Contact: Tim Ertle
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Cleveland State (8-21, 1-2 HL) vs. Robert Morris (14-12, 3-1 NEC)
Dates: Wednesday, March 28, at 3:00 p.m. -- Wednesday, March 28, at 5:00 p.m.
Site: The North Athletic Complex - Moon Township, Pa.
Cleveland State/Robert Morris Live Stats
Cleveland State vs. Youngstown State (15-6, 2-1 HL)*
Dates: Friday, March 30, at 3:00 p.m. -- Friday, March 30, at 5:00 p.m. -- Saturday, March 31, at 12:00 p.m.
Site: McCune Park (Field Four) - Canfield, Ohio
Cleveland State/Youngstown State Live Stats
* Youngstown State's record is accurate heading into Tuesday's (March 27) doubleheader with Akron.
SETTING THE SCENE: After kicking off Horizon League play with a 1-2 trip to UIC last weekend (March 24-25), the Vikings (8-21, 1-2 HL) will take a quick break from league competition with a mid-week doubleheader at Robert Morris (14-12, 3-1 NEC) on Wednesday (March 28) before a league series on the road against Youngstown State (15-6, 2-1 HL) this weekend (March 30-31). Both doubleheaders will start at 3:00 p.m. with the second game to follow. Saturday's final game with Youngstown State is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m.
Robert Morris had won eight games in a row before splitting a doubleheader with Wagner on Sunday. Youngstown State is fresh off a 2-1 series win over Butler this past weekend as they enter Tuesday's (March 27) non-league doubleheader against Akron.
GPS ALERT: McCune Park - where Youngstown State plays its softball games - does not have an assigned street address. If fans are traveling to the games this weekend and using the Internet for directions, they're instructed to use the following address:
5627 Shields RoadCanfield, Ohio 44406
ALL-TIME WITH THE COLONIALS: After the first 29 get-togethers, the Vikings lead the all-time series with Robert Morris, 20-9 (.690). Cleveland State has won four of the last five meetings, including the last one, 6-1, on April 25, 2010.
ALL-TIME WITH THE PENGUINS: Cleveland State holds a narrow 46-45 advantage in the all-time series with the Vikings taking 10 of the last 11 meetings dating back to the start of the 2008 season. Last year, the Vikings took all three meetings in late April and outscored the Penguins 17-2.
LAST TIME OUT: The Vikings won the league opener 3-1 over the Flames on Saturday (March 24) thanks to a solo shot fromDara Toman and a two-out, two-run single from Andrea Nagy in the sixth. That was all Sara Shields needed as she allowed one run over seven innings. The Vikings dropped the second game of the doubleheader 8-1 and were within one out of taking the rubber match on Sunday (March 25). CSU fought back from an early 3-0 deficit and lost the game in the 10th inning on a two-out, two-run double to fall to 0-5 in games that were decided in extra innings.
Toman led the offense with a 5-for-9 (.556) weekend, including her team-best ninth homer of the season. Shields was 4-for-12 (.333) and 1-1 in the circle with two complete games and a 2.52 ERA in 16.2 innings.
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 one of the leaders 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 2-11 with a 3.26 ERA. Sara Shields, a sophomore transfer from Lake Erie College, has become a reliable pitcher and has a 6-4 record and an ERA of 3.14 in her first 17 appearances.
New to the mix on the staff are freshman Alex Radjen (0-3, 5.36 ERA) and transfer Kelsi Reed (0-0, 3.50 ERA). They pair with veterans Brittany Bate and Brandy Holmes, both of whom are 0-1 so far this season.
With the loss of Amy Powell to graduation, the Vikings will rely on freshman Salena Kauffman (20 starts) to handle the bulk of the load behind the dish. Her classmate Erica McNew (.136 BA) started seven games before suffering a knee injury that ended her season.
Dara Toman (.388, nine home runs, 22 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.
Immediately to her right will usually be Andrea Nagy (.258, nine runs, 12 RBI), a fifth-year senior, who has played a lot of shortstop for the Vikings but looks to be the second baseman in 2012.
An injury to true freshman Cynthia Woodard (.273, 10 RBI, 11 runs) has moved her classmate Nena Doran (.250, two home runs, 11 runs, 10 RBI) from third base to shortstop.
Hannah Yoe (.212, three runs) will see time at third, as will Bashak (.273, nine runs, eight RBI) when she isn't in the circle.
The Vikings have two of the three outfield spots locked up: Caila Ferro (.244, 11 runs, nine RBI) in center field and Alicia Nichols(.282, 10 runs, seven stolen bases) in right. 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. Nagy has spent time in the outfield, as has Afton Allred (.155, eight RBI). Jasmin Filiaggi(0/8, two runs) - 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. Brittany Newsome (0/3) could also see time in the outfield.
WE MISS YOU: Two true freshmen who the Vikings were counting on for big things in 2012 had their seasons cut short due to injury. Erica McNew started the first seven games of the season before her season ended. Cynthia Woodard started all 25 games at shortstop before her season came to a screeching halt.
...WHICH HAS MOVED PEOPLE AROUND: Injuries have forced a few Vikings to play multiple positions. Nena Doran started at third base and caught before seeing more time at shortstop with the Woodard injury. Hannah Yoe has seen time at second base, third base and even some time in the outfield.
UP TO THE HYPE: After being tabbed as a first team preseason All-Horizon League performer, Dara Toman has proved to be more than worthy of the honor. She leads the team in batting average (.388), slugging percentage (.800), RBI (22), home runs (nine), total bases (68), hits (33) and runs scored (20). She is tied for 25th in the country in home runs and ranks 30th in slugging percentage (through March 25).
...AND TOMAN's POWER IS RECORD SETTING: With a home run to center field to start the second inning against Tennessee State on February 11th, Dara Toman passed Lia Gordon to become the all-time home run leader in program history. Gordon belted 26 homers during her playing career that lasted from 2007-10. After hitting 16 homers as a freshman in 2010, Toman responded with 10 blasts last season. Nine more home runs this summer give her 35 for her career.
IN THE ZONE: Both Sara Shields and Alicia Nichols enter the doubleheader with Robert Morris riding the wave of a four-game hitting streak - dating back to CSU's final game of the Rebel Spring Games against Rider in Kissimmee, Fla. back on March 16. Since the hitting streaks began, Shields is hitting at a .357 clip (5-14) while Nichols is hitting .353 (6-17) in her last four games. Afton Allred has a hit in three straight games. The longest hitting streak by a Viking this season is seven games, done by both Nena Doran and Dara Toman.
SENIORS IN THE CLUTCH: On a team with just four seniors, veterans are needed to step up in big situations. Seniors Andrea Nagy and Alicia Nichols have done that all season for the club - especially with runners in scoring position. Nagy leads the team with a .382 (13-34) average in those types of situations, and Nichols is 5-12 (.417) with runners in scoring position.
HIT PARADE: In CSU's 10-6 win over Manhattan on March 14th, each of the first six batters had at least two hits: Alicia Nichols,Megan Bashak, Andrea Nagy, Dara Toman, Cynthia Woodard and Caila Ferro. So far this season, 11 different Vikings have a multi-hit game to their name. Five different student-athletes (Toman three times, Nena Doran, Nichols, Woodard and Salena Kauffman) have recorded three hits in a single game.
PLAY GOOD 'D' AND KEEP IT LOW SCORING: The Vikings are 4-0 when holding their opponent under two runs and 6-7 when making one error or less. In the 16 games that CSU has committed two or more errors, the Vikings are 2-14.
NEXT UP: After 34 games as the away team or at a neutral site, CSU will finally play at Viking Field next week. Niagara visits Cleveland for a doubleheader on Wednesday (April 4) that will begin at 3:00 p.m. Cleveland State finishes the week with a series against Wright State that will get started with a game on Friday (April 6) and finish with a doubleheader starting at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday (April 7).
