Friday, May 4
Fort Wayne, Ind.
5:00 p.m.
Purdue Fort Wayne
vs
South Dakota
Photo by: Lucas Carter
Home Finale Arrives for IPFW Softball
5/3/2012 2:41:00 PM | Softball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The record-setting IPFW softball team will host its final three home games of the season this weekend, as the South Dakota Coyotes come to town for a three-game series at the IPFW Softball Field. Friday's doubleheader will be the Janet I. Lebamoff Pink Out Day, while Saturday the team will honor its two seniors, Courtney Cronin and Cassie Wolfe.
Game: vs. South Dakota (16-36, 12-9 Summit League)
When: Friday, May 4, 2012 | 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. - Saturday, May 5, 2012 | 1 p.m.
Where: Fort Wayne, Ind. | IPFW Softball Field
Live Stats: IPFW Sidearm Live Stats
ABOUT IPFW
The Mastodons come into the game with a school-record 39 wins against just 12 losses this season, the wins marking a 10-game improvement on the previous single-season record.
The team's pitching staff continues to provide the ammunition for the team's strong play, and the staff is aced by Courtney Cronin, who has a 17-2 record and 1.24 ERA, with 108 striketous in 136 innings. Miranda Kramer is 12-4 with a 1.96 ERA, as Megan Flenniken is 10-6 and a 2.04 ERA, giving the Mastodons the only team in the Summit League this year three pitchers with double-figure wins.
Leading the team at the plate is a quartet of players with batting averages over .340, led by Alex Bousquet who is batting .371 and has an on-base percentage of .533. Larissa Franklin (.360), Brittany Kachur (.350), and Ashleigh Bousquet (.342) are each north of .300 this season, with Mackenzie Ritsema (.280) and Kayti hanson (.276) not far from the pace. Franklin leads the team with 24 stolen bases, while Ashleigh Bousquet and Cronin each have eight home runs, with Alex Bousquet sitting with seven.
ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA
South Dakota comes into the final weekend of the regular season after sweeping the Western Illinois Leathernecks at home the weekend prior. The three wins snapped a skid for the Coyotes as USD had lost eight of its last nine games.
The balanced Coyote offense has been paced by Katie Dinning, who is batting .292 on the year with 18 runs scored, a team-high six triples, 15 RBI, and 13 stolen bases. Christine Broders is batting .262 with 12 RBI, as Alexa Rudeen leads the team with 17 RBI this season. Lindsey Boyd has a team-best 28 runs scored, in addition to pilfering 27 bases during the season.
The pitching staff is led by Erica Denney, who is 10-17 this year with a 3.38 ERA, as Missy Blackburn is 5-12 with a 5.09 ERA. Denney has 103 strikeouts in 159.1 innings of work, as Blackburn has 51 k's in 108.2 innings this season.
ALL-TIME SERIES
This weekend's series will be the second, third and fourth games all-time between the two teams, as the squads met once previously, in Kissimmee, Florida at the Rebel Spring Games in 2009. In that game, a 2-1 South Dakota win, the Coyotes scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to snap a 1-1 tie. Courtney Cronin struck out nine Coyotes in the game, as just one USD player on the current roster, Alexa Rudeen, played, and two from IPFW (Cronin and Cassie Wolfe)
QUICK HITTERS
• IPFW sophomore Ashleigh Bousquet was named the Summit League Player of the Week for her performances against Central Michigan and IUPUI, including hitting a school-record-tying three home runs in the series opener with the Jaguars.
• Ashleigh Bousquet has a school-record 56 RBI this season, which stands as the sixth highest single-season total in Summit League history, and with four more will take over the single-season record.
• With one more win, IPFW will become the 12th program in Summit League history to eclipse the 40-win plateau in a season, and the first since Western Illinois won 46 games in 2000.
• Today's game is the Janet I. Lebamoff Pink Out Day, presented by Dare to be a Champion, and there is a silent auction for many things including a team-autographed pink jersey and softball available.
SUMMIT TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS
The Mastodons have clinched a berth into the 2012 Summit League Tournament, but their seeding is still very much up for grabs. The 'Dons could finish as high as the No. 1 seed with a sweep of South Dakota and a Southern Utah sweep of North Dakota State. A single win by the Bison, however, gives the NDSU the regular season title. IPFW holds the tiebreakers over Southern Utah, Western Illinois, and UMKC - the teams that still have a chance to advance to the tournament.
IPFW would need to match or better the outcome of Southern Utah this weekend to stay at the No. 2 seed, and one win over the weekend would keep the 'Dons out of the fourth seed. Three of the four teams have clinched berths, with the fourth and final spot coming up for grabs this weekend. 2012 Tournament host UMKC, is facing off against Western Illinois in Macomb, Ill., and a sweep by the Kangaroos would put UMKC into the tournament, but just one win for the Leathernecks clinches the fourth and final playoff spot for WIU.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Game: vs. South Dakota (16-36, 12-9 Summit League)
When: Friday, May 4, 2012 | 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. - Saturday, May 5, 2012 | 1 p.m.
Where: Fort Wayne, Ind. | IPFW Softball Field
Live Stats: IPFW Sidearm Live Stats
ABOUT IPFW
The Mastodons come into the game with a school-record 39 wins against just 12 losses this season, the wins marking a 10-game improvement on the previous single-season record.
The team's pitching staff continues to provide the ammunition for the team's strong play, and the staff is aced by Courtney Cronin, who has a 17-2 record and 1.24 ERA, with 108 striketous in 136 innings. Miranda Kramer is 12-4 with a 1.96 ERA, as Megan Flenniken is 10-6 and a 2.04 ERA, giving the Mastodons the only team in the Summit League this year three pitchers with double-figure wins.
Leading the team at the plate is a quartet of players with batting averages over .340, led by Alex Bousquet who is batting .371 and has an on-base percentage of .533. Larissa Franklin (.360), Brittany Kachur (.350), and Ashleigh Bousquet (.342) are each north of .300 this season, with Mackenzie Ritsema (.280) and Kayti hanson (.276) not far from the pace. Franklin leads the team with 24 stolen bases, while Ashleigh Bousquet and Cronin each have eight home runs, with Alex Bousquet sitting with seven.
ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA
South Dakota comes into the final weekend of the regular season after sweeping the Western Illinois Leathernecks at home the weekend prior. The three wins snapped a skid for the Coyotes as USD had lost eight of its last nine games.
The balanced Coyote offense has been paced by Katie Dinning, who is batting .292 on the year with 18 runs scored, a team-high six triples, 15 RBI, and 13 stolen bases. Christine Broders is batting .262 with 12 RBI, as Alexa Rudeen leads the team with 17 RBI this season. Lindsey Boyd has a team-best 28 runs scored, in addition to pilfering 27 bases during the season.
The pitching staff is led by Erica Denney, who is 10-17 this year with a 3.38 ERA, as Missy Blackburn is 5-12 with a 5.09 ERA. Denney has 103 strikeouts in 159.1 innings of work, as Blackburn has 51 k's in 108.2 innings this season.
ALL-TIME SERIES
This weekend's series will be the second, third and fourth games all-time between the two teams, as the squads met once previously, in Kissimmee, Florida at the Rebel Spring Games in 2009. In that game, a 2-1 South Dakota win, the Coyotes scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to snap a 1-1 tie. Courtney Cronin struck out nine Coyotes in the game, as just one USD player on the current roster, Alexa Rudeen, played, and two from IPFW (Cronin and Cassie Wolfe)
QUICK HITTERS
• IPFW sophomore Ashleigh Bousquet was named the Summit League Player of the Week for her performances against Central Michigan and IUPUI, including hitting a school-record-tying three home runs in the series opener with the Jaguars.
• Ashleigh Bousquet has a school-record 56 RBI this season, which stands as the sixth highest single-season total in Summit League history, and with four more will take over the single-season record.
• With one more win, IPFW will become the 12th program in Summit League history to eclipse the 40-win plateau in a season, and the first since Western Illinois won 46 games in 2000.
• Today's game is the Janet I. Lebamoff Pink Out Day, presented by Dare to be a Champion, and there is a silent auction for many things including a team-autographed pink jersey and softball available.
SUMMIT TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS
The Mastodons have clinched a berth into the 2012 Summit League Tournament, but their seeding is still very much up for grabs. The 'Dons could finish as high as the No. 1 seed with a sweep of South Dakota and a Southern Utah sweep of North Dakota State. A single win by the Bison, however, gives the NDSU the regular season title. IPFW holds the tiebreakers over Southern Utah, Western Illinois, and UMKC - the teams that still have a chance to advance to the tournament.
IPFW would need to match or better the outcome of Southern Utah this weekend to stay at the No. 2 seed, and one win over the weekend would keep the 'Dons out of the fourth seed. Three of the four teams have clinched berths, with the fourth and final spot coming up for grabs this weekend. 2012 Tournament host UMKC, is facing off against Western Illinois in Macomb, Ill., and a sweep by the Kangaroos would put UMKC into the tournament, but just one win for the Leathernecks clinches the fourth and final playoff spot for WIU.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Huge Dubs!
Saturday, May 10
Mastodon Softball walks off NKU
Friday, April 25
Softball Win over IUPUI
Monday, April 15
Winning 'Dons are Happy 'Dons!
Sunday, February 25
