Softball | 5/11/2013 12:53:00 AM
AGAINST THE WALL
Emporia State's battle through the loser's bracket begins against Minot State. The Hornets are 16-10 all-time in NCAA elimination games.
THE?COACH
Julie LeMaire is 80-30 in her second season at Emporia State. She was named MIAA Coach of the Year after going 20-0 in the MIAA last season. She is 172-107 in her fifth season as a head coach. She came to ESU after three years at Ft. Hays State. She is 20-11 in the postseason with a 12-5 record at Emporia State. She is 6-2 in elimination games with the Hornets.
LAST AT BAT
For the second straight meeting Emporia State took a first inning lead only to lose to top seeded Ft. Hays State 5-3 in the first round of the NCAA Central Regional 1 Tournament. The Hornets scored one in the top of the first and the Tigers answered with one in the bottom of the first. Emporia State took a 2-1 lead on a wild pitch in the second before Ft. Hays State tied the score in the third. Emporia State took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth and the Tigers scored a single run in the bottom of the inning to tie the game again. In the bottom of the sixth Ft. Hays scored the winning runs with a bases loaded single to give the Tigers a 5-3 lead.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 38-19 and went 18-10 in the MIAA. Karley Schmelzer leads the nation with an Emporia State record 31 wins on the year. She has a 1.82 ERA and 253 strike outs and was an NFCA second-team All-Region pick. The Hornets are hitting .303 as a team. Taylor Zordel earned first-team All-MIAA and NFCA All-Region honors at short stop. Amanda Self was named MIAA Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-MIAA catcher. Cacy Williams earned second-team All-MIAA and All-Region and was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year.
ABOUT THE BEAVERS
Minot State is 40-10 overall and went 18-6 in the NSIC. They are batting .297 as a team with 52 homers. Mandy Greenburg is a first-team NFCA All-Region pitcher with a 24-5 record, 1.17 ERA and 253 strikeouts. Jen Dixon is an NFCA first-team All-Region outfielder and is batting .459 with 49 runs, 12 homers and 49 RBI.
SERIES HISTORY WITH MINOT ST.
This is the first meeting with Minot State for the Hornets. Emporia State is 10-7 against teams from the NSIC/NCC in regional play.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
Ft. Hays State is 46-10 on the year and won their first NCAA Tournament game in school history with their 5-3 win over the Hornets. The Tigers are batting .303 on the year with a 1.80 ERA on the season. Maddie Holub is 28-2 in the circle with a 0.81 ERA and is hitting .440 with 18 homers and 61 runs scored.
SERIES HISTORY WITH FHSU
Emporia State leads Ft. Hays State 38-26 all-time but have gone just 7-10 against the Tigers over the last three years with 13 of the 17 games played outside Emporia.
ABOUT THE BRONCHOS
Central Oklahoma is 43-11 and went 23-3 in the MIAA. They are batting .320 with a 2.70 team ERA. Kacie Edwards is batting .408 with 18 home runs and 53 RBI. Kalynn Schrock is 26-6 with a 1.82 ERA.
SERIES HISTORY WITH UCO
The Hornets lead the all-time series 21-15. Eleven of the last 15 games have been decided by two runs or less.
UP NEXT
The Hornets will need to win two games on Saturday to advance to Sunday's Championship game. Emporia State has made the Regional Championship twice in the last three years after an early loss.
HOW DO THEY RANK
Entering the regional Emporia State is ranked 13th in the nation in doubles per game and is in the top 50 nationally in slugging percentage, ERA and fielding percentage. Karley Schmelzer is leading the nation in wins with 31 victories and has 11 shutouts to rank sixth in the nation. She is 13th in the nation in total strike outs and ranked 38th in strikeouts per seven innings. Taylor Zordel is 34th in the nation in runs per game and Cacy Williams is 34th in the nation in doubles per game. Emporia State leads the MIAA in doubles, hits, RBI and batters hit by pitch. Five Hornets are ranked at the top of the MIAA in doubles with Cacy Williams leading the way with 18 followed by Amanda Self, Taylor Zordel, Andrea Piezuch and Tricia Vogel. Zordel leads the MIAA in total hits and is ranked second in stolen bases and runs scored.
GARDEN OF EDEN
Pitcher Karley Schmelzer (Sr./Garden Plain, Kan.) earned second-team NFCA All-Region. She started all seven games in the MIAA Tournament and had 61 strikeouts in 47.2 innings pitched. She had two shutouts on Sunday to get the Hornets to the second championship game. She tossed a one hitter against Central Oklahoma and had a three hitter against Ft. Hays State. She leads the MIAA and nation in wins with an Emporia State single season record 31 victories. She also leads the MIAA in appearances, starts and innings pitched, is second in ERA, strike outs, and shut outs, and is fifth in opponent batting average. She is sixth in the nation in shutouts and 13th in total strike outs. With two no hitters this season she has a total of six in her career. She was second-team All-MIAA as a sophomore and junior and named second-team Daktronics All-Region as a junior. She has a 1.59 ERA in ten NCAA Tournament game appearances with a 1.09 ERA in seven starts.
TAYLOR MADE
Shortstop Taylor Zordel (So./Topeka, Kan.) was first-team NFCA All-Regiona and All-MIAA. She hit .407 in the MIAA Tournament with a team best two home runs and six RBI from her lead off position. She leads the MIAA in hits and is ranked second in the league in runs scored and stolen bases, is third in doubles and triples, is fifth in batting average and tenth in on-base percentage. She is 34th in the nation in runs scored and 50th in stolen bases. She has a .548 on base percentage when leading off an inning. She was named MIAA Hitter of the Week on April 2 of this year. She was a second-team All-MIAA performer as a freshman and was named Academic All-District this year. She was an NFCA HS All-American for Washburn Rural HS. She is a .353 career hitter in six NCAA Tourney games.
TOP SHELF
Catcher Amanda Self (Sr./Blue Springs, Mo.) was named the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year and was named first-team All-MIAA. She has thrown out 11 of 33 base runners attempting to steal with three pick-offs on the season. At the plate she is second in the MIAA in doubles with 17 and 11th with a .435 on base percentage. She is hitting a team best .545 with the base loaded. She was first-team All-MIAA as a junior after earning third-team All-American honors as a sophomore. She was an honorable mention All-MIAA selection as a freshman.
BIG BIRD
Third baseman Tricia Vogel (Jr./Clearwater, Kan.) was named first-team All-MIAA as a utility player. She spent most of her time at third base, but also played at first base and in the outfield. She is ranked fourth in MIAA in RBI and fifth in doubles. She is 24th in the nation in sac flies. She is batting .300 with runners on base and .368 with runners in scoring position this season. She is just the second Hornet to have at least 50 RBI in back to back seasons and the first since Megan Davison did it in three straight seasons from 2005-07. She was first-team All-MIAA and NFCA All-Region at first base last year. She is a career .318 hitter with six RBI in seven career NCAA Tournament games.
GOOD ONE
Right fielder Stephanie Goodwin (So./Overland Park, Kan.) was named second-team All-MIAA this season. She had a team high four doubles during the MIAA Tournament. She is tied for seventh in MIAA with 11 home runs, is eighth in on base percentage and doubles, and tenth in runs scored. She earned second-team NFCA and third-team Daktronics All-American honors as a freshman and was the 2012 MIAA Freshman of the Year. She is hitting .556 in six NCAA Tournament games.
CACY AT THE BAT
Designated player Cacy Williams (Fr./Platte City, Mo.) is the MIAA Freshman of the Year and earned second-team All-MIAA and NFCA All-Region honors at designated player. She leads MIAA with 18 doubles, is ranked fourth in slugging percentage, fifth in RBI, seventh in batting average, eighth in hits. She is ranked 34th in the nation in doubles per game. She led Emporia State with a .427 batting average with runners on base that went up to .462 with runners in scoring position. She is hitting a team high .364 with a team high 22 RBI with two outs on the season. She is the second straight Hornet to earn MIAA Freshman of the Year honors.
PETS IN THE ZOO
Left fielder Andrea Piezuch (Jr./Lenexa, Kan.) earned honorable mention All-MIAA honors in the outfield. She is ranked fourth in the MIAA with 14 doubles. She is batting .346 with runners in scoring position. This is the second straight year she has earned honorable mention All-MIAA honors for the Hornets.
BREW'S CREW
Center fielder Jessica Brewer (Sr./Kansas City, Mo.) is ranked second in the MIAA in sac bunts this season. She was named second-team All-MIAA as a junior, was first-team All-MIAA in the outfield as a sophomore and named honorable mention All-MIAA as a freshman. She is a career .298 hitter in 13 NCAA Tournament games with eight runs scored.
THE RIGHT CARD
Second baseman Taylor Reichard (Jr./Belton, Mo.) hit .375 in the MIAA Tournament with a team high five runs scored. Her home run against Missouri Western jump started the Hornets comeback against the Griffons in the final game on Saturday night. On the season she is batting .196 with five home runs in 39 games. She earned honorable mention All-MIAA honors at second base last season and was a second-team All-MIAA selection at third base as a freshman.
HUFF AND PUFF AND BLOW THE HOUSE DOWN
First baseman Katie Huffman (Sr./Belton, Mo.) has returned to the starting lineup and has four home runs after coming off the bench last season. She started 49 games as a sophomore and 60 as a freshman for the Hornets.
LITTLE SIS
Second baseman Bradie Schmelzer (So./Garden Plain, Kan.) hit .200 this season with two home runs. She has yet to commit an error in 42 chances in 24 games this year. She is the sister of junior Karley Schmelzer.
SHARPEN UP
Pitcher Lauren Sharp (Sr./Gladstone, Mo.) is 7-9 on the year with a 3.25 ERA on the season. Although ranked ninth in starts in the MIAA this season, she is one of just two conference pitchers to not allow a triple.
IT'S NOT GRAGGING
Third baseman Jessica Gragg (So./Topeka, Kan.) has started 12 games this season after suffering a knee injury in last season's NCAA Tournament. She is hitting .261 on the year with six RBI in 32 games. She has been the primary pinch hitter for the Hornets and is batting .267 with four RBI in 15 at bats in that role this season. She was named second-team All-MIAA at third base last season as she hit .394 with seven home runs and 34 RBI in 38 games with 34 starts.
RIDE LIKE THE WIND
Infielder Allison Wood (Jr./Paola, Kan.) is hitting .300 with four RBI and two runs scored in nine games as a pinch hitter this season. She scored seven times as a pinch runner last season. She is in her third season with the Hornets after playing at Paola HS.
HELLO NEUMANN
Infielder Ashton Neumann (Jr./Pratt, Kan.) is hitting .143 and has scored three runs in eight games this season. She is a transfer from Pratt CC where she hit .367 with 22 doubles.
SUCCESS IN MAY
The Hornets have a 31-22 overall record in NCAA Tournament play. The Hornets are 16-10 in NCAA tournament elimination games all-time.
HORNET HISTORY
Emporia State has finished as the NCAA Division II National Runners-up twice, in 2006 and 2008. ESU has qualified for NCAA Regional play ten straight years and 11 times in the last 18 seasons. The ten straight years in NCAA Tournament play is the fifth longest active streak in the nation. The Hornets won the NAIA National Championship in 1983 and 1984 and won the AIAW National Championship in 1980.
TAKE THE FIFTH
• The Hornets are 21-2 when scoring at least five runs.
• Emporia State is 21-2 when leading after five innings.
• ESU has ended 11 games in the fifth inning by the run rule - and have won a total of 14 run rule games this year.
