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April 20, 2004
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This week: Miami University's softball team takes a quick reprieve from the MAC season to host local rival Wright State (12-28) in a doubleheader on Wednesday (3 p.m.). The weekend brings a return to MAC and the road as the RedHawks put first place on the line at Ohio (12-23, 6-6 MAC) with a doubleheader on Saturday (1 p.m.) and a single game on Sunday (1 p.m.).
About the Raiders: Last year's true cinderella, Wright State carried a 12-35 mark into the league tournament and reeled off four wins to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Once there, the Raiders knocked off the 31-19 Missouri Tigers before bowing out of the tourney.
This year's WSU team is off to a similar start, putting together a 12-28 record on the season. The Raiders are hitting .224 as a team, while allowing a .282 average. Their leading hitter is sophomore Brandi Steiner, the lone hitter over .300 (.302).
In the circle, freshman Amanda Cody has seen the majority of innings, while three others have thrown at least 30. Cody has a 7-15 record, while boasting a staff-best 2.71 ERA in 137.0 innings. She also has struck out 155 batters compared to 80 walks.
Wright State has had mixed results against common opponents with Miami. The Raiders defeated Dayton, but have dropped games to Western Michigan and Toledo (twice). The RedHawks lost to both Dayton and Western Michigan, but defeated Toledo.
February 15, 2003 - Miami vs. Wright State (Atlanta, Ga.): While playing at the Georgia State Invitational, the RedHawks and Raiders met for the only time in 2003, with Miami getting the 5-0 advantage. Courtney Salmon (Auburn, Wa./Auburn) scattered seven hits in collecting the shutout in her collegiate debut. Salmon struck out seven on the day. Offensively, junior Sarah Buffie (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) picked up her first career home run. The win pushed the Red and White's record to 2-0 to open the season.
About the Bobcats: Despite a team batting average of .247, four Bobcat starters are hitting over .300 led by Erin Chapman. Second on the team with a .314 average, Chapman leads the team with 20 runs, five home runs and 20 RBIs. She was the only Ohio all-MAC selection in 2003.
In the circle, OU has a unique situation with five pitchers seeing innings and just two complete games among the staff. Natalie Armstrong and Kerri Harley have seen the majority of the innings, thowing 94.1 and 78.0, respectively. Armstrong has had more success, with a 4-5 record and 2.00 ERA, while Harley has been comparable in both categories (5-8, 2.51).
Ohio has rebounded from a 6-17 start to split its first 12 games of the MAC season. Currently sitting fourth in the MAC East Division, the Bobcats have held their own against some of the better league teams in the first half of their conference season. After taking one-of-three against second-place Kent State, OU swept defending division champ Marshall in a doubleheader on April 6 before taking the Herd to extra innings in the series finale a week later.
March 29-30, 2003 - Miami vs. Ohio (Oxford, Ohio): In the first weekend of the 2003 MAC season the RedHawks swept Ohio to jump out to a 4-1 start in conference play. In the first game of the series, Miami won 4-3 in a game with zero earned runs and took the second game, 7-2, behind three players with two hits and three with two runs. The series finale was a tie game in the bottom of the seventh when Sarah Buffie singled home Angie Gerber for the winning run. Courtney Salmon picked up a pair of wins in the series, while Jamie Carey (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) batted .556 (5-9) with three runs and three walks.
Series' History: The RedHawks a have long, established series with both Wright State and Ohio, having played them 36 and 71 times, respectively. Miami has never really had trouble with the Raiders, owning the 30-6 series advantage, but does not take them lightly, as three of the losses have come in the last eight meetings.
The Miami-Ohio battles have raged on since 1975, with the Bobcats winning 42-of-71 games, making it the second-longest rivalry in team history.
Pitcher of the Week: Junior Jackie Poggendorf (Phoenix, Ariz./Shadow Mountain) has been named this week's MAC East Division Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced on Monday. It is her sixth career honor, second of the season and fourth for the RedHawks in 2004. In two starts against Marshall over the weekend, Poggendorf went 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 14 innings of work. She had a shutout and allowed just two walks and eight hits to the MAC's top-hitting team.
Last Week-at Marshall:
Miami 1/3, Marshall 0/6-The Red and White took game one from Marshall behind a four-hit shutout from junior Jackie Poggendorf, who also scored the winning run. In game two, Miami fell behind 6-1 and couldn not recover, adding a pair of runs in the late innings.
Miami 3, Eastern Michigan 2-Poggendorf picked up her second win, striking out 11 batters allowing just one earned run to give the RedHawks the series victory. Sophomore Kristen Hays (Phoenix, Ariz./Shadow Mountain) drove in what proved to be the winning run with her second hit of the game, a single in the third inning. With the series victory, the Red and White held on to sole possesion of first place in the MAC East Division.
Leader of the MAC: Two-thirds of the way through the league schedule, the RedHawks are sitting in first place in the division and are in a good position to earn a berth in the MAC Tournament. With four less games under their belt, Kent State sits in second at 8-3, while defending division champ Marshall is third at 8-5 after a 2-2 mark last week. Central Michigan continues to run away with the west, having won nine-straight MAC games for a 10-1 league mark. The Red and White are currently one game back of the Chippewas for the best record in the league.
Down-Right Offensive: The key to MU's success in the conference schedule has been the awakening of the Red and White offense to compliment a solid pitching staff. Seven players that started all three games with Marshall are batting over .300, giving the Red and White a .276 team batting average in league play. MU is outhitting opponents .276-.214, have nearly doubled the number of runs scored (62-36) and have walked seven more times (28-21), while striking out 41 times less (69-110).
Entering conference play, Miami had scored 39 runs in 22 games and a 7-15 record. Since MAC play began, MU has scored 62 runs in 15 games and improved its record to 18-19 on the season. Entering league play, the RedHawks' highest run output had been six runs in the season opener. In 15 MAC outings, Miami has plated at least six runs six times, including a 13-1 romp at Toledo on March 31.
The RedHawks' 13 runs against the Rockets are their most since scoring a 13-2 victory over Dayton in 1999, while the 12-run margin of victory is the largest since a 13-0 win over Florida A&M in 1995.
Destination .500: After winning its weekend series at Marshall, Miami is one game shy of reaching .500 for the season. Last season's 27-22 season was Miami's first winning record since the 1991 season (34-18). The RedHawks had reached the .500 mark for good at 18-18. If the Red and White can surge to a winning record for the 2004 campaign, it will mark the first time Miami has had back-to-back winning records since the 1990 (36-20) and 1991 seasons.
Battle of the Bricks: A product of the Ohio-Miami rivalry, the "Battle of the Bricks" trophy is awarded to the school with the most wins in the all-sport series. In the first year of the trophy, the RedHawks came out on top, 27-7. This season, the Red and White have jumped out to a staggering 19-6 lead in the standings. The "Battle of the Bricks" name comes from each school's reputation for pristine campuses and red brick buildings.
Making Up For Lost Time: Sophomore catcher Becca Garcia (College Park, Calif./Martinez) returned to the lineup last weekend after making just one pinch-hit appearance in the previous six games due to injury. The time off followed a four-game stretch that saw her hit .500 (6-12) with six runs, two RBIs and a pair of doubles. In the series opener with Marshall, Garcia went 3-for-4 in her return to the lineup and finished the weekend with a .400 average. With her recent performances, before and after her missed time, Garcia leads the team with a .357 batting average on the season a .400 mark in league games.
Home Run Derby: Following what is likely to be a critical doubleheader with Kent State on May 2, the RedHawks are hosting a home run derby to raise funds for the program. Fans are encouraged to stick around following the final out and cheer on their favorite players and coaches. Donations can be made as a one-time gift or as a pledge for every home run hit during the event.
Coaching Win Record: Head coach Angie Jacobs entered the 2004 season with 92 career wins, just eight shy of the 100-win plateau. She reached that figure with a win against Buffalo on March 27 and set her sights on 113. That is the current team record for coaching wins, held by Liz Kelly (1989-1992). With the RedHawks' 3-2 win over Marshall Sunday, Jacobs has 110 wins for her career and needs just three more to tie the mark.
Don't Walk: Junior Jackie Poggendorf continues to establish herself as one of the most controlled, yet dominating, pitchers in the MAC. Last season, the junior southpaw led all conference pitchers in strikeout-to-walk ratio, striking out a school-record 163 batters and walking just 22 (7.41 k's per walk). This year, after walking seven batters in her first 33 innings, she went 36.1 innings before walking another. In the MAC season, so far, she has fanned 70 batters, while issuing just five walks. Poggendorf is bettering her 2003 numbers, with 113 strikeouts overall compared to 12 walks (9.42 k's per walk).
In her career, she has 433 strikeouts and 61 walks in 533 innings for a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 7.01-to-1 and 0.80 walks per seven innings.
Record Chaser: In only her third season, Poggendorf is on pace to eclipse the school mark for career strikeouts. After tying the single-season mark as a freshman, and breaking it as a sophomore, Poggendorf entered 2004 just 129 off the school standard. With 113 strikeouts this season, she is 16 K's shy and on pace to eclipse the record this season.
Poggendorf has gone 10-5 so far this season, giving her 39 career wins and putting her second all-time at Miami. With a strong finish to this season and a good senior campaign, Poggendorf could challenge the school record of 61 wins.
Double or Nothing: The Miami offense is kicking it into high gear, and every hitter is getting into the act, including sophomore Bianca Paz (Mesilla, N.M./Las Cruces). While raising her batting average near the .300 mark, she has jumped into the team lead in doubles. The sophomore transfer has 19 hits in her last 21 games, including nine doubles. At one point, Paz had hit doubles as six of her last seven base hits.
We're Going Streaking: After dropping its MAC season opener, Miami went on a six-game winning streak (3/27-4/4), with all six wins coming in league games. Though the RedHawks dropped a mid-week doubleheader at Western Michigan on April 7, they returned to their winning ways with a three-game sweep of Eastern Michigan the next weekend. The Red and White picked up a win in the series opener with Marshall, pushing that streak to four games. After being sidetracked with a single loss, the Red and White has a chance to start a new streak, entering this week on a winning note.
Conference Roads, Take Me Home: The road can be a scary place, as many teams can atest, especially in the conference season. Last year's RedHawks became the "RoadHawks," as they went 8-5 (.615) on the road in MAC play. Their win total was just one shy of Miami's combined road conference win total in the previous four seasons of nine. This year MU is 3-3 with three road league games remaining. The Red and White hit the road this weekend for the final time and host games in Oxford the next two weekends.
Not Forgetting Where They Came From: Sure Miami has had some success on the road, but it has not forgotten its home-field advantage. With a three-game sweep over Eastern Michigan on April 9 and 10, the RedHawks have won eight-straight at home after a loss to Buffalo on March 27. The Red and White has posted a 17-7 mark at Miami Softball Field since the start of 2003, including a 15-5 mark in MAC play. Beyond its eight-game winning streak, MU has won 13-of-14 overall and 11-of-12 against MAC schools in Oxford.
Shadow Mountain Alums Sweep MAC Awards: High school teammates junior Jackie Poggendorf and sophomore Kristen Hays swept the MAC East Division Pitcher and Player of the Week honors announced April 5.
Poggendorf finished the week with a 3-0 record and 1.47 ERA, while striking out 27 batters, compared to two walks, in 19 innings of work for Miami. Hays batted .545 (6-11) with a team-high seven RBIs, four runs and a pair of doubles for the week. Against Akron on Sunday she had two doubles, two runs and three RBIs, while also taking away a Zip home run with a catch at the fence in the sixth inning of a 1-1 game.
The duo joined sophomore Courtney Salmon who won the MAC East Division Pitcher of the Week award March 29.
Milestones: With a first-inning walk in Miami's first game against Buffalo on March 27, senior Jessica Zogaib (Temperence, Mich./Bedford) reached the 50-walk mark for her career. More importantly, she became the school record holder in the category, passing Nicki Pelfrey's (1999-2002) old standard of 49. Zogaib had tied the mark against Butler two days earlier.
Classmate Jamie Carey is making a push to join Zogaib atop the list. Entering the year with 33 career walks, Carey paces the team with 12 free passes and is within five base on balls of joining the 50-walk club.
They're Fast... For Catchers: The California catcher tandem of sophomore Becca Garcia and freshman Leslie Macedo (Livermore, Calif./Livermore) used the first weekend of spring break to showcase their speed. In the first four games of spring break, the duo combined for four infield singles, wreaking havoc on infielders at the Blue & Gold Classic. Garcia beat out singles to shortstop, third base and up the middle in three starts behind the plate, while Macedo beat out a shortstop's throw in her start at backstop. Garcia, who has made her speed known, finishing last season 7-for-7 on stolen base attempts, added a bunt single against UNC-Greensboro and her fifth infield hit of the year against Buffalo on March 27.
Preseason Poll: The RedHawks were picked to finish second in the MAC East according to the annual preseason coaches' poll conducted by the conference. Miami finished second in 2003 behind Marshall, who was picked to win the division and the conference tournament this season. Kent State, who finished third last season, was picked to repeat its third-place finish this season. In the West, Central Michigan was picked to finish first ahead of last year's MAC Champion Western Michigan and Bowling Green, which finished fourth in 2003. The RedHawks took second in the MAC East last year despite a sixth-place preseason ranking.
Fitting the Glass Slipper: Last year's run to the MAC Championship game was characterized as a "Cinderella Run" by those around Miami Softball. After a 20-year drought, the RedHawks swept a road series at Kent State to qualify for the tourney, with the final win coming on a last-inning, two-out grand slam by Angie Gerber. As the sixth seed, the Red and White knocked off top-seeded Marshall, as well as the third and fourth seeds, en route to the MAC Championship game. One game from its first MAC Championship, Miami fell to Western Michigan, 4-0, the only team to defeat MU during the MAC Tournament.
Jackie Poggendorf was named MAC Tournament MVP after pitching in all of the Red and White's tournament games and going 4-1 with a 1.83 ERA and 34/3 K-to-BB ratio in 30.2 innings. Joining her with all-tournament accolades was Carey (.368 BA), Garcia (.529 BA, 2 HR, 5 RBI) and junior Jacque Molinaro (Folansbee, W.Va./Brooke) (.429, 1, 2).
Honored: Following the RedHawks' most successful season in recent memory, several players were honored both locally and regionally. Five players earned all-MAC nods, with senior Angie Gerber being selected to the first team and junior Jamie Carey, sophomore Jackie Poggendorf and freshmen Becca Garcia and Courtney Salmon being named to the second team.
Carey and Garcia went on to earn all-region second-team honors. Carey finished 2003 with a school-record .408 batting average, while Garcia posted spectacular numbers as a freshman, batting .367 with six home runs, 25 RBIs and making just one error in 304 chances behind the plate.
Next Up: The RedHawks prepare to host Kent State in a crucial three-game set, April 30-May 1, at Miami Softball Field. Currently first and second in the East Division, the series could determine the division champion, or even a spot in the MAC Tournament. Last year, the RedHawks swept Kent State in the final series of the season to leap frog them in the standings and make the tournament.
Head Coach Angie Jacobs:
In her fifth season at the helm of Miami's softball program, head coach Angie Jacobs saw her hard work pay off last year as she guided the RedHawks to their most successful season in 12 years and to their first MAC Tournament since 1983.
Angie Gerber's game-winning grand slam in the MAC season finale against Kent State propelled the Red and White into the MAC Tournament and sparked a Cinderella run that ended in the championship game of the league tournament.
Jacobs, a tireless worker, has been fine-tuning the instruments that have elevated the RedHawks into a MAC Tournament contender. Miami has increased its win total in each of Jacobs' first three seasons, culminating in last year's 27-22 record.
Last year, Jacobs also led her players on a nine-game winning streak en route to a 16-4 season-ending stretch. The win streak was the program's longest since starting the 1991 season 10-0 and included a critical 7-0 conference stretch.
The RedHawks have been led by 10 all-MAC performers, including three all-region honorees, during Jacob's tenure, headed by a school-record five in 2003. Leading the list is recently-graduate Angie Gerber's three all-MAC awards and four other players returning in 2004 after being honored last season. Senior Jamie Carey and sophomore Becca Garcia head the list of returnees after being named second-team all-region and all-MAC.
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