May 4, 2005

Contact: Alan Ashby

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Streaking Vikings Head Down Homestretch: Winners of 12 of its last 16 games, Cleveland State (18-23, 7-5 HL) finishes off the regular season with four more contests this week. Fresh off their second consecutive season sweep of Youngstown State, the Vikings will close out their nine-game road swing with a 7:00 p.m. tilt against Kent State on Thursday (May 5) at Firestone Stadium in Akron. CSU will then wrap-up the regular season by hosting Loyola for a three-game set on May 7-8 at Viking Field.

A Glance At The Standings: UIC (11-4) leads UW-Green Bay (10-5) by a game in the race for the Horizon League regular season title. Cleveland State (7-5) and Loyola (8-6) round out the top half and are both still mathematically alive in the race for first. The Vikings would need to win all three games this weekend and have UIC lose twice and Green Bay once to claim the top seed in the tournament. CSU must win 2-of-3 with Loyola to finish ahead of the Ramblers. Detroit (7-7) and Wright State (6-8) are fifth and sixth, respectively and are the only teams capable of passing the Vikings in the standings. Butler (7-12) and Youngstown State (4-13) round out the eight teams and are locked into the bottom two spots.

Head Coach Julie Jones: In her ninth year at the helm of the Vikings, Julie Jones has directed Cleveland State a 200-242-2 record (.453). 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, she has coached 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.

Weekend Wins Rewrite Records: By taking 2-of-3 at UIC on Saturday and Sunday, 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 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 27 appearances since, the Lima, Ohio native has surrendered just 35 earned runs in 130.0 innings for a 1.88 ERA. As of May 1, she ranked second in the league in strikeouts (129), fifth in ERA (2.42), third in innings pitched (150.1), and fourth in wins (11), opponent batting average (.241), and appearances (32). Her 1.93 ERA is second in league games only. She has also been a valuable contributor offensively, ranking third on the team with 15 RBI and 12 stolen bases (on 12 attempts).

Cornelius, Penney Pace Streaking Vikings: Senior catcher Jackie Cornelius and sophomore center fielder Michelle Penney have spurred Cleveland State's recent success on the field with their superb performances at the plate. During the last 16 games, Cornelius is batting .432 (19-for-44) with 13 RBI, 11 runs scored and five stolen bases. She has also thrown out five potential basestealers during the stretch. Meanwhile, Penney is hitting .327 (17-for-52) with 12 RBI and 13 runs scored.

Stop Thief!: Cleveland State has assumed its familiar position atop the league stolen base charts, leading the way with 65. Freshman Amber Lowe leads the league with 17 thefts, while three other Vikings also rank in the top 10. CSU has been especially potent as of late going 34-for-36 in the last 16 games and 13 in a row since last being thrown out on April 21 at St. Francis.

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 is hitting .324 with a league-leading 17 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 sixth in the league with her team-high .341 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.

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.

Keep It Close, Play It Quick: Cleveland State has made a habit of playing close, quick games this season. Of the Vikings' 41 games, 24 have been decided by one or two runs, with CSU going 13-11 in those contests. In addition, the Vikings have played just four 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 .259 average from the number two spot in the line-up. A true slap-hitter, all 70 of the Medina native's hits have been singles. However, she has turned many of those into two-base hits with 31 career stolen bases -- including a perfect 13-for-13 mark this season.

Luginbuhl Climbing Career Charts: With every appearance in the circle, junior Grace Luginbuhl continues to move up the Cleveland State career pitching charts. While she will probably fail to catch current assistant Amy Kyler in any category, she will certainly go down among the best pitchers in school history. Here's a look at where she stands in Viking history:
ERA Innings Wins Win% App. Ks
Luginbuhl 1.96 (3rd) 445.2 (5th) 31 (5th) .534 (2nd) 104 (2nd) 386 (3rd)

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.

Up Next: The Vikings will head to the Horizon League Championship on May 12-14 in Green Bay, Wis. Cleveland State's lone title came in 1997 and UIC is the defending tournament champion.