Red Raider Softball Plays at Dordt, Midland Lutheran in GPAC Doubleheaders

Game Time... The Northwestern College softball team returns to action as they play a pair of GPAC doubleheaders on the road today and tomorrow. The Red Raiders travel to Sioux Center to play Dordt at 5/7:00 pm and will head to Fremont, Neb. to take on Midland Lutheran tomorrow (Wednesday, April 16) for a doubleheader at 5/7:00 pm. Game one of today' match-up against the Defenders can be heard via the Dordt College web-cast at the following link: web-cast.

Scouting Reports... Dordt College comes in with an overall record of 4-18 and are tied for 12th place in the GPAC with a 1-7 record. They are 1-10 in their last 11 games with their lone victory over USF (6-4) on April 7. Last year, the Defenders finished 6-31 overall, 3-21 in the GPAC. They are coached by Brian Kroeze, in his third year with the program.

As a team, Dordt is batting .247, 11th in the conference, and average 3.9 runs per game. They have 10 home runs this season and are 29/34 in stolen bases. Defensively, the Defenders are last in team ERA (6.75) and have a .856 fielding percentage. They are giving up 9.8 runs per game.

The Defenders have just two seniors on their roster and 11 underclassmen. Susan Butier, a senior from Byron Center, Mich., leads the team with a .333 batting average and is tied for second with 10 runs scored. Freshman Sarah Seymour carries a .308 average and is second in both home runs (2) and RBIs (10). Becca Hengeveld, a sophomore from Sheldon, Iowa, is batting .294 with a team-best 20 hits and nine stolen bases. Freshman Dorinda Hibma leads Dordt in the power numbers with three home runs and 13 RBIs. Jaclyn Ver Mulm, a sophomore catcher, earned honorable mention all-league honors in 2007 and is batting .205 this season. Junior Sarah Visser leads the Defenders pitching staff with a 2-8 record. In 49 innings pitched, she has struck out 38 batters and walked 22. Amber Soodsma, a freshman from Hudsonville, Mich., is 1-5 in nine appearances this season.

Midland Lutheran is 15-9 overall and 6-4 (5th place) in the GPAC. They have won six of their last eight games, including sweeps over Briar Cliff and Dakota Wesleyan. Head Coach Keith Kramme, in his 13th season with the Warriors, has led his team to six regional tournaments in the past seven years, winning and advancing to nationals in 2005. Last year, the Warriors were fourth in the GPAC with a 16-8 record and finished 27-28 overall.

The Warriors are eighth in the GPAC in batting (.269) and average 4.4 runs per game. They are fifth defensively (.949) and seventh in team ERA (3.45). MLC returns two of their top pitchers from 2007 in junior Rachel Theis and sophomore Kelly Sladek. Theis earned honorable mention all-league honors in 2007 and is 5-3 in eight starts this season. She has a 3.36 ERA and has 41 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched. Sladek returns after a 2007 season in which she earned first team all-league honors as a freshman. She is 4-4 with a 5.25 ERA so far this season. Freshman Lindsi Heine leads the talented Warrior staff with a 5-1 record and 1.65 ERA, fifth best in the GPAC.

Offensively, sophomore outfielder Amanda Hullinger leads the Warriors with a .379 average. Nichole Hraban, a senior outfielder, is batting .344 with three home runs and a team-best 14 RBIs. Sara Bunn (.327) and Natalie Meduna (.324) are the other top hitters for MLC. Meduna, a sophomore outfielder, is fifth in the league with 21 runs scored and leads the team with five stolen bases.

Last Time Out... Dordt lost both games of a doubleheader to Morningside, 6-2 and 10-3, on April 9 in Sioux City, Iowa. In game one, Morningside jumped out to a 5-0 lead after four innings before Dordt scored two in the fifth to cut the lead down to three. The Mustangs, however, scored one final run in the bottom of the inning to win by four (6-2). Amber Soodsma took the loss (1-5) as she pitched six innings and gave up seven hits and five earned runs. Offensively, five different Defenders recorded a hit, led by Becca Hengeveld with a two-run triple.

In game two, Dordt fell behind 3-0 after the first inning before they cut the lead down to one in the top of the fifth inning, 3-2. The Mustangs, however, scored seven runs in the next two innings en route to the 10-3 victory. Sarah Visser picked up the loss for Dordt on the mound as she went six innings and gave up all 10 runs. Amber Soodsma led the Defenders at the plate with two hits and one RBI.

Midland split a GPAC doubleheader against Nebraska Wesleyan on April 9, falling in the first game (6-1) but taking game two, 5-3. No stats available at this time. They are scheduled to play Doane this evening (April 15) in a doubleheader.

The Red Raider softball team swept a GPAC doubleheader from USF on April 9, 8-0 in six innings and 5-2 in the nightcap. Lexy Determan (10-6) pitched a complete-game, one-hit shutout in game one. The freshman from Terril, Iowa, gave up a one-out single in the second inning but was perfect from that point on. Determan faced just one batter over the minimum (19) and struck out 11, including the final two outs of the game. Offensively, Northwestern totaled eight hits, two each by Michelle Van Duyn, Rachel Harris and Lara Vonnahmen. The Red Raiders broke the game open with four runs in the fourth inning. Lizz Swanson led off the inning with a solo home run, her eighth of the year, to make the score 2-0. Then, with two outs, Northwestern hit three straight singles by Harris, Vonnahmen and Determan, followed by a throwing error by the catcher made the score 4-0. Michelle Van Duyn closed out the scoring with an RBI single.

In game two, Gavi Burrola picked up her fourth win of the season as the junior scattered five hits over 4 1/3 innings and gave up two runs. Lexi Determan pitched the final 2 2/3 innings for her first save. She gave up one hit and struck out six of the nine batters she faced. Offensively, Northwestern was led by Stacey Godfrey who went 2-for-3 at the plate. Lizz Swanson went 1-for-3 with a run scored and one RBI. Michelle Van Duyn, Sara Curry and Determan also had one hit for Coach Mason's squad. Northwestern scored two in the first, one in the fourth and two more in the fifth inning for the win.

Red Raider Notes... Northwestern comes into today's games with a 14-12 overall record, 4-4 in the GPAC with two weeks left in the regular season. Head Coach Melanie Mason is in her seventh year as Head Coach and has led NWC to a 203-109 record coming into this year. Last year, the Red Raiders finished 32-19 overall and tied for second place in the conference with an 18-6 mark.

The Red Raiders are batting .275 as a team, seventh best in the GPAC. They score 4.5 runs per game and give up just 3.1. Northwestern is the third best fielding team in the league (.958) and boast a team ERA of 2.86, fourth best in the GPAC.

Lizz Swanson is having an outstanding year at the plate as she leads the GPAC in several offensive categories. The senior outfielder is second in batting average (.432), second in hits (35), first in both home runs (8) and RBIs (33) and seventh in stolen bases (7). Senior Michelle Van Duyn is seventh in the league with 30 hits to go with her .349 batting average. Sara Curry (.347) and Stacey Godfrey (.299) are the other top offensive hitters. Rachel Harris, a freshman outfielder, is batting .271 and is 6-of-9 in stolen bases.

The NWC pitching staff is led by freshman Lexy Determan who is third in the league with 10 wins and eighth in the GPAC in ERA (1.93). Determan also ranks second in innings (98) and strikeouts (122) and has given up just 28 walks this season. She is closing in on the Red Raider single season record for most strikeouts. Gavi Burrola is 4-6 this season with a 4.45 ERA.

Next up... Northwestern will host a pair of doubleheaders this weekend as they play Dana on Friday night and Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday night.

Standings (as of 04/15/08)...