Cleveland State Looks for Bounce-Back Series at Northern Kentucky Athletics

Posted: Mar 25, 2021

SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State Vikings softball team wraps up a five-day, six-game road trip with a pair of doubleheaders against Northern Kentucky on Friday and Saturday. The Vikes (8-14, 3-7) were unable to avoid big innings from Robert Morris' lineup in a pair of defeats on Tuesday. Torrie Jenkins powered her fourth homer of the season over the fence in right center in a 10-2 loss to open the affair before Cleveland State jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the third frame of game two but fell 14-6 thanks to a nine-run fourth inning by the Colonials. Mackenzie Tucker, Kaelin Ettinger and Becky Hurosky all recorded RBI hits while Aly Packish found her fourth long bomb of the campaign with a go-ahead solo shot to lead off the third inning.

SCOUTING NORTHERN KENTUCKY
The Norse (4-14, 3-7) have dropped four straight games and six of their last seven overall. However, four of those six losses have come by two runs or less, including a pair of one-run setbacks over their last three outings. Northern Kentucky's lineup is headlined by Ella LeMonier, who is batting .353 while starting 14 games. Ava Lawson has provided the Norse with a powerful bat, leading the team in in RBI (12), homers (four), triples (three), walks (eight) and slugging percentage (.642). In the circle, Lauryn Hicks has tossed 49.1 innings, recording a 3.41 ERA and punching out 55 batters while throwing four complete games.

AGAINST THIS OPPONENT
Since the first head-to-head matchup in 2015, the Vikings own an 8-6 mark against the Norse, including an even 3-3 on the road. Cleveland State has won five of the last seven games overall, but Northern Kentucky took two of three in the most recent series in 2019. In the lone Vikings win, Hanna Griffin went the distance in an eight-inning contest to pick up the seventh win of her freshman campaign, striking out three batters in a 9-6 victory.

BOMBS AWAY
The Vikings are first in the conference with 14 homers on the season. Aly Packish and Torrie Jenkins have combined for over half of Cleveland State's blasts with four each and Sydney Bajusz has three. Gabby Shackelford has also homered twice while freshman Alexa Sieger hit her first career bomb in a 4-3 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on March 12. Packish, a junior who entered the year with two dingers, has already more than doubled her career total.

HOT START
Second baseman Taylor Duncan has found her groove at the plate since #HLSB kicked off, batting .409 (9-22) with a double and six RBI. After strikings out on 17 occasions with only three walks in non-conference games, Duncan has drawn six walks while fanning only four times against Horizon League opponents. The junior, who went 5-8 over a four-game series against IUPUI last week, ranks second in the Horizon League with a .567 on-base percentage in #HLSB.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
With only two seniors on the roster, the Vikings rely heavily on young players, namely a freshman class that has produced multiple contributors. Torrie Jenkins has been one of the most versatile players in the lineup, hitting .333 with three homers and eight RBI while compiling a 3.50 ERA over 12 innings in the circle during conference games. Kiera Frascone has been one of the Horizon League's most dangerous players on the basepaths, ranking third in the league with eight steals on the season. Jenna Deang has emerged as the primary starter at shortstop and, entering Tuesday's contests, had not commited an error in five straight games.

Alexa Sieger has seen time as an infielder in addition to serving as the designated player and has nine RBI, three doubles and a homer over 18 appearances. In the circle, Jenna Watts has provided some valuable innings and threw a complete game in only her second career start on February 13 against Bowling Green.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSIONS
Hits tend to come in bunches for the Vikings, who have scored double-digit runs twice since #HLSB play began on March 12. The Vikes own two of the nine total double-digit run outputs by Horizon League teams this season, including a 10-2 win over IUPUI on March 21 that was decided by run rule after five innings. Including non-conference play, the Vikings have plated 10 runs or more in three games.

RISING IN THE HORIZON OVERALL – IN THE CIRCLE
Hanna Griffin is tied for fifth in the Horizon League lead in wins (four) and ranks among the top 10 in innings pitched (49.1) along with teammate Taylor Betz (45.1). Betz has also racked up 34 strikeouts, seventh-most in the conference. Jenna Watts and Torrie Jenkins are two of seven #HLSB pitchers to record a save.

RISING IN THE HORIZON OVERALL - AT THE PLATE
Collectively, the Vikes are first in homers (14), second in RBI (83), second in walks (51) and runs scored (91), third in hits (131), and tied for second in stolen bases (23). Cleveland State has the most steals without having a runner caught stealing in the Horizon League.

SWIPER NO SWIPING
Senior backstop Courtney Fernette caught a pair of runners attempting to steal second during last Sunday's doubleheader against IUPUI. Overall, Fernette ranks tied for second in the Horizon League in runners caught stealing (three). Becky Hurosky is another of the nine total catchers in the league who have thrown out at least one potential base-stealer. As a team, the Vikes have yet to be caught swiping bags, going a perfect 23-23 on stolen base opportunities. Kiera Frascone leads the way with eight steals, third-most in the league.

WEEKLY AWARDS
Hanna Griffin and Taylor Duncan were named Horizon League Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively, on Feb. 23 , giving the Vikings four individual #HLSB honors through two weeks of action. In doubleheaders against Charleston Southern and College of Charleston, Griffin tossed back-to-back complete games, including a shutout, while Duncan hit at a 6-12 (.500) clip at the plate with a pair of doubles and three RBI. Griffin and Duncan joined Bajusz and Betz as Vikings with 2021 Horizon League weekly awards.

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Cleveland State Looks for Bounce-Back Series at Northern Kentucky

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