Contact: Tim Ertle
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SETTING THE SCENE: After tournaments in South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia to start the 2012 season, the Vikings (2-11) will try their hand in Florida, starting with the Under Armour Showcase hosted by South Florida this weekend. CSU will play five games in three days, beginning with Temple on Friday (March 9) at 9:15 a.m. A game with Villanova will follow at 11:30 a.m., and the Vikings will begin the second day of competition with Central Michigan at 9:15 a.m. and then Canisius at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday (March 10). The tournament will conclude with a 9:00 a.m. game on Sunday (March 11) against Wagner.
2012 SEASON PREVIEW: The Vikings were picked to finish sixth in the Horizon League in the annual preseason poll, but when you talk to head coach Angie Nicholson, you get the sense this is a team that very well could sneak up on some people.
"We're a young team with four seniors and nine underclassmen, but this is a hard-working group that has a lot of talent and has shown me a lot in the fall," she said. "There is a lot of young talent who we're excited to get into our program, and we have a lot of players who have been a part of our program that we're looking to take on bigger roles and help us out."
Lefty Megan Bashak has waited her turn, and now she gets the opportunity to be the ace of the pitching staff. She made five starts in the circle in 2011 as a junior and compiled a 2-0 record with an ERA of 2.59. This year, she's 1-7 with a 2.79 ERA heading into the Under Armour Showcase.
New to the mix on the staff are freshman Alex Radjen (0-2, 7.22 ERA) and transfers Sara Shields (1-2, 4.87 ERA) and Kelsi Reed(0-0, 3.89 ERA).
With the loss of Amy Powell to graduation, the Vikings will rely on a pair of freshmen in Erica McNew (.136 BA) and Salena Kauffman to handle the duties behind home plate and oversee a pitching staff with not a lot of experience in Viking uniforms.
Dara Toman (.405, four HR, seven RBI), a preseason first team All-Horizon League selection, is one of two returners in the infield, but she spent a lot of time at second base in 2011 and figures to see the majority of time at first base this year. When not in the circle, Bashak (.269, one HR, five RBI) can slide over to first base and provide a nice replacement.
Immediately to her right will be Andrea Nagy (.270, four runs, two RBI) , a fifth-year senior, who has played a lot of shortstop for the Vikings but looks to be the second baseman in 2012. Afton Allred (.178, five RBI) figures to see time behind Nagy at second base.
A pair of true freshmen make up the left side of the infield. Cynthia Woodard (.220, one HR, four RBI) will start at shortstop and next to her is classmate Nena Doran (.311, four RBI, eight runs) to form a combination that Nicholson said has never been as strong.
The Vikings head into the season with two of the three outfield spots locked up: Alicia Nichols (.179, one run) in center field andCaila Ferro (.350, nine runs, four RBI) in right field. Who takes over in left field on a full-time basis remains to be seen. Luckily, Nicholson feels good about the cast of candidates she has at her disposal and hopes one of the underclassmen can develop into a piece she can count on.
Jasmin Filiaggi (.000, one run) - another member of the talented freshmen class - will provide outfield depth. Nicholson calls her one of the fastest players on the team and says she has learned a lot in the preseason since stepping foot on campus. Outfield is new to Brittani Newsome, but she could see some time there. She had four at-bats last season as a rookie, but has made herself more versatile by learning another position.
UP TO THE HYPE: After being tabbed as a first team preseason All-Horizon League performer, junior Dara Toman has proved to be more than worthy of her accolade. She leads the team in batting average (.405), slugging percentage (.784), on-base percentage (.488), hits (15), RBI (11), home runs (4) and total bases (29). Her totals have her tied for second in home runs, fourth in RBI, tied for sixth in hits and tied for eighth in the league in batting average.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Four true freshmen have started more than 50 percent of the games this season: Nena Doran (13 G-13 GS),Cynthia Woodard (13-13), Salena Kauffman (9-8) and Erica McNew (7-7).
GET TO THEM FIRST: Both times Cleveland State won this season, they scored in the first inning. On the flip side, the Vikings are 0-6 when their opponent strikes first.
DEFENSE HAS BEEN ACHILLES HEEL: Through the first 13 games of the season, the Vikings have struggled defensively. When the Vikings make an error, they're 0-9. When broken down further, the Vikings are 0-2 when they commit one error and 0-7 when they commit two or more years. In the four games that CSU hasn't made any defensive miscues, the Vikings are 2-2.
AND BASHAK HAS USUALLY BEEN THE VICTIM: Ace Megan Bashak has a 1-7 record this season, but a look at her stats show she really has had a good year. Of the 28 runs scored on her, 11 of them are unearned. Her 2.79 ERA is fifth in the Horizon League and her 26 strikeouts tie her for fourth in the league. She has a 2:1 strikeout to walk ratio (26 to 13).
NEXT UP: With the school closed for Spring Break next week, the Vikings will remain in Florida to participate in the Rebel Games in Kissimmee, Fla. Cleveland State will play two games on March 12, March 14, March 15 and March 16 before returning home and starting Horizon League play on March 24 at UIC.
