March 27, 2007
Contact: Alan Ashby
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Upcoming Games:
Ohio
March 28 -- 3:00 p.m. (DH)
Cleveland, Ohio -- Viking Field
UW-Green Bay
March 31 -- 1 p.m. (DH)
April 1 -- 11 a.m.
Cleveland, Ohio -- Viking Field
Leading Off: Cleveland State continued its school-best start by taking 3-of-4 last week at the UMBC Spring Classic. CSU returns northeast Ohio to play five games this week as the schedule kicks into high gear. The Vikings will host Ohio in a doubleheader beginning at 3:00 p.m on Wednesday in their home-opener. CSU will then battle UW-Green Bay for three games over the weekend (Fri.-Sat.) to begin Horizon League play. The scheduled twin bill at Oakland on Tuesday was moved back to May 2 due to poor field conditions.
Off With A Bang: Cleveland State's 14-3 start is the best in the 29-year history of the program, narrowly edging the 1995, 1997 and 2006 squads who were each just a game behind at 13-4. The 1995 team had the best record after 22 games (CSU's total by the end of the week) -- at 17-5.
Quartet Honored For Play At UMBC: Despite finishing in second place with a 3-1 record last weekend, Cleveland State still managed to put four players on the UMBC Spring Classic All-Tournament team. Junior Whitney Willard (.267, 2 R), sophomores Christa Coppus (.231, 2 RBI) and Amanda Houchin (.308, 1 2B) and freshman Amanda Macenko (3-1, 2.13) all earned a spot on the squad for their outstanding play.
At Their "Whit's" End: Junior lead-off hitter Whitney Willard has been causing headaches for the opposition with her stellar play this season. The Nova, Ohio native currently leads the Vikings in batting average (.426), runs scored (15), on-base percentage (.456) and stolen bases (16), while picking up a hit in 15 of the 17 games in which she's played. The owner of four different 11-game hitting streaks in her career, the 2006 first team All-Horizon League selection has collected at least one hit in 25 of her last 27 games and has stolen 24 of 25 bases successfully dating back to April 26, 2006.
Favorable First Impression: Freshman Amanda Macenko has been nothing short of amazing in her first month of collegiate action. The Brunswick, Ohio native has posted a 0.92 ERA with an 11-2 record, one save and 67 strikeouts in 83.1 innings. She has appeared in 16 of Cleveland State's 17 contests, tossing eight complete games and a pair of shutouts, while walking just nine. Opponents are hitting a lowly .190 off of Macenko and she has allowed more than one earned run just twice all season, thanks largely in part to her 7:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Her quick start has already led to a trio of Horizon League Pitcher of the Week accolades on the young season (Feb. 27, March 13 & March 20).
Macenko Poised To Crack Season List: It's not even a third of the way into the season and Macenko is already just one win shy of cracking the Cleveland State season top 10 list for victories at 11-2. Four players are tied for eighth at 12 wins, while Amy Kyler set the school record with 24 victories in 1997.
A Real Bear At The Plate: Known as "Bear" to her teammates, sophomore Amanda Houchin has helped put some claws in the middle of the Cleveland State line-up. She is hitting .377 with 10 RBI, four doubles and team-highs of three home runs and a .623 slugging percentage. She garnered the Horizon League's Player of the Week accolades on Feb. 27 after going 4-for-10 with a double, two home runs and three RBI at the Longwood Spring Classic. The outburst is even more impressive considering the fact that the Lima, Ohio native went 3-for-30 with three RBI her entire freshman season.
The Young And The Restless: Sophomore right fielder Danielle Young didn't get much of a chance to show off her ability at the plate last season, garnering just two at-bats, while appearing in 19 contests mostly as a pinch runner. The Upper Sandusky, Ohio native has made the most of her opportunity this year, posting a .324 average with nine RBI, seven runs scored, four stolen bases and three doubles. In four games at UMBC over the weekend, she hit .455 (5-for-11) with three RBI.
Her Hits Come In Bunches: While sophomore Christa Coppus doesn't have any significant hitting streak to talk about, she is tied for the team lead with seven multi-hit games this year and has at least one base knock in 12 of CSU's 17 contests. After driving in 37 runs as a freshman, the 2006 second team All-Horizon League selection leads the team this year with 15 RBI -- thanks largely in part to a .423 average with runners in scoring position.
Climbing The Ladder: Senior Sarah Milosek has improved every season since arriving on Cleveland State's campus four years ago. A .111 hitter as a freshman, that number grew to .176 the following year before jumping to .321 as a junior. So far this season, the trend has continued as the Brighton, Mich. native is fifth on the team with a .358 average. In addition, she ranks second in runs scored (10) and stolen bases (5).
Sophomore Steps In: Sophomore Haley Keller had some pretty big shoes to fill with the graduation of second team All-Horizon League catcher J.J. Thornberry. If the early returns are any indication, the Fayette, Ohio native is adjusting nicely to her role in the starting line-up. Keller has started all 17 games behind the plate, ranking second on the team with a .390 average with 10 runs scored. She was a scorching 8-for-12 (.667) during her recent five-game hitting streak that came to an end on Sunday at UMBC. In addition, Keller has excelled defensively, making just one error (on a catcher's interference) in 106 chances (.991 fielding pct.) while gunning down six of 14 attempted base stealers (43 pct.).
Burt Shows Off All-America Form: Named an All-American in high school, freshman Jessica Burt (.298) has not disappointed in her first season as a Viking. The LaGrange, Ohio native has a hit in 12 of the 14 games in which she's played, is hitting .298 with six runs scored, five RBI and four stolen bases. She saw her nine-game hitting streak come to an end on Sunday against UMBC.
And They're Off: It appears that while the head coach may have changed, Cleveland State's philosophy on the basepaths has not. The Vikings, who led the nation last year in stolen bases (2.02 pg), are already 43-for-55 on the young season (2.56 pg). Junior Whitney Willard leads the way with a 16-for-17 effort to move into sixth place on the CSU career list with 43 thefts. Eleven players already have at least one stolen base for the Vikings, who are on a pace to swipe 142 bases this year (the current school record is 115).
Nicholson Returns To Familiar Surroundings: A 2000 graduate of Cleveland State, Angie Nicholson was named the 10th coach in the program's history on Aug. 21, 2006. She replaced Julie Jones, who accepted the head job at Akron over the summer after winning a school-record 244 games in 10 seasons at the helm of the Vikings. Nicholson is 151-114-1 (.570) in seven seasons as a head coach, including leading Cuyahoga Community College to a 30-15 mark, the regional title and a sixth-place finish nationally in 2004. A two-time conference coach of the year while at Tri-C, she moved on to Oberlin in 2005 and guided the Arrows to 25 victories and a regional berth after the program won just three games the previous season. Last year, Nicholson led Butler to a 17-30-1 record. A two-time All-Midwestern Collegiate Conference honoree, she played in 191 games for CSU (as Angie McCall), starting 187 times. A four-year letterwinner (1994; 1998-'00), she was also a four-time recipient of CSU's Athletic Academic Excellence Award.
Three-Headed Monster: Last year, Cleveland State became just the third team to lead the Horizon League in batting average (.288), earned run average (2.74) and fielding percentage (.967), joining the 1998 & `99 UIC squads. In addition, the Vikings also ranked nationally in all three categories, standing 39th in batting average, 47th in ERA and 46th in fielding. While it's still early, it appears that CSU is going to follow the same blueprint in 2007 (although they struggled a little in the field in Florida), as the Vikings lead the league in batting average (.345) and ERA (1.11), while standing fourth with a .947 fielding percentage.
Fun In The Sun: The Krenzler Field Dome appears to be paying tangible benefits for the Vikings. Since the dome went up in the fall of 2005 (thus providing an excellent practice facility in the winter), Cleveland State has posted back-to-back 8-2 records at the Rebel Spring Games after going 11-22 in its previous three trips to the Sunshine State. The Vikings outscored their opponents to the tune of 90-34 over the past two seasons at the Rebel Games, with three of their four losses being one-run affairs.
CSU To Host Championship: For the third time since joining the conference in 1995, Cleveland State will host the Horizon League Championship. This year, action will take place at Viking Field on May 10-12. The Vikings previously hosted the event in 1995 and 2003.
Academic Excellence: The Cleveland State softball team excelled not only on the field last year but in the classroom as well. The Vikings were ranked in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Academic Division I top 20 for the 2005-06 school year, finishing third with a team GPA of 3.506, marking the 14th consecutive year that CSU has been ranked in the top 20. Last season was CSU's fifth top 10 finish, joining the 2005 (3rd), 2004 (8th), 2002 (8th) and 1995 (5th) squads. In addition, senior pitcher Grace Luginbuhl (first team) and senior catcher J.J. Thornberry (second) were both named ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-Americans last year.
Up Next: Cleveland State hits the road for six games next week, including a mid-week contest on Tuesday (April 3) at Youngstown State and a doubleheader the following afternoon at Kent State. The Vikings then travel to Indianapolis for a three-game set at Butler on Friday and Saturday (April 6-7).
