Contact: Tim Ertle
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Cleveland State (8-26, 1-5 HL) vs. Niagara (4-16)*
Date: Wednesday, April 4, at 3:00 p.m. Site: Viking Field - Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland State/Niagara Live Stats
Cleveland State/Niagara Live Webcast
Cleveland State vs. Wright State (14-17, 4-2 HL)*
Dates: Friday, April 6, at 3:00 p.m. -- Saturday, April 7, at 12:00 p.m. -- Saturday, April 7, at 2:00 p.m.
Site: Viking Field - Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland State/Wright State Live Stats (Friday)
Cleveland State/Wright State Live Stats (Saturday - Game One)
Cleveland State/Wright State Live Stats (Saturday - Game Two)
Cleveland State/Wright Live Webcast
* Records are accurate as of Tuesday, April 3rd. *
SETTING THE SCENE: After 34 games away from the friendly confines of Viking Field, the Cleveland State softball team (8-26, 1-5 Horizon League) will finally get to compete in front of the home fans. The Vikings will be looking to snap a seven-game losing streak when they host Niagara (14-17) for a non-league game at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday (April 4) before welcoming Wright State (14-17, 4-2 HL) to town for a weekend series that begins Friday (April 6).
Niagara visits Akron for a doubleheader on Tuesday (April 3) before coming to Cleveland as part of a trip through Ohio. The Purple Eagles host their Home Opener against Mount St. Mary's on Friday. It isn't until April 14th that Niagara begins Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play against Iona.
While CSU is taking on Niagara on Wednesday, Wright State has a non-league game with Ball State in Fairborn, Ohio before the trek to Cleveland.
WATCH IT LIVE: All four games this week will be available for free in a Webcast format available through the Horizon League Network. Fans can easily find the action at www.HorizonLeague.org.
ALL-TIME WITH THE PURPLE EAGLES: Wednesday will be the 31st all-time meeting between Cleveland State and Niagara and the Vikings lead the series, 21-9 (.700). Niagara swept last year's doubleheader, but prior to that CSU had won the last seven meetings. Angie Nicholson is 6-2 against NU since arriving at CSU in 2007.
ALL-TIME WITH THE RAIDERS: Cleveland State and Wright State have met 77 times and the Vikings have come out on top 40 times, good for a .541 winning percentage. These two teams played the longest game in CSU history, an 18 inning affair back on March 29, 2003. Wright State won the game 11-10.
LAST TIME OUT: The Vikings had a tough week, dropping five road games last week to extend their losing skid to seven games. CSU lost two games to Robert Morris on Wednesday (March 28) before dropping a pair to Youngstown State on Saturday (March 31) and the finale with the Penguins on Sunday (April 1). The Vikings lost the first four games by a combined six runs. Dara Tomansparked the offense by hitting .467 (7-15) last week including five home runs - one of which went for her first career grand slam.Sara Shields hit .400 (6-15) while clubbing two homers and Alicia Nichols was 6-for-17 (.453) with four runs scored. Caila Ferrohit for the first time since March 16 in the series against YSU and was 3-for-10.
...AND FOR HER EFFORTS: Dara Toman was named the Horizon League Co-Softball Player of the Week for the week of March 26-April 1, sharing the honor with Valparaiso's Jordan Rutkowski. Toman was dialed in all week as she hit .467 (7-15) and slugged at a 1.533 clip over the five-game span. She scored nine runs and drove in 11 while amassing 23 total bases in two games against Robert Morris and three against Youngstown State. She had two multi-home run games and five blasts on the week, including her first career grand slam against Youngstown State (March 31). After her week - which included round-trippers in three straight games - Toman leads the Horizon League with 14 home runs.
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 6-9 record and an ERA of 3.50 in her first 21 appearances.
New to the mix on the staff are freshman Alex Radjen (0-3, 5.91 ERA) and transfer Kelsi Reed (0-1, 5.00 ERA). They pair with veterans Brittany Bate (4.48 ERA) 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 (25 starts - .211 ) to handle the bulk of the load behind the dish. Her classmate Erica McNew (.136) started seven games before suffering a knee injury that ended her season.
Dara Toman (.404, 14 home runs, 33 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 (.259, 12 runs, 13 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 (.237, two home runs, 11 runs, 11 RBI) from third base to shortstop.
Hannah Yoe (.211, three runs) will see time at third, as will Bashak (.269, nine runs, eight RBI) when she isn't in the circle. Brittani Newsome (.214) could also see time at third base or in the outfield.
The Vikings have two of the three outfield spots locked up: Caila Ferro (.261, 12 runs, nine RBI) and Alicia Nichols (.301, 14 runs, eight stolen bases) will move back and forth in center and 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. Afton Allred (.171, 10 RBI) has seen the most playing time in left field this season and has done a solid job. 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.
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 the first 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 time almost exclusively 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 (.404), slugging percentage (.919), RBI (33), home runs (14), total bases (91), hits (40) and runs scored (29). She is tied for sixth in the country in home runs and ranks eighth in slugging percentage (through April 1).
...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. Her 14 home runs this season give her 40 for her career.
IN THE ZONE: Sara Shields enters the week riding the wave of a nine-game hitting streak which dates back to CSU's final contest of the Rebel Spring Games against Rider in Kissimmee, Fla. back on March 16. Since the hitting streak began, Shields is producing at a .379 clip (11-29) with four homers and nine RBI in addition to scoring seven runs. This offensive success comes one year after Shields had just 35 at-bats as a freshman at Lake Erie College.
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 .359 (14-39) average in those types of situations, and Nichols is 5-14 (.357) with runners in scoring position. Toman is third on the team, hitting .355 (11-31) 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. Six different student-athletes (Nena Doran, Salena Kauffman Nagy, Nichols, Toman (three times) and Woodard 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 21 games that CSU has committed two or more errors, the Vikings are 2-19.
FOR THE KIDS: Following Saturday's doubleheader, an Easter egg hunt will take place out on Viking Field.
NEXT UP: CSU will close its eight-game homestand with a pair of non-league doubleheaders next week. Kent State visits Viking Field on Tuesday (April 10) and St. Francis (Pa.) is in town Thursday (April 12). Both doubleheaders are slated to begin at 3:00 p.m.
