April 6, 2010

Contact: Brian McCann

Complete Release in PDF Format

Games 30-32
Detroit (2-16, 0-6) at Cleveland State (21-8, 2-1)
Date: Tues., April 6, 2010, 5:00 p.m. (2) & Wed., April 7, 2010, 1:00 p.m. (1)
Site: Viking Field (500), Cleveland, Ohio

Games 33-35
Wright State (13-17, 4-2) at Cleveland State
Date: Sat., April 10, 2010, 1:00 p.m. (2) & Sun., April 11, 2010, 12:00 noon (1)
Site: Viking Field (500), Cleveland, Ohio

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State continues its current nine-game home stand this week by hosting a pair of three-game Horizon League series at Viking Field. Detroit (2-16, 0-6) visits mid-week, playing a 5:00 p.m. doubleheader on Tuesday (April 6) and a single game at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday (April 7). Wright State (13-17, 4-2) then visits over the weekend, playing a 1:00 p.m. twinbill on Saturday (April 10) and a single game on Sunday (April 11) at 12:00 noon. The Vikings enter the week with a 21-8 overall record and in third place in the league standings with a 2-1 mark. CSU has won 12 of its last 13 games to surpass the 20-win mark for the ninth straight season. Included in the total was a 2-1 series victory over defending Horizon League regular season champion UIC at home over the weekend.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: It didn't take long for fourth year head coach Angie Nicholson to settle on a starting lineup this season. With a somewhat veteran lineup returning, featuring five returning starters and 11 letterwinners, Nicholson has shaken things up a bit in hopes of securing CSU its second straight leage title and NCAA berth. Just two players in the starting lineup are playing the same position that they did last season. The lone similarity is in the battery where senior Amanda Macenko (16-8, 2.48 ERA), the two-time Horizon League Pitcher of the Year, is once again receiving the lion's share of innings in the circle with freshman Tess Sito (2-0, 2.86) getting starts recently while junior Amy Powell (.194, 1 HR, 3 RBI) and senior Mimi Mahon (.283, 2 HR, 9 RBI) share the catching duties. The outfield has been shaken up a bit as junior Jessica Burt (.295, 16 RBI, 26 runs, 19-19 SB), who started in left field in 2008 and missed all but eight innings of 2009, shifts to center. With returners Andrea Nagy and Christina Stoffer out for the year with injuries, sophomore Alicia Nichols (.350, 14 runs, 11-15 SB) has taken over in right field with sophomore Megan Bashak (.225, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 9 runs) and freshman Caila Ferro (.227, 3 RBI) sharing left field. Lia Gordon (.329, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 15 runs) and Katelyn Ciminelli (.256, 11 RBI, 12 runs) have switched positions with Gordon, a first team all-league choice last year, taking over at first base with Ciminelli being tabbed the DP. The rest of the infield is new with freshmen Gabby Gillilan (.200, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 14 runs) playing third base, Sito (.511, 11 HR, 26 RBI, 27 Runs, 23-29 SB) handling shortstop and Dara Toman (.265, 6 HR, 24 RBI, 20 runs) at second base.

VIKINGS TABBED AS PRESEASON FAVORITE: Cleveland State, which claimed the 2008 Horizon League Softball regular season crown and the 2009 league tournament title, is the overwhelming favorite to win the 2010 Horizon League title in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches. The Vikings received seven first place and one second place vote, good for 63 total points. The complete poll is below:

2010 Horizon League Preseason Poll School (1st Place Votes) Votes 1. Cleveland State(7), 63 2. UIC (1), 57 3. Wright State(1), 46 T-4. Butler, 38 T-4. Loyola, 38 6. Valparaiso, 37 7. Green Bay, 22 8. Youngstown State, 15 9. Detroit, 8

VIKINGS REPRESENTED IN NCAA STATS: Cleveland State is ranked in the top 50 nationally in seven of the 11 categories in the most recent NCAA statistics, which were released on March 30. CSU was sixth in stolen bases (2.5/game), 16th in doubles (1.65), 26th in slugging percentage (.490), 28th in home runs (1.04), 34th in won-loss percentage (.731), 37th in scoring (5.62) and 43rd in batting average (.299). Individually, freshman Tess Sito was fourth in batting average (.523), sixth in slugging percentage (.977), seventh in stolen bases (0.81), 15th in home runs/game (0.38) and 19th in total home runs (10). Jessica Burt was 34th in stolen bases (0.62) and Amanda Macenko was 16th in victories (15).

GORDON TIES HR RECORD: When Lia Gordon blasted a third inning home run in the 6-1 win over UIC on Sunday, it allowed the senior to tie the CSU career record with her 21st career round tripper. Amy Jauert (1995-98) originally set the record but Gordon, who hit a school record 13 home runs last season, tied her with her fourth HR of the year.

. . . BUT SITO IS READY TO TAKE A RECORD AWAY: A solo home run by Tess Sito on Friday against UIC moved the freshman into a second place tie with Amanda Houchin (2009) on the single season home run chart with 11 this year. Gordon holds the record with 13 in 53 games last year but Sito is coming on fast, recording her 11 long balls in just 29 games.

MACENKO IS CLOSING IN ON 100: Already the winningest pitcher in Cleveland State history, senior Amanda Macenko is quickly closing in on the 100-win mark for her career. Macenko was the winning pitcher in Friday's 4-3 win over UIC, moving her to 16-8 with a 2.48 ERA this year and giving her the 96th victory in her career. She recently added the school record for career appearances to her lengthy list of school marks, breaking Grace Luginbuhl's old record of 151 (Macenko now has 161).

STOP THAT THIEF: The Vikings are stealing bases at a school-record pace this year, ranking sixth nationally averaging 2.48 steals a game. CSU has stolen 72 bases in 89 attempts (.808). Freshman Tess Sito leads the league and ranks fifth nationally with 23 stolen bases and despite having half a season to go, she already ranks eighth on the CSU single season steal list. Junior Jessica Burt has been perfect on the base paths, ranking 34th in the nation with 19 steals in 19 attempts. Sophomore Alicia Nichols, who led the team with 17 steals last year, is 11-for-15 on the year.

SITO IN THE CIRCLE: Although the hitting accomplishments of freshman Tess Sito have been extraordinary this season, she has recently returned to the circle and put up some strong numbers. In two games against UIC last week, Sito went 1-0 with a 2.15 ERA in 13 innings. She threw six strong innings in the Vikings 4-3 win on Friday, leaving the game with the contest tied at 3-3. On Saturday, she scattered six hits in a 6-1 win over the Flames. Sito was a two-time Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year at Elyria High School, going 53-5 and a 0.22 ERA with 643 strikeouts in 367.2 innings.

. . . AND AT THE PLATE: Through 29 games, Tess Sito leads (or shares the lead) the team in batting average (.511), runs (27), hits (48), doubles (7), HR's (11), total bases (90), slugging percentage (.957), stolen bases (23) and on base percentage (.566). She is ahead of a school record pace for batting average, slugging percentage and on base percentage and, with as many as 28 games left, is close to moving into the season top 10 in several other categories.

DON'T FORGET TOMAN: Lost in the performance of Sito this season has been the play of freshman Dara Toman, who is quietly turning in an outstanding year. She is one of three players to play in all 29 games, earning 28 starts at second base and shortstop, hitting .265. She is second on the team with six home runs and 24 RBI and third with 20 runs scored. Defensively, she has made just seven errors in 111 chances for a .937 fielding percentage.

20 WINS: The two wins against UIC over the weekend improved CSU to 21-8 on the year, giving the Vikings their ninth straight season of 20 wins or more. The last time CSU failed to win 20 games was in 2001 when the Vikings posted a 19-33 mark. With the 20-win mark accomplished, CSU can set its sights on reaching the 30-win plateau for the fifth straight year. The school record is 38 wins in 2006.

NEXT UP: The Vikings take to the road for nine straight games, starting with a doubleheader at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, April 13th at 3:00 p.m.