DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica softball team enters the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament in unfamiliar territory as the No. 3 seed.
Where:
BLC Softball Field – Mankato, Minn.
When:
Thursday
Game 1 – 10 a.m. – No. 4 Northwestern vs. No. 5 Minnesota Morris
Game 2 – 12 p.m. – No. 2 UW-Superior vs. No. 3 St. Scholastica
Game 3 – 2 p.m. – No. 1 Bethany Lutheran vs. Winner of Game 1
Game 4 – 4 p.m. – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2
Friday
Game 5 – 12 p.m. – Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3
Game 6 – 2 p.m. – Loser of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
Game 7 – 4 p.m. – Loser of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6
Saturday
Game 8 – 12 p.m. – Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 7
Game 9 – 2 p.m. – If necessary – same teams as Game 8
Tournament Web Site: https://umacathletics.com/tournaments/?id=133
Live Video/Stats: https://blcvikings.com/sports/2016/8/12/multimedia.aspx
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
Stats
Record: 22-14, 12-4 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
What You Need to Know about the Saints:
-For the first time since 2008, the Saints failed to capture the UMAC regular season title.
-In that 2008 season, the Saints also finished third in the league and went 2-2 in the UMAC Tournament.
-The four conference losses in the regular season are the most since 2013.
-The Saints are not hosting the UMAC Tournament for the first time since 2013 when whether shifted the event to Morris, Minnesota.
-CSS went 0-2 in the UMAC Tournament.
-The Saints are only team to defeat the No. 1 seed Bethany Lutheran College, doing so last Saturday.
-CSS is went 1-1 against BLC, 0-2 against UWS, 1-1 against UNW and 2-0 vs. UMM during the regular season.
-The last time Bethany hosted the UMAC Tournament, the Saints captured the title in 2009.
-The Saints ended the regular season winning 10 of the final 11 games.
-Sophomore third baseman
Josie Fourre (Albany, Minn./Albany HS) was a big part of that as she was named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III National Player of the Week on Wednesday.
-In eight games last week, Fourre was 13-for-20 (.650) with 17 RBIs and 13 runs scored. She also hit six home runs.
-Just as impressive as of late has been senior
Maggie Schley (Mounds View, Minn./Irondale HS), both hitting and in the pitcher's circle.
-In the last four games, Schley is 10-for-13 with nine RBIs, two doubles, two triples and two home runs.
-Schley's five home runs this season are a career-best and she led the conference with 26 RBIs in league play.
-Her .413 career batting average ranks third in program history and her 56 doubles rank second, four shy of tying the program record.
-She has won her last six starts in the pitcher's circle, allowing no more than five hits in each of those starts.
-Schley tied for second in the UMAC with seven league wins and was second with a .215 opposing batting average.
-
Nicole Anders (Port Angeles, Wash./Sequim HS) finished second in the conference with 13 stolen bases in league play.
What You Need to Know about Bethany Lutheran:
Record: 25-10, 15-1 UMAC
-The Vikings captured their first-ever UMAC regular season title.
-In conference play, BLC led in in batting average (.388), runs (128), hits (177) and triples (11).
-Courtney Williams led the conference in slugging percentage (.966) and was second with four home runs.
-Zoe Kinakin was second in the league with a .512 batting average.
-In the pitching circle, the Vikings were second in the conference with a 1.99 earned run average and led the conference with 80 strikeouts.
-Bria Majeski led the league with eight wins, 61 strikeouts and a 1.47 ERA against UMAC competition.
Series Record: CSS leads 38-4
(Last Meeting: 7-2 BLC – 4/28/2019)
Series History: The Saints have defeated the Vikings each of the last two seasons in the UMAC Tournament … Prior to last Saturday, the last Bethany win in the series took place at the 2013 UMAC Tournament in Morris.
What You Need to Know about UW-Superior:
Record: 17-17, 14-2 UMAC
-The Yellowjackets recorded their most UMAC wins during the regular season since joining the league.
-Superior won its only UMAC Tournament title in 2016.
-UWS led the UMAC with 43 doubles and was second with a .542 slugging percentage.
-Alayna Tulip was fourth in the conference with a .481 batting average.
-Gabby Gidley led the league with four triples.
-Tiffany Kirk tied for second in the league with 10 doubles.
-UWS led the conference with a .223 opposing batting average and was third in the league with a 2.20 ERA.
-Ashley Taipale led conference pitchers with .185 opposing batting average, tied for second with seven wins and finished second with 50 strikeouts.
-Taipale threw a no-hitter against the Saints early in the season.
-Amanda Kishish was second in the conference with a 1.66 ERA.
Series Record: CSS leads 27-26
(Last Meeting: 4-3 (F/8) UWS– 4/3/2019)
Series History: The Yellowjackets swept a doubleheader from the Saints back in early April for the first time since 2002 … The only postseason meeting took place in 2016 where the Yellowjackets won 2-of-3 to capture the UMAC Tournament title.
What You Need to Know about Northwestern:
Record: 23-15, 11-5 UMAC
-The Eagles are the defending UMAC Tournament champions and were the preseason conference favorite.
-Northwestern finished second in the conference with 42 doubles, a .434 on-base percentage and 32 stolen bases.
-Mindy Forcier was third in the UMAC with a .509 batting average and led the conference with 26 runs scored and 15 stolen bases.
-Kayla Madison led the conference with a .574 on-base percentage, while Ellie Ronning was third with 20 RBIs.
-UNW was fourth in the conference with a 3.17 ERA and a .253 opposing batting average.
-Lexi Kopacek led the team and was sixth in the conference with a 2.86 ERA.
-Abbie Nelson had a team-high 18 strikeouts against UMAC batters.
Series Record: CSS leads 76-17
(Last Meeting: 5-4 (F/10) CSS– 4/15/2019)
Series History: The Saints and Eagles split the doubleheader in St. Paul in mid-April … The Saints prevailed in 10 innings to take game two, which halted a four-game win streak in the series for Northwestern … The Eagles defeated the Saints twice last season to capture the UMAC Tournament championship … Those were the first two UMAC Tournament wins against the Saints in program history.
What You Need to Know about Minnesota Morris:
Record: 16-20, 6-10 UMAC
-The Cougars are back in the UMAC Tournament after missing out the previous two seasons.
-Morris has never won a UMAC Tournament title.
-The Cougars did not finish higher than fourth in any offensive statistical category.
-Marissa Allen led the team with 22 hits and finished fifth in the conference with eight doubles.
-Lydia Mann led the team with 17 RBIs in league play.
-Pitcher Mollie Dummer finished third in the conference with 43 strikeouts.
Series Record: CSS leads 50-3
(Last Meeting: 6-1 CSS– 4/13/2019)
Series History: The Saints haven't lost against the Cougars since the 2015 UMAC Tournament … In fact, two of Minnesota Morris' three wins in the series have taken place in the UMAC Tournament.
Looking Ahead: The winner of the UMAC Tournament receives the automatic qualifier into next week's NCAA Division III Tournament. The field will be announced at noon on Monday on NCAA.com.
