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Vikings Play At YSU, Host Saint Francis
April 14, 2008
Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Release in PDF Format
Games 28-29 Games 30-31 SETTING THE SCENE: For the second week in a row, Cleveland State will play a pair of mid-week doubleheaders. The Vikings will travel to Youngstown on Tuesday (April 15) for a 3:00 p.m. Horizon League doubleheader against the Penguins. CSU then returns home to host Saint Francis in a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 17. 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 (.410 avg., 20 RBI) and Amanda Houchin (.241) 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 (.229) takes over at third base with freshman Katelyn Ciminelli (.243) or junior Amanda Kern (.269) starting at first base. Junior Haley Keller (.275, 4 HR, 19 RBI), who started every game behind the plate last year, shares time with freshman Amy Powell (.245). Jessica Burt (.214, 14 runs, 10 RBI, 7 SB) moves from left to right with Danielle Young (.329, 15 RBI, 18 runs) taking over in center field. Whitney Willard (.312, 14 RBI, 20 runs, 13-15 SB), who missed the last third of the 2007 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 (13-8, 1.33 ERA, 3 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 (3-0, 2.10 ERA) and Kala Allred (2-1, 3.45) are expected to both see time in the circle, alleviating the burden of pitching almost every game that Macenko endured last year. REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings won three of the four games they played before foul weather cancelled a three-game series at Green Bay. Here is a summary of those games: Game 24: Eastern Michigan 3, CSU 1 Cleveland State 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1-3-1 Game 25: CSU 5, Eastern Michigan 1 Cleveland State 0 0 2 0 2 0 1 - 5-7-2 Game 26: CSU 1, Detroit 0 Detroit 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0-3-1 Game 27: CSU 6, Detroit 1 Detroit 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - 1-5-0 VIKINGS ARE STRONG FINISHERS: One statistic that just jumps off the sheet is that CSU is 11-0 this year when leading after five innings and a perfect 12-0 when leading after six innings. The Vikings have outscored their opponents, 20-10, in the sixth inning this season and an amazing 19-0 in the seventh inning. The seventh inning total has allowed CSU to rally from behind three times in the seventh inning this season and once when the score was tied going into the seventh. . . . AND ARE PERFECT ON FRIDAY: The good news, bad news statistic of the year is that Cleveland State has not lost a game played on Friday this year, owning a perfect 6-0 mark on that day. The bad news is that the Vikings will not play another Friday game until May 9th, the second day of the Horizon League Championship. To date, CSU has outscored its opponents 40-12 on Friday, owning wins over James Madison (8-0), Niagara (2-1), Wagner (9-0), Rider (13-5) and two wins over Wright State (4-3 & 4-3). 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 a 13-8 record and 1.33 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 start the second half 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 seven stat categories, including wins, appearances (25), ERA (1.33), opposing batting average (.190), innings pitched (142.1), strikeouts (151) and strikeouts looking (45). . . . AND RANKING MACENKO'S CAREER: When sophomore Amanda Macenko won both ends of a doubleheader against Detroit on Thursday (April 10), she raised her career win total to 39, moving her into third place in CSU history for career wins. In fact, Macenko ranks in the top six in all seven pitching statistics, owning the record for career winning percentage (39-18, .684), ranking second in saves (5), third in ERA (1.61) and wins, fourth in strikeouts (304) and eighth in both innings pitched (369.2) and appearances (66) MACENKO EQUALS SAVES RECORD: When Amanda Macenko pitched the 10th inning in the 7-6 win at Robert Morris on April 3, she tied the school record with her third save of the year. Amy Kyler originally set the mark with three in 1997. Macenko now has five career saves, one less than the school record of six set by Grace Luginbuhl (2003-06). 127 & COUNTING FOR COPPUS: Junior shortsop Christa Coppus enters the week having started every game during her Viking career. . . 127 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 five Vikings to start all 27 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 .371 (147-396) while also ranking fifth with 11 homeruns and 87 RBI and eighth with 78 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 34-for-73 (.466) with 20 RBI and 14 runs scored. She has had 10 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 third in the Horizon League in batting (.410), fourth in on base percentage (.479) and slugging percentage (.663) and eighth in RBI (20). HIBERNATION APPEARS OVER FOR BEAR: After struggling to hit .196 in the first 18 games, junior Amanda Houchin, who is nicknamed Bear, appears to have come alive at the plate, going nine-for-28 (.321) with three doubles, and six runs scored in six games over the last two weeks to raise her season batting average to .241. Last year, she was second on the team with a .383 batting average and 29 RBI to earn first team All-Horizon League honors. WAY TO GO MACENKKKKKO: One area of noticeable improvement this season for Amanda Macenko is her strikeouts to walks ratio. Last year, she struck out 153 batters and walked 22, or one walk for every 6.95 strikeouts. This year, she has struck out 151 and walked just 15, good for an 10.1 strikeouts to walk ratio. She has been even better of late, striking out 78 and walking just five in her last 12 appearances covering 78 innings, including a streak of 35.1 innings without a walk which was snapped in the second Butler game. FRESHMAN DUO MAKE THEIR MARKS: After opening the season as reserves, the freshmen duo of Katelyn Ciminelli and Amy Powell have used strong showings at the plate to find a place for themselve in the starting lineup. Ciminelli has started 12 games as a designated hitter, ranking seventh on the team with a .243 batting average (9-37). Powell has started 18 games at either DP or catcher, hitting .245 (12-49). 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 third on the team with a .312 batting average. She leads the team and ranks 11th in the league with 20 runs scored and is fourth on the squad with 14 RBI. She has at least one hit in 20 of the 28 games, posting eight multi-hit games. OH TO BE YOUNG: Junior centerfielder Danielle Young has put together two of her best weeks of her season, hitting .364 (12-33) with four runs scored, a homerun, triple, two doubles and eight RBI in the last nine games. She drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh in the 1-0 win over Detroit on April 10 and had a hand in all three runs in the 3-2 win over Butler on April 5. She sacrificed Whitney Willard to second in the first inning and when Willard kept going to third, she drew an errant throw that allowed her to score. Young drove home the final two runs the traditional way, hitting a homerun to right in the third inning with one runner aboard. Earlier in the week, she gave CSU a 6-5 lead in the top of the seventh when she singled home two runs against Robert Morris. After the Colonials tied the game in the bottom of the inning, Young drove in the game-winner in the 10th to give CSU a 7-6 win. NEXT UP: The Vikings travel to UIC for a three-game series with the Flames. CSU will play a doubleheader on Saturday (April 19) and a single game on Sunday (April 20).
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