GAME #43
HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
vs. Youngstown State
Weds., May 7 • 1:30 pm
Fairborn, Ohio
THE FIRST PITCH:
• Cleveland State will take part in the Horizon League Championship that runs from Wednesday through Saturday (May 7-10) at Wright State.
• The Vikings enter the tournament as the No. 5 seed and will play fourth-seeded Youngstown State in a first round game at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday (May 7).
• The two teams split a pair of games in Youngstown on March 31. YSU won the opener, 8-4, with CSU taking the nightcap, 4-3.
• A win over the Penguins would send CSU into a second round game versus top-seeded Green Bay on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
• A loss to YSU would put CSU in an elimination game at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday (May 8) against the loser of Game Three between No. 3 Valparaiso/No. 6 UIC and No. 2 Wright State.
• The Vikings enter the league tournament with a 24-18 overall record and finished the season with an 8-8 mark in league play.
• At last year's league championship, CSU fell to Wright State, 4-3, in the opening round, but bounced back to knock out Loyola in an elimination game. CSU's run came to an end with a 4-3 setback to Valparaiso.
• The Vikings last won the league title in 2009 and have finished second five other times since 2005.
PHILLIPS JUST GETS ON BASE:
• Katelind Phillps leads the team with a .382 average with 17 runs, four doubles, two triples, a home run and 17 RBI.
• Phillips is second in the league with 23 walks and has five sacrifice hits, making her three at-bats shy of the minimum to be included in the league stats.
• If she was eligible to be in the stats, Phillips would rank fourth in average and first with a .504 on-base percentage.
• Her .504 on-base percentage is second best in school history, behind Dara Toman's .553 in 2012.
WOODARD STRONG AT THE PLATE:
• Cynthia Woodard is 8th in the league with a .349 average and 3rd in slugging (.643), doubles (11) and homers (9).
• Woodard hit a walk-off home run to lead off the bottom of the seventh in a 7-6 win over Green Bay on April 18.
• She was the League Player of the Week on March 3.
IN THE CIRCLE:
• CSU's pitching staff has been solid all year, posting a 2.87 ERA, second best in the league.
• Susan Knight is 11-13 with a 2.74 ERA and 91 strikeouts.
• Alex Radjen is 7-3 with a 2.70 ERA and 61 strikeouts.
• Sara Shields is 6-2 with a 3.31 ERA and opponents are hitting a league-worst .229 against her. She threw the 12th no hitter in CSU history in a win over Quinnipiac on March 7.
• Teams are hitting just .246 off CSU's pitching this year, the lowest against any team in the league this season.
• CSU's pitching staff has combined for seven shutouts this year, including three from Radjen.
• The trio has combined to win six of the 13 Horizon League Pitcher of the Week awards this year.
• Radjen has won the award three times with Shields winnings two awards and Knight claiming one.
McNEW POSTS ANOTHER STRONG YEAR:
• Erica McNew is having another strong season, ranking sixth in the league with a .355 average.
• Tallied 25 runs with 8 doubles, 6 homers and 16 RBI.
• Her 43 hits are 10th best in the league.
• McNew's .386 career batting average (102-for-264) is tops in school history, while her 24 home runs are third at CSU. She has scord 67 runs and drive in 60 in her career.
• In league only games, McNew hit .404 (19-47) with 13 runs, four doubles, three homers and five RBI.
BIG YEAR FOR BROSCHK:
• Alyson Broschk is hitting .316 with nine doubles, four homers and a team-best 25 runs batted in.
• She had a team-best 11 game hitting streak earlier in the year and reached base safely in 14 straight contests.
• Broschk is hitting .463 (19-41) with runners in scoring position and .643 (9-14) with a runner on third and less than two outs.
• With two outs, she is batting .385 (15-39) and has driven in eight runs.
UP NEXT:
• The winner of the league tournament will recieve an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
• The 2014 NCAA Softball Championship bracket will be announced on Sunday (May 11) at 10:00 p.m. on ESPNU.
