Softball | 3/11/2019 12:07:00 PM
THE STORY
• The Bloomsburg University softball team heads south for a series of doubleheaders against Southern Atlantic Conference (SAC) opponents in Tennessee and North Carolina this week. The Huskies will take on Lincoln Memorial University on Tuesday, before traveling to Greeneville, Tennessee, for a twinbill with Tusculum Wednesday. Bloomsburg will wrap up the week with a doubleheader at Catawba on Thursday and a pair of games with Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory, North Carolina, on Saturday. The Huskies enter this week at 1-2 on the young season after a loss to West Liberty and a two-game split with West Virginia State this past weekend.
THE HISTORY
• The Huskies are 0-1 all-time against Lincoln Memorial, with the lone matchup coming back in 2017. Bloomsburg is 9-5 all-time against Catawba, and 3-4 in the all-time series with Lenoir-Rhyne. The Huskies have never faced Tusculum prior to this week's meeting. Bloomsburg's last win over an SAC opponent came back on March 13, 2015 against Coker.
THE HUSKIES AT A GLANCE
• The Huskies are 1-2 on the new season after splitting a pair of games with West Virginia State on Sunday. Freshman
Sammi Starr (Berwick, Pa./21st Century Cyber Charter) hit her first collegiate home run to power the Huskies to a 3-1 win in game two, while the Yellow Jackets earned a 4-1 victory in game one thanks to a homer and three RBI from Paige Scruggs.
Abby Wild (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) was sensational in the game two win, surrendering just one unearned run on five hits in the complete game effort.
• Senior
Taylor Winkelman (Springfield, Pa/Springfield) has been strong at the plate through three games, posting a .400 batting average in 10 at bats. Starr leads the Huskies in runs batted in with two, while
Alexa Erney (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) blasted a solo homer in Bloomsburg's season-opening loss to West Liberty on Saturday.
Erin DelPierre (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) is 3-for-10 at the plate on the year, and
Marissa Shelhamer (Bloomsburg, Pa./Central Columbia) is 2-for-9 with a run scored.
• Wild has been tremendous in the circle for the Huskies in the early-going. The sophomore is 1-1 in just two starts, but has yet to allow an earned run in 13.0 innings of work. Wild leads the team in strikeouts with seven, and has walked just three batters.
Tara Baney (Howard, Pa./Bellefonte) got the nod in game one against West Virginia State, and gave up four earned runs on seven hits over six innings.
SCOUTING THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL RAILSPLITTERS
• The Railsplitters are 18-4 on the new campaign, and are riding a seven game win streak into Tuesday's battle with Bloomsburg. Lincoln Memorial has been one of most impressive teams in the SAC this season, leading the conference on on-base percentage (.440), runs scored (170), and walks (83).
• McKenzie Henry has been fantastic at the plate early in the season for Lincoln Memorial. She leads the SAC in runs batted in (28), is second in home runs (7), and is tied for the team-lead in walks with 11. Ty-Kella Goins is hitting .446 with two homers, nine doubles, and 15 RBI, while Sierra Hucklebee is batting .373 with four round-trippers and 21 runs batted in.
• The Lincoln Memorial rotation is anchored by a duo of talented freshmen in Bailey Griffith and Faith Howe. Griffith is 8-2 with a 3.87 Earned run average and 36 strikeouts, while Howe is 5-2 with a 4.24 ERA and 34 strikeouts. Junior Justice Smith has started seven games for the Railsplitters, and is 5-0 with a team-low 2.37 ERA and 39 strikeouts.
SCOUTING THE TUSCULUM PIONEERS
• Tusculum enters Wednesday's game with an overall record of 8-6, but the Pioneers have lost five of their last six games after a 7-1 start to the campaign. Tusculum has struggled the plate early on, hitting just .266 as a team with a .343 on-base percentage, but the Pioneers have been excellent in the circle, posting a 1.88 ERA as a team.
• Emily Hester and Alexis Grampp have provided the pop in the lineup for Tusculum so far this season. Hester is hitting .293 with a team-high four home runs and nine runs batted in, while Grampp is batting .300 with three long balls, three doubles, and a team-high 11 RBI. Taylor Battle leads the team in triples (2) and stolen bases (8).
• Allison Pate and Taylor Plemons are each 3-2 in 11 combined starts on the year, while Ivee Richesin has started three games and has an ERA of 1.84. Pate has a team-low earned run average of 1.73 and 22 strikeouts, while Plemons has a 2.12 ERA and 21 strikeouts.
SCOUTING THE CATAWBA INDIANS
• The Indians sport a 9-6 overall record, but have dropped four of their last six games entering this week. Catawba is coming off a 4-2 loss to Francis Marion, in which the Indians mustered just four hits as a team.
• Jordan Dean has been excellent at the plate for Catawba this season, posting a .391 batting average with five dingers and 15 runs batted in. Allie Baker is hitting .375 with a homer and seven RBI, and Leah Huggins has knocked in 11 runs. Sydney Goertzen is hitting just .239 in the early going, but leads the Indians in walks (7) and is second in runs scored (12).
• The Indians rotation is anchored by Preston Ellenburg and Brooke Walser. Ellenburg has started seven games and has a 4-2 record with a 2.89 ERA and 37 strikeouts. Walser is 2-3 in six starts, and has walked just eight batters.
SCOUTING THE LENOIR-RHYNE BEARS
• Lenoir-Rhyne enters the week with a 12-7 overall record after a two-game split with Francis Marion on Sunday. The Bears have won eight of their last 10 games, and rank fifth in the SAC in total hits this season (140), but have struggled with strikeouts, ranking last in the conference in that category (118).
• Savannah Moorefield leads the Bears in hitting, averaging .391 in 64 at bats. The sophomore also leads the team in runs scored (22), triples (3), walks (10), total bases (41), and is third in runs batted in (9). Mackensi Swain has a team-high 15 RBI and four home runs, while Talon LaClair is batting .361 with 14 RBI and 11 runs scored.
• Brandi Parks is 8-3 in 13 appearances in the circle for Lenoir-Rhyne this season. She has a 3.29 ERA and a team-high 53 strikeouts in 10 starts. Emily Kenley has started six games for the Bears, and has a team-low 2.06 earned run average.
LOOKING AHEAD
• Following this week's games, Bloomsburg will had to travel to Shepherd University for a two-game set with the Rams on Wednesday, March 20. The Huskies will then head to Virginia State for a doubleheader on Saturday March 23. Game one with Shepherd is slated to begin at 2:30 p.m.
