Game Time... The Northwestern College softball team travels to Crete, Neb. to take on Doane in a GPAC doubleheader beginning at 3:00 pm. The Red Raiders have won eight straight games and are in third place in the league at 14-6, 24-14 overall. Doane comes in with a 12-10 record, 21-13 overall. Both games can be heard via the Doane web-cast at the following link: Tiger Sports Network.
Scouting Report... The Tigers come into today's doubleheader with a 21-13 overall record, 12-10 and in seventh place in the GPAC with just today's games remaining. Last season, Doane went 22-22 overall, 9-15 in the GPAC and just missed qualifying for the conference tournament. Head Coach Barry Mosley is in his fifth season with the Tigers.
As a team, Doane is batting .300 and scoring 5.7 runs per game. They have committed 68 errors this season for a fielding percentage of .937. The Tiger pitching staff has an ERA of 3.62 and is giving up 4.6 runs per game. Coach Mosley's squad has won three of their last four games as they swept College of St. Mary's in non-conference play and split with second place Morningside on April 27.
Doane returns four all-conference players from their 2007 squad, led by second team all-GPAC pick Stephanie Mosley who is batting .352 this season. The senior outfielder is second on the team with 24 runs scored and tied for the team lead with four home runs. Jennifer Montoya, a sophomore third baseman, is batting .301 with a team-best 23 RBIs. She also earned second team all-GPAC honors in 2007. Juniors Alyssa Ledon and Amber Remmers return after earning honorable mention all-GPAC honors in 2007. Ledon, a catcher from Las Vegas, Nevada, is batting .295 with 11 runs scored and 15 RBIs. Remmers, a shortstop, is batting .282 with 14 runs scored. Sophomore outfielder Whitney Poole leads the team with a .368 average and 30 runs scored while freshman infielder Kristin Schmidt has four home runs and 22 RBIs.
The pitching staff is led by senior Joy Vasa who sports a 2.33 ERA and a 7-7 record. In 96 1/3 innings pitched, Vasa has struck out 36 batters and walked just 16. Jennifer Liddell, a freshman from Las Vegas, Nevada, is 8-4 with a 4.46 ERA and opponent's are batting .263 against her.
Last Time Out... The Tigers split a pair of games against Morningside on April 27 as they lost 3-0 in game one followed by an 8-4 win in game two. Joy Vasa picked up the loss in game one as she scattered nine hits and gave up three earned runs. She did not walk a batter and struck out five. Offensively, Doane managed just three hits in game one, all singles.
In game two, Doane jumped out to a 6-2 lead and held on to earn the split against the second place Mustangs. Stephanie Mosley was the offensive star as she went 3-3 with three runs scored and four RBIs. Kristin Schmidt went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI. Megan Steele picked up the win on the mound as she went five innings and gave up four runs. Jennifer Liddell pitched the final two innings for her second save.
Northwestern swept their fourth straight league doubleheader and increased their win streak to eight games as they knocked off Dana, 5-0 and 4-2. Lexy Determan pitched a complete-game, three hitter for her 16th win of the season in game one. She struck out nine and walked just one. The Red Raiders pounded out 11 hits, led by Stacey Godfrey who went 3-4 with one RBI. Amy Larson and Lara Vonnahmen added two hits as Larson scored a pair of runs and Vonnahmen drove in two RBIs.
The Red Raiders scored four runs in the sixth inning to earn a come-from-behind, 4-2 win in game two. Trailing 2-0, Northwestern had four hits and took advantage of two Dana errors to take the lead for good with four runs in the inning. Both Lexy Determan and Jessica Hooper had RBI singles in the inning. In total, the Red Raiders had eight hits, led by Amy Larson who went 2-for-3. Gavi Burrola pitched the first 5 1/3 innings and gave up five hits, two runs and struck out four. Determan pitched the final 1 2/3 innings to earn the win (17-7). She did not allow a hit and struck out three.
Red Raider Notes... Northwestern has won eight straight games and is currently 24-14 overall, 14-6 and in third place in the league standings with four games left. 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 scoring 4.3 runs per game and boast a team batting average of .272, seventh best in the league. Coach Mason's squad is one of the best fielding teams in the GPAC with just 40 errors and a .961 fielding percentage. The pitching staff boasts an impressive 2.27 ERA and give up only 2.6 runs per game.
Offensively, Lizz Swanson continues to be among the league leaders in batting average as the senior is fourth at .375. She also leads the GPAC with 10 home runs and is second in RBIs (40). Michelle Van Duyn is batting .331 this season and is one of the Red Raiders hottest hitters. She had her five game hit streak snapped in the first Dana game. Van Duyn has scored 24 runs and is a perfect 11-for-11 in stolen bases. Sara Curry is batting .324 and carries a five-game hit streak into today's doubleheader. Stacey Godfrey is hitting .304 with 21 RBIs.
The pitching staff is anchored by Lexy Determan who is second in the GPAC with 17 wins and sports a 1.54 ERA. She has struck out a conference-best 201 batters and has walked just 41 batters. Opponents are batting .178 against the freshman. Gavi Burrola is 7-7 this season with a 3.63 ERA.
Next up... The Red Raiders will close out the regular season with a pair of games against second place Morningside tomorrow night in Orange City. Game times are 5/7:00 pm.
2008 media guide
