UMAC 2015 softball championship rematch featured in "Game of the Week"
Monday, April 4, 2016 - Softball: St. Scholastica at Minnesota Morris
*Please note this release has been updated to reflect changes to the doubleheader date.
ST. PAUL, Minn.---Nothing says spring softball in Minnesota like 40-degree temperatures and 26 MPH wind speeds. Though the weather may feel typical for this time of year, the beginning of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) 2016 softball season brings excitement and uncertainty.
With league play set to begin Monday, the focus will be on windy Morris, Minnesota, as the top two teams from a year ago match up to kick off the season in thrilling fashion. The College of St. Scholastica will travel West for a doubleheader against the University of Minnesota Morris in this week’s “UMAC Game of the Week.”
As the top seed in the UMAC playoffs a year ago, St. Scholastica fought off Minnesota Morris in the ‘if-necessary’ game seven to claim its second postseason title in a row. The Saints earned the top spot in the tournament after claiming the UMAC regular season title with a flawless 21-0 record, while the Cougars were the No. 2 seed following a 15-6 conference season.
The Cougars surprised the Saints in the opening round of tournament games taking the first matchup 4-1 – essentially ensuring the two squads could match up in the championship games.
The two squads met in game six which the Saints took handily 6-0 to force a final game with the UMAC postseason title on the line. The Saints managed to hold off the Cougars claiming a 5-1 win and the conference’s automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA postseason.
Looking ahead to the 2016 season, both teams were set for success with a core of returning players leading the way. The Saints welcomed 2015 UMAC Player of the Year and All-Region selection
Chrisi Mizera back to the mound, while All-UMAC selections
Micah McGuiness and
Nikki Logergren also headline the Saints’ returners.
The Cougars may have lost two All-UMAC players from a year ago, but they showed promise with returning all-conference picks
Alex Anderson and
Meghan Pomeroy.
The Saints were a unanimous pick to take the 2016 UMAC title in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll. With newcomer University of Wisconsin-Superior in the mix and other talented conference squads this year, the Cougars were selected by the coaches to finish fourth.
The Match Up
The Saints enter the UMAC series with a 7-9 record overall after a challenging non-conference slate to start the year. This season, the Saints have already earned impressive wins over strong regional opponents including Coe College, Bethel University and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
The Cougars have been off to a tough start in March posting just a 2-14 overall record. Despite the losing record, the Cougars managed to claim an impressive win over Wooster College in eight innings and another over Knox College on their spring break trip.
Both teams have been led this season by breakout rookie stars. The Saints boast pitching and hitting star
Maggie Schley who leads the UMAC in multiple offensive categories, while the Cougar first-year duo of
Lacey Sullivan and
Bret Hulett own spots in the UMAC top 10 in multiple offensive categories.
Need to Know – Minnesota Morris
- Four starters are hitting at least .300 this season this season.
- Morris is 13th in the NCAA in double plays turned.
- Sullivan ranks 25th in the nation in sacrifice flies.
- Hulett and Sullivan have combined for 20 of the Cougars 45 RBI this season.
- Morris and their opponents have scored 177 runs this season. So far, 67 of those runs are unearned. Morris has scored 30 unearned runs and their opponents have scored 37 unearned runs.
Need to Know – St. Scholastica
- The Saints will enter conference play on a 41-game UMAC regular season win streak.
- Minnesota Morris is the last UMAC team to have beaten the Saints, twice, both in postseason tournament play (2013 UMAC Tournament and 2015 UMAC Tournament).
- CSS is coming off a spring trip to Clermont, Florida where it went 4-6 with a pair of wins and three losses by two runs or less vs. 2015 NCAA Tournament teams.
- Head Coach Rilee Dawson will make her UMAC debut this weekend (Dawson was the 2007 UMAC Player of the Year for the Saints).
- First-year Schley is leading the Saints both as a hitter and a pitcher with a team-high .444 average and 13 RBI and a team-low 1.87 earned run average.
Who to Watch – Minnesota Morris
Sullivan and
Hulett have left remarkable impressions early in their collegiate careers. Both first-years boast 10 RBI each to account for nearly half of the Cougars’ offense. Sullivan – along with junior
Gina Downie – lead the team with 15 hits which is tied for ninth-best among UMAC hitters. Sullivan also ranks fifth in the UMAC for slugging percentage (.537) and seventh in batting average (.366). Hulett and
Autumn Mahoney also have 13 hits each. Rookie
Elli Stevenson has pitched in seven games with a 3.40 earned run average (ERA) that ranks fifth best in the UMAC this season.
Who to Watch – St. Scholastica
The Saints’
Schley has been a force at the plate with a league-best average of .444 and 20 hits. She also leads the UMAC with a .644 slugging percentage, is second in RBI (13) and third in on-base percentage .469. On the mound, Schley has collected an impressive 1.87 ERA that is second-best in the UMAC. She and
Mizera have combined for six of the team’s seven wins and have thrown 11 complete games.
Alexa Bremer and
McGuiness have recorded 20 and 18 hits, respectively, and
Kara Warren – reigning UMAC Player of the Week – is hitting .356 with a .578 slugging percentage.
The Basics
The two-game series between St. Scholastica and Minnesota Morris was originally scheduled for Saturday, April 2 but has been postponed due to inclement weather. The games will now take place Monday, April 4 with the opening game slated for 1 p.m. Game two will follow after conclusion of the opening game at approximately 3 p.m. Both contests will take place at the Cougar Softball Park on the Minnesota Morris campus in Morris, Minnesota.
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”.