May 10, 2005
Contact: Alan Ashby
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Surging Vikings Head To Green Bay For Horizon League Championship: Cleveland State heads into this week's Horizon League Championship having won 15 of its final 20 games, including an 8-1 mark down the stretch in the league to earn the third seed. The Vikings will face Butler in the opening round on Thursday, May 12 at 11:00 a.m. CDT at the Ashwaubenon Sports Complex in Green Bay, Wis. The Bulldogs took 2-of-3 from CSU on April 9-10 in Indianapolis, with all three games decided by a single run.
Tournament History: Cleveland State enters the 2005 Horizon League Championship with an 18-18 record in 10 previous tournament appearances. The 1997 squad, featuring current assistant coach Amy Kyler, posted a perfect 4-0 mark en route to winning the only championship in school history. The Vikings also made a run into the championship game as the sixth seed in 2003 before falling to seventh-seeded Wright State.
Head Coach Julie Jones: In her ninth year at the helm of the Vikings, Julie Jones has directed Cleveland State a 203-243-2 record (.454). The 1997 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year, she guided the Vikings to the league championship that season and to a berth in the NCAA Tournament. A member of the NCAA Regional Softball Committee and the winningest coach in school history, she has tutored 30 all-conference selections and three players who went on to play professionally during her tenure in Cleveland. A 1992 graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College in nearby Berea, she was inducted into the Yellow Jacket Hall of Fame in 2003. While at B-W, she was an all-region selection, an all-conference pick both on the field and in the classroom and a four-year starter.
Viking Bats Come Alive: After winning 12 of their final 15 Horizon League games in 2004 thanks largely in part to the pitching staff, Cleveland State took a different tactic en route to going 8-1 down the stretch this season. The Vikings hit .310 as a team, with 19 extra base hits and 17 stolen bases (in 19 attempts) on their way to scoring more than six runs per game. Senior Jackie Cornelius was the most torrid of the bunch, hitting .400 (10-for-25) with 14 RBI, seven runs scored and a .720 slugging percentage. Shannon Graves (.364), Whitney Willard (.323) and J.J. Thornberry (.300) also contributed to the offensive barrage.
Frontrunners: A big reason for Cleveland State's recent success has been its ability to get on the board early. In their final nine league games, the Vikings came to bat trailing just 10 times in 66 chances -- and not once in the last five games (32 innings). CSU's only loss during the stretch came when UIC overcame a four-run deficit with six runs in its final two at-bats on April 30.
Smoke And Mirrors: The Vikings entered the 2005 campaign with only 14 players on their roster and saw that number quickly cut to 12 as seniors Michelle Nicholas and Kortney Spidell were lost for the season before it ever started. Head coach Julie Jones has had to work with an even smaller number at various times this season, as freshman Whitney Willard missed a week with a pulled hamstring and junior Kaitlin Guyette was on the shelf for the better part of five games with a broken finger. At least playing time hasn't been an issue.
Vikings Sweep Final League Weekly Honors: Juniors Grace Luginbuhl and Shannon Graves earned the final Horizon League Pitcher and Player of the Week honors, respectively. Luginbuhl went 2-0 with a 0.95 ERA in three appearances, allowing 10 hits while fanning 13 in 15.0 innings of work. Graves hit .563 (9-for-16) for the week with six runs scored, including a 7-for-9 (.778) effort in the series sweep of Loyola. The Vikings collected four weekly accolades in the last three weeks of the season.
Vikings Show Off Balance: Cleveland State finished second in both team batting average and ERA in the final Horizon League only stats. The Vikings surged to a .294 average with their hot hitting down the stretch, trailing only UIC's .362 mark. In the circle, CSU put together a 2.68 ERA, behind just UW-Green Bay who came in at 2.02. In the overall statistics, the Vikings were the lone team to finish in the top half of the league in both hitting (2nd - .270) and pitching (3rd - 2.89).
Luginbuhl Solid Again: A second team all-league pick in 2004, Grace Luginbuhl got off to a rocky start this season, giving up 17 earned runs in 18.1 innings over her first five outings. However, in her 30 appearances since, the Lima, Ohio native has surrendered just 37 earned runs in 145.0 innings for a 1.79 ERA. As of May 9, she ranked second in the league in strikeouts (142) and appearances, third in innings pitched (150.1) and wins (13), fourth in opponent batting average (.237) and fifth in ERA (2.26). In league games only, she ranks second in ERA at 1.72, while stepping up her play offensively with a .315 average, nine runs, seven RBI and a league-best 12 stolen bases.
Stop Thief!: Cleveland State has assumed its familiar position atop the league stolen base charts, leading the way with 73 -- 18 more than second-place Loyola. Freshman Amber Lowe leads the league with 18 thefts, while three other Vikings also rank in the top 10. CSU has been especially potent as of late going 42-for-46 in the last 20 games -- a 91.3 percent success rate. In league games only, junior Grace Luginbuhl was a perfect 12-for-12, swiping more bases than four different teams.
Freshmen Bookend Line-up: In freshmen shortstop Amber Lowe and outfielder Whitney Willard, Julie Jones really has a pair of leadoff hitters. Batting in the top spot, Lowe (a converted outfielder) is hitting .319 with a league-leading 18 stolen bases and a pair of four-hit games. She batted .380 (19-50) during her team-best 14-game hitting streak that came to an end on April 11 at IPFW. Willard has been a spark from the nine-spot, ranking fourth in the league with her team-high .351 average. She batted .552 (16-29) with five multi-hit contests during her 11-game hitting streak that came to an end on April 10 at Butler.
Keep It Close, Play It Quick: Cleveland State has made a habit of playing close, quick games this season. Of the Vikings' 45 games, 25 have been decided by one or two runs, with CSU going 14-11 in those contests. In addition, the Vikings have played just five regulation games (and three extra-inning contests) that have lasted more than two hours. Meanwhile, CSU has sprinted through five games that have lasted less than 90 minutes.
Singles Club: Junior outfielder Shannon Graves has been a solid contributor at the plate the past two seasons, posting a .278 average from the number two spot in the line-up. A true slap-hitter, all 78 of the Medina native's hits have been singles. However, she has turned many of those into two-base hits with 33 career stolen bases -- including a perfect 15-for-15 mark this season.
Weekend Wins Rewrite Records: By taking 2-of-3 at UIC on April 30 - May 1, Cleveland State took a series from the Flames for the first time ever. Entering the weekend, the Vikings were just 4-29 all-time against UIC. Here are a few more interesting nuggets from CSU's series win: • UIC had not lost a home series since the league went to the three-game format in 2003 • The Flames last lost a league series when they dropped 2-of-3 at Wright State on April 26-27, 2003 • CSU's 22 runs were the most ever allowed in a league series by UIC • Since 1995, the Flames were 260-5 when scoring six or more runs before losing twice over the weekend • The Vikings trailed in just three innings over the three games -- the first two innings of game one and the seventh inning of game two
Cornelius Has Day To Remember: For senior catcher Jackie Cornelius Saturday, April 30 was a day like any other in her career. The Cincinnati native went 4-for-5 in the twin bill at UIC, with her first career grand slam, a pair of triples and eight RBI. She drove in a career-high five runs to help CSU win the opener, then followed with three more RBI in the nightcap. For the week, she hit .500 (6-for-12) with a 1.083 slugging percentage. The outburst earned Cornelius Horizon League Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career.
Luginbuhl Collects League Weekly Honor: Junior pitcher Grace Luginbuhl was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week on April 25 -- the third time she has received the honor in her career. Luginbuhl picked up all four of the Vikings' wins, allowing just one earned run in 25.1 innings (0.28 ERA), while walking four and fanning 19. She started off by going the distance in a 13-inning victory over Youngstown State, allowing just one earned run and no walks while whiffing 10. In the opener two days later against St. Francis, she tossed CSU's first shutout of the season, blanking the Red Flash on five hits and six strikeouts.
Academic Excellence: The softball team has proved once again that it excels not only on the field, but in the classroom as well. The Vikings were honored on April 14 at the 15th Annual CSU Academic Honors Luncheon as the "Best of the Best" for having the top team grade point average at CSU. The squad combined for a 3.49 GPA with all 14 players posting a 3.0 or better. The Vikings have been ranked in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Academic Division I top 20 for12 consecutive years.
Mother Nature Wreaks Havoc With Schedule: Cleveland State has fought a losing battle with Mother Nature so far this year. The Vikings had two games cancelled due to rain in Florida and lost both Horizon League series with Detroit and UW-Green Bay due to a pair of late-season winter storms. In addition, CSU's March 26 twin bill at IPFW was originally washed before being made up on April 11.
Pair Named To All-Tournament Team: Junior outfielder Shannon Graves and freshman pitcher Christina Swierz both earned a spot on the Charleston Southern Invitational All-Tournament team. Graves hit .333 (4-12) while Swierz went 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA.
