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Vikings Host Butler, Play Thursday Twinbill At Robert Morris
April 2, 2008
Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Release in PDF Format
Cleveland State Softball
Games 21-23
SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State will attempt to open its home schedule for a third time this week when the Vikings host Butler for a three-game Horizon League series at Viking Field. The teams will play a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, April 5 and then finish the weekend with a single game at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday (April 6). CSU will also play a Thursday (April 3) doubleheader at Robert Morris. Cleveland State enters the week with a 12-6 overall record, standing in a second place tie in the Horizon League with a 2-1 mark. PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Under the direction of second year head coach Angie Nicholson, the Vikings enter the 2008 campaign with few questions that need to be answered. With seven starters returning from last year's squad that posted a 33-14 record and the addition of nine first year players, Nicholson has a deep and experienced roster that will allow her many options when filling out the starting lineup. Like all good teams, the Vikings are strong up the middle. The double-play combination of shortstop Christa Coppus (.386 avg., 15 RBI) and Amanda Houchin (.196) at second base return after each earned first team all-league honors a year ago. CSU has first-year starters at the corners as junior transfer Natalie DeMatteis (.218) takes over at third base with freshman Katelyn Ciminelli (.294) or junior Amanda Kern (.333) starting at first base. Junior Haley Keller (.244, 3 HR, 12 RBI), who started every game behind the plate last year, shares time with freshman Amy Powell (.167). Jessica Burt (.229, 10 runs, 6 SB) moves from left to right with Danielle Young (.308, 9 RBI, 14 runs) taking over in center field. Whitney Willard (.350, 12 RBI, 14 runs, 7-9 SB), who missed the last third of the season with a concussion, is the lone senior on the roster and returns to start in left field. Second team All-Horizon League honoree Amanda Macenko (9-5, 1.67 ERA, 2 saves), who set CSU records for wins (26) and innings pitched (227.1) as a freshman, returns as the ace of the pitching staff. Freshmen Brittany Bate (1-0, 2.74 ERA) and Kala Allred (2-1, 3.18) are expected to both see time in the circle, alleviating the burden of pitching almost every game that Macenko endured last year. NOT A BAD START TO ENCORE: Sophomore Amanda Macenko, the most-dominant pitcher in the Horizon League a year ago, has started her sophomore campaign out strongly, taking s 9-5 record and 1.67 ERA into the week. As a freshman last year, Macenko set a school record by pitching 227.1 innings (out of a possible 322). She went 26-10 with a 1.79 ERA to break Amy Kyler's school record for wins in a season. She also ranked second all-time in appearances (41) and games started (35), was sixth in shutouts (5) and seventh in strikeouts (153). . . . RANKING AMANDA: As we approach the halfway point of the 2008 schedule, sophomore Amanda Macenko has already made a place for herself among the league statistical leaders. She currently leads the league in wins (9), batting average allowed (.189), strikeouts (105) and strikeouts looking (29) and is second in innings pitched (92.1), ERA (1.67), saves (2) and appearances (17). EMU GAMES RESCHEDULED: The doubleheader at Eastern Michigan, which was originally scheduled for March 25 but cancelled because of an unplayable field, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, April 8 beginning at 3:00 p.m. REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings won two of the three games against Wright State in a series that was moved from Cleveland to Fairborn because of weather conditions. Here are a summary of those games: Game 16: CSU 4, Wright State 3 Wright State 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 3 6 2 Game 17: CSU 4, Wright State 3 Wright State 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 - 3 8 5 Game 18: Wright State 4, CSU 0 Wright State 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 - 4 5 0 118 & COUNTING FOR COPPUS: Junior shortsop Christa Coppus enters the week having started every game during her Viking career. . . 118 to date. She earned the starting nod in all 53 games as a freshman in 2006 and started 47 straight last season. This year, she is one of six Vikings to start all 18 contests. . . . AND COPPUS ON THE CHARTS: Christa Coppus begins the week ranked among the top 10 in school history in several categories. She is hitting a school record .365 (135-370) while also ranking fifth with 10 homeruns and 82 RBI and eighth with 75 runs scored. . . . AND COPPUS ANSWERS SLOW START: Coppus opened the season carrying over a 12-game hitting streak from the end of the 2007 season but couldn't buy a hit during the first weekend, going 0-10 in four games at UNC Greensboro. The hitting slump didn't even phase the junior as she banged out seven hits in nine at-bats during the first two games at Eastern Kentucky to start a stretch that has seen her go 22 for 47 (.468) with 15 RBI and 11 runs scored. She has had six multi-hit games, using four singles to drive in four runs against Appalachian State on March 1 and three doubles to register a season-high five RBI vs. Rider on March 14. Coppus begins the week sixth in the Horizon League in batting (.383), ranking fifth in on base percentage (.462) and seventh in RBI (15) WILLARD'S RETURN A SUCCESS: Senior Whitney Willard has shown no ill affects from the concussion that caused her to miss the final 17 games last year, earning Horizon League Player of the Week honors after leading the Vikings with a .500 batting average in the season-opening tournament at UNC Greensboro. Willard has continued her torrid pace, entering the week ranking second on the team with a .350 batting average. She leads the team and ranks seventh in the league with 14 runs scored and is second on the squad with 12 RBI. She has at least one hit in 14 of the 18 games, posting six multi-hit games. QUALITY NOT QUANTITY FOR KELLER: Junior catcher Haley Keller enters the week making the most of her .244 batting average. She is 11 for 45 at the plate this year with seven of her hits being for extra bases to lead the team and rank sixth in the league with a .578 slugging percentage. Keller leads the team and is ninth in the league with three homeruns, is second on the team (fourth in the league) with a pair of triples and has two doubles. Her 12 RBI is second on the team. She had just one hit at Wright State last week, a one-out, two-run double in the seventh that drove home the game tying and winning runs in a 4-3 Viking victory. A LINEUP SHAKEUP: After opening the annual spring trip to Orlando with just one win in the Vikings first four games, head coach Angie Nicholson shook up the starting lineup a bit, inserting junior Amanda Kern into the lineup at first base and taking the anticipated redshirt off freshman Katelyn Ciminelli to start her at the DP. The move paid off as CSU went on to win six of their last seven games. Ciminelli has started five times during that span, hitting .294 with five RBI, while Kern, who had been used mostly as a pinch-runner, has five hits in her 15 at-bats for a .333 average. A FLIP-FLOP IN THE OUTFIELD: The other lineup change made down in Florida was for Danielle Young and Jessica Burt to exchange outfield spots with Burt taking over in right field and Young moving to center. The duo has played well this season with Young ranking fourth on the team with a .308 batting average and tied for first with 14 runs scored while, Burt is hitting .229 with 10 runs scored, nine RBI and six stolen bases NEXT UP: The Vikings play a doubleheader at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday (April 8) and host Detroit on Thursday (April 10) before heading to Green Bay for a three-game series over the weekend.
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