Contact: Tim Ertle
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Cleveland State (4-16) vs. Manhattan (1-5)
Date: Wed., March 14, at 9:00 a.m.
Site: Fortune Road Athletic Complex - Kissimmee, Fla.
Cleveland State vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (8-1)
LIVE STATS!
Date: Wed., March 14, at 11:00 a.m.
Site: Fortune Road Athletic Complex - Kissimmee, Fla.
Cleveland State vs. Wagner (1-10)
Date: Thurs., March 15, at 9:00 a.m.
Site: Oren Brown Park - Kissimmee, Fla.
Cleveland State vs. Howard (1-14)
Date: Thurs., March 15, at 11:00 a.m.
Site: Oren Brown Park - Kissimmee, Fla.
Cleveland State vs. Lafayette (0-4)
Date: Fri., March 16, at 11:00 a.m.
Site: Fortune Road Athletic Complex - Kissimmee, Fla.
Cleveland State vs. Rider (3-10-1)
Date: Fri., March 16, at 1:00 p.m.
Site: Fortune Road Athletic Complex - Kissimmee, Fla.
* Records entering Tuesday (3/13)
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SETTING THE SCENE: The Vikings will look to build on their success at the opening day of the Rebel Games, a day in which they won both contests to snap a six-game losing streak. Cleveland State beat Bryant, 4-3, and Nebraska-Omaha, 4-2, on Monday (March 12) and the team has a well-deserved off day on Tuesday (March 13) before getting back into the swing of things with six games in three days in Kissimmee, Fla. After a rigorous schedule to begin the year, CSU will battle six teams with a combined record of 14-44-1 entering Tuesday. With no NCAA institution serving as the host school, only Wednesday's game with Fairleigh Dickinson will be covered with live stats, available here.
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 1-9 with a 2.92 ERA heading into the Rebel Games.
New to the mix on the staff are freshman Alex Radjen (0-3, 5.92 ERA) and transfers Sara Shields (3-2, 3.59 ERA) and Kelsi Reed(0-0, 3.86 ERA).
With the loss of Amy Powell to graduation, the Vikings will rely on a pair of freshmen in Salena Kauffman (13 starts) and Erica McNew (.136 BA) to handle the duties behind home plate and oversee a pitching staff with not a lot of experience in Viking uniforms.
Dara Toman (.316, five HR, 14 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 (.271, five runs, five RBI), a fifth-year senior, who has played a lot of shortstop for the Vikings but looks to be the second baseman in 2012. Hannah Yoe (.211, three runs) has spent some time at second as well this season after being forced to sit out all of last season with an injury.
A pair of true freshmen see a lot of time on the left side of the infield. Cynthia Woodard (.258, two HR, six RBI) will start at shortstop and next to her is classmate Nena Doran (.269, eight RBI, nine runs) or Bashak (.250, four runs, five RBI) when she isn't in the circle.
The Vikings have two of the three outfield spots locked up: Caila Ferro (.246, 10 runs, six RBI) in center field and Alicia Nichols(.227, four runs) 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 (.139, six RBI). 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.
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 (.316), slugging percentage (.614), RBI (14), home runs (five), total bases (35) and is tied with Nena Doran for the team-lead in hits (18). Her totals have her tied for second in the league in home runs, tied for third in RBI, tied for seventh in hits and eighth in the league in batting average.
NICE TO MEET YOU: Through the first month of the season, the club is just starting to get comfortable with one another. Six players who are competing for the Vikings for the first time in 2012 have started at least seven games: Cynthia Woodard (20 starts), Nena Doran (19), Salena Kauffman (13), Sara Shields (eight), Erica McNew (seven) and Hannah Yoe (seven).
BUCK THE TREND: Monday's victories ended two trends that have nipped at the Vikings heels all season. After Bryant scored first, Cleveland State came from behind to win, making it the first time in 10 instances that the opponent scored first and the Vikings came out victorious. Both wins on Monday came in games when CSU made errors. Entering the Rebel Games, CSU was 0-12 in games in which they made defensive miscues.
BASHAK'S BEEN GOOD: Ace Megan Bashak has a 1-9 record this season, but a look at her stats show she really has had a good year. Of the 37 runs scored on her, 15 of them are unearned. Her 2.92 ERA ranks fifth in the Horizon League and she is also fifth in the league with 29 strikeouts.
NEXT UP: After the Rebel Games, Cleveland State will return home and begin preperations for the Horizon League portion of their schedule. CSU kicks off league play on Saturday (March 24) at UIC. CSU's first home series isn't until April 3.
