YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The date and opponent are set. The Cleveland State softball program will face Northern Kentucky in its opening game of the 2022 Horizon League Championships at the YSU Softball Complex on Thursday.
First pitch is set for 2:30 PM ET and the game will be featured in front of a national audience on ESPN+
It is the first postseason appearance for the Vikes since the 2016 season. A record-setting 2022 campaign earned CSU the No. 2 overall seed and a first-round bye.
GAME INFORMATION
SECOND ROUND – HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
- Location: Youngstown, Ohio (YSU Softball Complex)
- Thursday, May 12 at 2:30 PM ET
- Tickets: $10 single day pass | $25 all-session pass | Horizon students free with valid school ID
FOLLOW LIVE
- WATCH: ESPN+: https://es.pn/37C1HRb
- LIVE STATS: https://bit.ly/3yvAD0Q
WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH…
- …a Cleveland State win: Would play on Friday at 2:30 PM ET.
-…a Cleveland State loss: Still to be determined at time of post. Could play again on Thursday at 5 PM ET or Friday at noon. Opponents are still to be determined as well.
RECORD-SETTING 2022 SEASON
Cleveland State has had a record-breaking year in 2022 as the Vikings have already:
- Posted the most wins (22) in a single season since 2015
- Recorded the most conference victories (18) in a season since 2010
- Clinched a spot in the Horizon League Tournament for the first time since 2016
HOLZOPFEL NAMED FRESHMAN OF YEAR; DEANG AND HUROSKY JOIN HER AS ALL-LEAGUE SELECTIONS
After one of its best regular seasons in over a decade, the Cleveland State softball program racked up the awards as the Horizon League announced its 2022 softball yearly award-winners and all-league selections. Melissa Holzopfel was named the Horizon's Freshman of the Year to go with nods to the All-League First Team and All-Freshman Team. Jenna Deang joined her on the All-League First Team while Becky Hurosky was chosen for All-League Second Team honors.
"I am so proud of the hard work and dedication our young women have shown this season," head coach Amy Kyler said. "These awards recognize their strengths on the field as well as their commitment to their teammates, this program and the CSU community."
Holzopfel led the Horizon League in strikeouts looking (52) and was second in total strikeouts overall with 208 in just 176.2 innings. With the strikeout total, Holzopfel became just the fifth student-athlete in CSU history to crack the 200-strikeout plateau in a single campaign. She is also ranked third in the league in victories (15) and innings pitched (176.2), fifth in complete games (15), eighth in ERA (2.89) and ninth in opponent batting average (.245).
To go with the success in the circle, Holzopfel also hit .289 at the dish with 28 hits, one home run, seven RBI, 14 runs scored and a stolen base. Her .343 on-base percentage ranked 36th overall in the Horizon.
Holzopfel becomes the first CSU student-athlete to earn Freshman of the Year honors since Erica McNew took home the prize in 2013. She is also just the third Viking to ever win the award in school history.
Deang set the table for the CSU offense all season as the leadoff hitter in the Vikings battling lineup. The sophomore second baseman from Mokena, Ill. finished with a team-leading .322 batting average to go with 40 hits, 20 runs scored, 16 RBI and eight stolen bases.
She is ranked tied for tenth in the Horizon in stolen bases, 11th in batting average and hits, and 15th in runs scored.
Hurosky was named to the All-League Second Team as one of the power bats behind the Viking offense this season. The Brunswick, Ohio native posted a .293 batting average to go with six home runs, 22 RBI and 14 runs scored.
She finished the regular season tied for eighth in the Horizon in slugging percentage (.526), is ninth in homers and tied for 14th in RBI.
Hurosky's batting average is also ranked 18th in the conference while her on-base percentage slots in at 24th overall.
ETCH HOLZOPFEL INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
Holzopfel became just the fifth Vikings student-athlete to crack the 200 strikeout plateau in school history. Her 208 Ks rank eighth all-time for the program for a single campaign.
The freshman's strikeout total slots her 28th in all of NCAA Division I softball. She is also 76th in the nation with 8.2 punchouts per seven innings.
FERNETTE WINNER OF LAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD
After she helped secure the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in Horizon League Championships for Cleveland State, senior backstop Courtney Fernette was named the Horizon League's Softball Player of the Week, made official by league offices on Monday.
The Davis Junction, Ill. native powered the Vikes to a 2-1 weekend that clinched second place for CSU. Fernette hit a home run in all three games against Detroit Mercy as she went 3-for-9 (.333) with three homers, six RBI, three runs scored and two walks.
It is the first Horizon League Player of the Week selection for the Vikings since Feb. 23, 2021. It is also the first weekly honor of Fernette's CSU career.
SMART VIKES: BAJUSZ AND DEANG NAMED TO HORIZON ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Sydney Bajusz and Jenna Deang were named to the 2022 Horizon League All-Academic Team. It is the first time since 2020 that CSU has had two student-athletes selected for the top academic award in the same year.
"Sydney and Jenna are so devoted to their academics," head coach Amy Kyler said. "They are true student-athletes. They put academics first, but also compete to the best of their abilities on the field as well."
For Bajusz, it is the third consecutive year that she has been selected for the Horizon League honor. The Aurora, Ill. native is a psychology major with a minor in neuroscience. She will graduate summa cum laude with an impressive 3.99 GPA. Following graduation, Bajusz will pursue a master's degree in physical therapy.
It was the first Horizon All-Academic selection for Deang, a sophomore from Mokena, Ill. Deang, a marketing major, has recorded a 3.97 GPA and has already been on the CSU Dean's List multiple times to start her Viking career.
COACH KYLER IN THE CIRCLE
This isn't new success at CSU for head coach Amy Kyler as the Cleveland State Hall of Famer was a standout in the circle during her four-year career as a student-athlete.
Kyler posted the lowest ERA for a career in school history at 1.35 that included a program-best 37 shutouts. She is also ranked first in WHIP (0.93) and second in wins (68), strikeouts (909) and complete games (92).
The Clinton, Ohio native was inducted into the Cleveland State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008. After CSU, she went on to pitch professionally in both the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league and the Women's Professional Softball League (WPSL).
BASH SISTERS
Watch out for the power bats of Becky Hurosky and Courtney Fernette as the two enter the tournament tied for ninth in the Horizon League with six home runs on the year. Fernette has hit homers in three straight games. Hurosky last left the yard in back-to-back games against Green Bay on April 27.
LOOKING TO CELEBRATE A SIX-YEAR ANNIVERSARY
The last Horizon League Tournament win for CSU was a 5-2 victory over Youngstown State back on May 12, 2016. If the Vikings can pull off a win on Thursday, it would make it exactly six years to the day of their last tournament win.
THIRD TIME THE CHARM?
Cleveland State is looking to capture its third Horizon League Championship in school history. The Vikings earned the top conference prize in 1997 and 2009. The squad also finished runner-up in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010.
PACKISH PUTTING RUNNERS IN POSITION
Senior Aly Packish is one of the best movers of base runners in the nation with a rank of second in the conference and 15th in all of NCAA DI softball with .23 sacrifice bunts per game.
TEAM LEADERS
- Hits: Jenna Deang (40)
- Runs: Deang (20)
- Homeruns: Fernette and Hurosky (6)
- RBI: Hurosky (22)
- Batting Average: Deang (.323)
- On-Base %: Deang (.387)
- Slugging %: Hurosky (.526)
- SB: Kiera Frascone and Deang (8)
- Wins: Melissa Holzopfel (15)
- Saves: Torrie Jenkins (1)
- ERA: Jenkins (2.59)
- Strikeouts: Holzopfel (208)
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