Game Time... The Red Raider softball team will make their 2008 season debut this weekend as they play four games at the Ramada UNI-Dome Classic in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Northwestern will play Mount Mercy and Dakota State late Friday night at 10/12:00 and will play Iowa Wesleyan and Dakota State on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 7/9:00 pm.
Scouting Report... All three opponents this weekend will also be making their season debut at the Ramada UNI-Dome Classic. Mount Mercy and Iowa Wesleyan represent the Midwest Collegiate Conference. The Mustangs of Mount Mercy are coming off a last place finish in 2007 in which they were 4-17 in the MCC, 9-28 overall. Head Coach Glen Johnson will begin his second season as the skipper of the Mustangs. Leading the offense will be sophomore outfielder Kalyn Harms who batted a team-best .264 with 24 hits and seven RBIs. Harms was also the team leader with 10 stolen bases. Seniors Danyl Spivey and Amanda Hoffman also return for Coach Johnson's club. Spivey played both catcher and first base in 2007 and batted .250 and tied for the team lead with nine RBIs. She committed just three errors all season. Hoffman ranked second with a .259 batting average and played second base for the Mustangs. Senior third baseman Mary Wells also returns after batting .250 with four doubles in 2007. The pitching staff returns their top two hurlers from 2007. Seniors Meredith O'Brien and Katie Strain combined for all nine wins last season and 121 strikeouts. O'Brien recorded a team-best 3.39 ERA.
The Tigers of Iowa Wesleyan recorded their 14th consecutive 20-win season in 2007 with a 29-18 overall record. They qualified for the region VII tournament for the seventh time in 11 years where they lost two straight games. Head Coach Mike Hampton, in his 15th season with the Tigers, led his team to a 16-8 record in the MCC conference. Iowa Wesleyan will be led by senior pitcher, Courtney Wheatley. A 2007 all-conference player, Wheatley led the team with a 13-7 record and 2.68 ERA. The senior struck out 89 batters in 137 2/3 innings pitched. Ashlee Winner, a junior righthander, also returns after she tallied a 7-5 record and 3.99 ERA. Offensively, the Tigers will be led by junior Jerri Fuentez who batted .342 last year with 30 RBIs.
The Trojans of Dakota State finished their 2007 season with a 20-24 overall record, their second straight season with over 20 wins. Head Coach Ken Prorok, in his second season as the skipper of the Dakota State softball team, returns four starters off last year's squad. Sophomore Dakota Novotny, a pitcher and outfielder for the Trojans, led the pitching staff with nine wins last season. She also recorded a team-best 4.08 ERA and struck out 74 batters. Jessica Van Loy, the team's leading hitter and lone all-conference selection last season, is also a member of the basketball team and will not be with the team over the weekend. Senior Emily Pyle and junior Jamie Becker are the top offensive players who play for Coach Prorok's club. Pyle batted .305 in 2007 with a team-best 27 RBI's while Becker hit .246 with eight doubles and two home runs.
Red Raider Notes...Head Coach Melanie Mason begins her seventh season at the helm of the Red Raider softball program. Last season, she led NWC to a 32-19 overall record and a berth in the regional tournament for the sixth time in eight years. They finished GPAC play tied for second place with an 18-6 record, just one game in back of first place Morningside. Headling the list of returners for Coach Mason's squad is three-time second team all-GPAC outfielder, Lizz Swanson. Swanson batted .283 last season with four home runs, 19 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Swanson and fellow senior Michelle Van Duyn make up 2/3 of a very good NWC outfield. Van Duyn led the team with a .349 batting average in 2007. She scored 30 runs, recorded 26 RBIs and stole 14 bases. Sophomore Sara Curry, an infielder, returns after batting .220 in all 51 games as a freshman. Freshman Rachel Harris, an all-state outfielder for state champion Akron-Westfield will also be looked to for offense. On the mound, newcomers Lexy Determan and Gabrielle Burrola will provide the innings for Coach Mason's staff. Determan, an all-state hurler from Graettinger/Terril High School, recorded a 35-8 record with 16 shutouts last season. Burrola, a transfer from St. Joseph's (Maine) was a first team all-conference player and four time national pitcher-of-the-week.
Next Time Out... Coach Mason and her squad will next play Peru State (Neb.) on Saturday, Feb. 23 in a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch of game one will be at 1:00pm down in Peru, Neb.
2008 media guide
