Contact: Tim Ertle
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Cleveland State (14-36, 6-12 HL) vs. Detroit (10-36, 2-15 HL)
Dates/Times: Tuesday, May 1, at 4:00 p.m. -- Tuesday, May 1, at 6:00 p.m. -- Wednesday, May 2, at 3:00 p.m.
Site: Viking Field - Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland State/Detroit (Game One) Live Stats
Cleveland State/Detroit (Game Two) Live Stats
Cleveland State/Detroit (Game Three) Live Stats
Cleveland State/Detroit Live Webcasts
Cleveland State vs. Valparaiso (32-16, 16-5 HL) *
Dates/Times: Friday, May 4, at 5:00 p.m. -- Saturday, May 5, at 12:00 p.m. -- Saturday, May 5, at 2:00 p.m.
Site: Viking Field - Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland State/ Valparaiso (Game One) Live Stats
Cleveland State/ Valparaiso (Game Two) Live Stats
Cleveland State/ Valparaiso (Game Three) Live Stats
Cleveland State/Valparaiso Live Webcasts
* Records accurate as of May 1, 2012.
SETTING THE SCENE: The Cleveland State softball team (14-36, 6-12 Horizon League) will be looking to secure a spot in the Horizon League Tournament as the Vikings close the 2012 regular season with six home games against league foes. Last place Detroit (10-36, 2-15 HL) visits for three games beginning on Tuesday (May 1) before league-leader Valparaiso comes to town for a three-game set that will begin on Friday (May 4). The Crusaders are 32-16 and 16-5 in the league as they prepare to host a non-league doubleheader with Western Michigan on Wednesday (May 2).
ALL-TIME WITH THE TITANS: Entering this series, Cleveland State and Detroit have met 40 times and the Vikings are 32-8 (.800). The last Titan victory over the Vikings came in a 4-2 decision on May 7, 2006. CSU has defeated Detroit in 14 consecutive meetings, including 13 straight wins since Angie Nicholson took over as head coach before the 2007 season.
ALL-TIME WITH THE CRUSADERS: Cleveland State and Valparaiso have met for 22 contests and the Vikings have come out on top 14 times, good for a .636 winning percentage. Last season, Valparaiso defeated Cleveland State in all three meetings, including CSU's season-ending loss in the Horizon League Tournament. The last time the Crusaders visited Cleveland was during the 2010 season and the Vikings won all three games.
LAST TIME OUT: The Vikings took one of three from visiting Butler over the weekend, winning the series opener on a 7-5 count on Saturday (April 28) before dropping both games on Sunday (April 29). Megan Bashak hit a two-run homer and went the distance in the circle while striking out a career-high 10 in the opener. Alicia Nichols (4-10) and Dara Toman (2-5) both hit at a .400 clip in the three-game series while Caila Ferro, Nena Doran and Hannah Yoe were all 3-for-10 (.300).
IN THE ZONE: Dara Toman enters the week having reached base safely in 30 consecutive games. During the streak, Toman has hit .467 with 13 home runs and 24 RBI. Her on-base percentage is .640, thanks to her 32 walks during the 30-game span. This season, Toman has drawn a school record 40 walks, besting J.J. Thornberry's school record of 34 that was set during the 2006 campaign.
KAUFFMAN's PROGRESS: After Erica McNew went down, Salena Kauffman stepped in as the catcher but was in the flex spot and didn't bat. Once she was inserted in the lineup, she was hitless in her first 10 at-bats. Kauffman got her first base knock in a three-hit performance against Rider on March 16 and since then, she's fourth on the team with a .290 (20-69) average in a span that covers 25 games.
2012 SEASON PREVIEW: The Vikings were picked to finish sixth in the Horizon League in the annual preseason poll and heading into the final week of the season, head coach Angie Nicholson's squad is fighting to qualify for the six-team postseason tournament.
"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," she said. "There is a lot of young talent that we're excited to have in our program, and we have a lot of players who have been a part of our program that we're looking at to take on bigger roles."
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 4-16 with a save and a 3.75 ERA. Sara Shields, a sophomore transfer from Lake Erie College, has made her impact known immediately. She's become a reliable pitcher and has a 10-13 record with a team-best 101 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.63 in her first 31 appearances (20 starts) while hitting .322 with five homers, 15 RBI and 21 runs scored.
New to the mix on the staff are freshman Alex Radjen (0-3, 4.52 ERA) and transfer Kelsi Reed (0-1, 5.00 ERA). They pair with veterans Brittany Bate (4.60 ERA) and Brandy Holmes (18.67 ERA in three innings) to round out the staff.
With the loss of Amy Powell to graduation, the Vikings will rely on freshman Salena Kauffman (41 starts - .253, two homers, nine RBI) 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 and Nena Doran will serve as the emergency catcher.
Dara Toman (.402, 18 home runs, 38 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 has held down the fort at first base this year.
Immediately to her right is usually Andrea Nagy (.219, 18 runs, 20 RBI), a fifth-year senior, who has played a lot of shortstop for the Vikings but has taken over as the second baseman in 2012. An injury to true freshman Cynthia Woodard (.273, 10 RBI, 11 runs) moved Doran (.227, three home runs, 15 runs, 18 RBI) from third base to shortstop.
Alicia Nichols (.276, 20 runs, 11/16 stolen base attempts) was the full-time starter in right field until she debuted at third base against Notre Dame on April 19. She has spent the past seven games at third, a spot where Brittani Newsome (.176) also receives some time.
Hannah Yoe (.181, six runs, six RBI) won the left field job and Caila Ferro (.277, two home runs, 15 RBI, 16 runs) has fought injuries all season while starting 46 games - most of which have been in center field.
When not in the circle, Bashak (.239, four home runs, 16 runs, 17 RBI) has played some third base but has been in right field as of late after Nichols transitioned to the infield. In instances when Bashak is pitching, Afton Allred (.176, three runs, 10 RBI) has played right field.
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 year ended. Cynthia Woodard started the first 25 games at shortstop before her season came to a screeching halt. Injuries have forced a few Vikings to play multiple positions.Nena Doran started at third base and caught before seeing time exclusively at shortstop with the Woodard injury. Hannah Yoe has seen time at second base, third base and lately a lmost exclusively 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 (.402), slugging percentage (.902), RBI (38), home runs (18), total bases (119), hits (53) and runs scored (41). She is sixth nationally in slugging percentage is tied for eighth in the country in home runs (through April 29).
...AND TOMAN's POWER IS RECORD SETTING: With her first homer of the season against Tennessee State on February 11th,Dara Toman passed Lia Gordon to become the all-time home run leader in program history. Gordon hit 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 18 home runs this season equal Tess Sito's school record for the most in a single season set in 2010. Toman, who has 44 career home runs, is two shy of the single season Horizon League record and eight away from tying the league career record of 52 set by UIC's Amanda Rivera.
SHE'S BACK: Caila Ferro started the season with a bang, hitting .462 in her first four games of the season to earn all-tournament honors at the South Carolina Palmetto Classic. She didn't have an at-bat between March 16 and March 28 because of injury, but since returning to the lineup, Ferro is hitting .305 (18-59) with six RBI and five runs scored in her last 21 games.
SENIOR IN THE CLUTCH: On a team with just four seniors, veterans are needed to step up in big situations. Senior Andrea Nagyhas done that all season for the club - especially with baserunners in scoring position. Nagy leads the team (20 chances to qualify) with a .345 (19-55) average in those types of situations. Salena Kauffman is 6-for-12 (.500) with runners in scoring position while Dara Toman (11-for-33, .333) and Nena Doran (13-for-43, .302) have excelled under pressure.
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 for a grand total of 72 two-hit games. Seven different student-athletes (Nena Doran, Salena Kauffman(twice), Nagy, Nichols, Toman (three times), Shields and Woodard have recorded three hits in a single game.
PLAY GOOD 'D': The Vikings are 10-12 when committing one error or less. In the 28 games that CSU has committed two or more errors, the Vikings are 4-24.
IT'S A SMALL WORLD: Cleveland State freshman Nena Doran played with Detroit's Vanessa Garcia and Kat Hoffman at Milan High School in Michigan. The Big Reds combined to go 65-10 during the 2010 and 2011 seasons and lost in the 2011 Division II state title game.
NEXT UP: Six teams will qualify for the Horizon League Softball Championship to be held May 9-12 at the home field of the regular season champion.