Contact: Jeff Sattora
SETTING THE SCENE: The Cleveland State Vikings will be on the road this weekend as they head to Stillwater, Oklahoma for five games in the Oklahoma State Tournament. CSU will first take on Santa Clara (11:00 a.m.) and Northern Iowa (1:30 p.m.) Friday, before then facing Oklahoma State Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Following those three games CSU will have two more contests TBD Saturday and Sunday. All times are in the Central Time Zone.
LAST TIME OUT: The Vikings were home for the first time in 2013 the weekend of February 16-17 when they hosted the first annual CSU Dome Tournament.
CSU had a strong 3-1 weekend at the first annual Invite. Freshman Susan Knight and senior Dara Toman were both honored by the Horizon League following their performances in the dome, with Knight winning the league's `Pitcher of the Week' and Toman winning the `Player of the Week' honor.
Knight ended the weekend 3-0 on the mound, with three complete game wins, while Toman end the Invite with a .545 batting average, one home run, and three runs batted in.
SHINING KNIGHT: Freshman Susan Knight made a statement in her first career collegiate action, picking up three complete game wins at the CSU Dome Invite.
Knight pitched the first game and shutout of her career in a 3-0 win over Bucknell to begin the weekend Saturday. She pitched seven strong innings in the win, giving up just three hits and striking out seven for the win. The freshman continued to pitch strong in her other two starts, allowing just six runs on 12 hits to pick up her next two wins, a 6-2 eight-inning victory over Bucknell and a 7-2 win over Canisius.
In her four appearances in total on the weekend Knight pitched 25 innings, giving up 20 hits and 10 runs, with just three of those runs being earned. She also struck out 11 batters and had just a 0.84 ERA.
PRESEASON RECOGNITION: Senior infielder Dara Toman, a 2012 Horizon League All-League First Team selection, was named First Team All-League preseason by College Sports Madness. Utility player Sara Shields was also named a Second Team All-League selection by the site. Shields was both a Second Team All-League and All-Newcomer team selection in 2012 in the Horizon League.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: The Cleveland State Vikings will have a very young roster this season, with multiple underclassman contributing at the early point in the season. Looking at the stats through nine games of the season, six freshman or sophomores have started at least five games and played in at least six. Freshman Alyson Broschk and Susan Knight have played in all nine games.
NEXT UP: CSU will head to Jackson, MS next weekend for a three day, six-game tournament at Jackson State Thursday through Saturday.
2013 SEASON PREVIEW BY POSITION:
Pitchers- With only one pitcher (Sara Shields), returning to the Vikings that picked up a win last season, CSU will be looking for a balanced team effort on the mound in 2013. Nicholson mentioned four players who she expects to be factors for CSU in the pitching spot in Sara Shields and Alex Radjen as returners, and Briana Combs and Susan Knight as freshman.
Catcher- Redshirt Freshman Erica McNew will be leading the way at this position for the Vikings this season. After starting the first seven games of the year last year in the green and white (batting .136), she went down with a torn ACL and is ready to bounce back in 2013. Freshman Lauren Look is also looking to compete for time behind the plate this upcoming year.
Infield- Dara Toman, a 2012 Horizon League First Team All-League selection, and Nena Doran, a 2012 All-Newcomer Horizon League selection will be returning in 2013 to lead a group with high expectations.
Toman led the CSU last season in batting average (.405), home runs (19), runs batted in (42), slugging percentage (.892), and on-base percentage (.553) and will be looking to do the same in 2013. While Doran, who filled in at shortstop for an injured Cynthia Woodard, was seventh in the Horizon League in assists with 94.
Filling out the infield at shortstop and second base is expected to be Cynthia Woodard at shortstop and Janessa Rivera-Keahi at second.
Outfield- Senior Caila Ferro is expecting to lead the way this season for the Vikings in the outfield. After hitting .266 in 52 games last season she unfortunately went down with an injury. Two freshmen will be competing to fill starting roles alongside Woodard in Allisha Silva and Alyson Broschk.
Other players who could contribute and see time in the outfield include Katelind Phillips and Darien Ward as freshman, and Nena Doran (when she is not in the infield), Afton Allred, and Hannah Yoe as returning players.
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