DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica softball team begins its 2017 season this weekend with a strong schedule down in Rochester.
Where:
Rochester Regional Stadium – Rochester, Minn.
When:
Saturday
vs. #9 St. Catherine – 5 p.m.
vs. Nebraska Wesleyan – 7 p.m.
Sunday
vs. Simpson – 10 a.m.
vs. #6 Luther – Noon
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/csssoftball
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/csssaints
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/St-Scholastica-Softball-Fan-Page-257498654307193/
St. Scholastica Saints
Roster | 2016 Stats
2016 Record: 26-15, 15-1 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
Key Returners:
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Chrisi Mizera (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East HS) –
Pitcher – A two-time NFCA Third Team All-Midwest selection … A three-time First Team All-UMAC choice … 2015 UMAC Player of the Year … Led the UMAC in strikeouts (383) and three complete-game shutouts in 2016 … Was second in the conference in wins (12).
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Maggie Schley (Mounds View, Minn./Irondale HS) –
Pitcher/Infielder – NFCA Second Team All-Midwest selection last season … Named UMAC Rookie of the Year … Led the UMAC in batting average (.446), on-base percentage (.472), hits (58) and doubles (18) … Her 18 doubles tied for the third-most in a single season in program history … Recorded seven wins as a pitcher with 42 strikeouts in 68 innings pitched.
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Alexa Bremer (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake HS) –
Infielder – A two-time honorable mention All-UMAC choice … Started all 41 games last season … Led the conference in runs scored and in on-base percentage in league games … Tied for a team-high with 18 multi-hit games
Key Losses:
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Kara Warren (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Denfeld HS) –
Catcher – A two-time all-region choice … 2016 UMAC Player of the Year … Led the conference in hits (31), batting average (.544), RBIs (32) and total bases (54) in league games last season … Finished her career with a .400 batting average, 19 home runs, 133 RBIs, 45 doubles and 108 runs scored … Her career batting average ranks sixth, home runs tied for fifth and RBIs fourth in program history … In the field, she set a program record by throwing out 35 base runners in her career and tied for the third-highest fielding percentage (.981).
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Nikki Logergren (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Denfeld HS (Northern Stars)) –
Outfielder – A three-time First Team All-UMAC choice … Led the conference with seven home runs in league games and nine home runs in total games last season … Finished her career with the fifth-highest batting average (.404) in program history … Her 24 career home runs rank second all-time and her .740 career slugging percentage is third-best.
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Micah McGuiness (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake HS) – Pitcher/
Outfielder – Honorable mention All-UMAC choice last season … Was second in the conference in runs scored (39) and doubles (14) in total games … In the pitching circle, she had the fourth-lowest opposing batting average (.148) against UMAC hitters.
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Rendi Johnson (Bonney Lake, Wash./Bonney Lake HS) – Pitcher/
Infielder – Twice-named to the UMAC All-Defensive Team … Recorded 20 career home runs and had 101 career RBIs
Coach Dawson: Rilee Dawson enters her second season as head coach for the Saints … In her first season as head coach, Dawson was named the UMAC Coach of the Year and led the Saints to a regular season championship.
Where has the Power Gone?: The Saints hit 32 home runs last season … Only two players that hit home runs last year return this season and those two players combined for only six home runs (Mizera-5,
Marjaana Dailey (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS)-1) … St. Scholastica has hit at least 30 home runs in each of the past three seasons, the longest streak in program history … That might be in jeopardy this season.
Extra Base Hits: The Saints set a program record last season with 100 doubles … CSS led all of NCAA Division III with 2.44 doubles per game.
10-Hit Mark: The Saints were 24-0 last season when they recorded at least 10 hits … CSS was 2-15 when it recorded less than 10 hits.
Plenty of New Faces: Coach Dawson brings in one of the largest in incoming classes in program history … The Saints have eight freshmen on the roster and one junior college transfer … CSS also had eight freshmen in its 2015 class … This year's class features two players from Alaska, one from Washington, three from Northwestern Wisconsin, two from down the I-35 corridor and one Duluth-native.
Tough Start: The Saints will open the season with two of their first four games against top 10 nationally-ranked opponents for the first time in program history … St. Catherine, Simpson and Luther all faced each other in the NCAA Decorah Regional last season.
Top 5 Games to Watch
2/25 – vs. St. Catherine
St. Kate's made its first-ever trip to the MIAC and NCAA Tournaments last season … The Wildcats had their best season in program history last year with 34 wins.
2/26 – vs. Luther
The Norse made the NCAA Tournament for the eighth straight year last season … Since 2009, Luther has been ranked in the NFCA Top-25 100 of the past 103 weeks.
4/7 at Gustavus Adolphus
Finished second in the MIAC last season and will be led by new head coach Britt Stewart
4/11 – vs. UW-Superior
UWS returns to Kenwood Field where it upset the Saints to capture the UMAC Tournament championship last season.
4/23 – at UW-Eau Claire
The Blugolds are the defending WIAC regular season champions.
UMAC Preseason Poll
1. St. Scholastica - 64 points (8 First Place Votes)
2. Wisconsin-Superior - 56 (1)
3. Northwestern - 51
4. Crown - 38
5. Minnesota Morris - 37
6. Bethany Lutheran- 29
7. Martin Luther - 21
8. Northland - 20
9. North Central - 8
Upcoming Opponents
#9 St. Catherine Wildcats
2016 Record: 34-11, 15-7 MIAC
The Wildcats are coming off their best season in program history … Not only did they make their first NCAA Tournament appearance, but they made the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Tournament for the first time … The Wildcats fell in the fifth-and-deciding game of NCAA Regional to Luther … St. Kate's will have to replace MIAC Player of the Year and first team all-region shortstop Robyn Rohr … The Wildcats do return pitcher Krista Flugstad who broke and reset multiple school records, including shutouts in a single season (8) and wins in a single season (19) on her way to being named second team all-region.
Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves
2016 Record: 21-19, 10-12 GPAC
The Prairie Wolves enter their first season in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) … Nebraska Wesleyan finished tied for seventh last season in NAIA's Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) … The Prairie Wolves will have to replace four-time all-conference selection Rachel Kubik … NWU does return catcher Madi Francis, who was recognized by the GPAC in each of her first three seasons.
Simpson Storm
2016 Record: 31-11, 8-4 IIAC
The Storm will be led by first-year head coach Brent Matthias … Simpson finished second in the IIAC last season under interim coach Kyle Owens and advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they were eliminated by St. Kate's … The Storm will have to replace all-region performers Riley Fisher, Rachel Guessford, Tori Haag and Abbie VanVleet … The lone all-conference performer returning is outfielder Brianna Chaplin who was a first team choice in 2015 and second team selection last season.
#6 Luther Norse
2016 Record: 40-5, 11-1 IIAC
The Norse are once again the preseason favorite to win the IIIAC … Luther returns five starters and three pitchers from last year's squad that was eliminated in the super-regional by Illinois Wesleyan University … Leading the way will be two-time IIAC Pitcher of the Year Amanda Witzlib … The Norse also return two-time First Team All-IIAC choice Ashley Burrows … Luther will have to replace IIAC Position Player of the Year and Third Team All-American Miranda McCay.
Series Records:
-St. Catherine leads CSS 1-0
(The only meeting between the two programs took place in 2005 in California.)
-Nebraska Wesleyan leads CSS 5-0
(The Prairie Wolves defeated the Saints four times in 2009 down in Texas)
-Simpson leads CSS 9-2
(The Saints last faced the Storm down in Florida in 2015, which resulted in a 13-3 loss … CSS won the previous year in Florida 7-5)
-Luther leads CSS 6-0
(Three of the last four meetings have taken place in the NCAA Tournament … CSS has not scored more than three runs in any of the six meetings.)
Looking Ahead: The Saints will be at the Rebel Games in Kissimmee, Florida beginning on Sunday March 12.
