
After a slow start, Chester has raised her batting average over .300 (.327). She is tops on the club in runs scored (6), RBIs (7), doubles (6), and is tied with Ludewig with 16 hits.
Game Notes
-The Saints are 3-0 this season when they don't make an error.
-CSS is 23-3 all-time against Bethany Lutheran, however, two of those three losses occurred last season. The Vikings defeated the Saints in the last meeting 5-4 in opening round of the UMAC Tournament.
- Bethany's two wins over St. Scholastica last season were the team's first in the series since 2008.
- The Vikings had lost 15 straight to the Saints prior to last year.
-Senior Tiff Hudack enters the weekend having reached base in 10 consecutive games for the Saints.
St. Scholastica Recap |
Bethany Lutheran Recap |
Final Score: CSS 14, BLC 1
For information on other contests around the league this week, visit the UMAC's live scoreboard.