Softball Ready for NCAA Regionals On Friday
5/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 13, 2009
2009 Softball Postseason Guide 
OXFORD, Ohio - The RedHawks travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., making their second NCAA Tournament in school history. Miami opens play in the double-elimination NCAA Regional against the host and number five national seed Michigan Wolverines on Friday at 7 p.m. Also in the tournament are Notre Dame and Cleveland State. With a victory Friday, the RedHawks will take on the winner between the Fighting Irish and Vikings at noon on Saturday. With a loss, Miami will take on the loser of that game in an elimination game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
REUNION TIME: Head Coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly and Assistant Coach Kellyn Tate are both former players at Michigan under Head Coach Carol Hutchins. Schoenly pitched at Michigan from 1991-95, where she was a two-time Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, an All-American in 1995 and led the Wolverines to the College World Series as a senior. Upon graduation, she joined the Michigan coaching staff from 1995-98. Tate played for the Wolverines from 1995-98, where she was a two-time NFCA All-America outfielder.
THE AMAZING LAST WEEK... A great 4-0 performance last week allowed Miami to capture the 2009 MAC Tournament Championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The week started with a 2-1 victory over Northern Illinois on May 6. Then came an intense 2-1 victory over top-seed Ball State on May 7. The Cardinals were able to get eight hits against starter Jessica Simpson. Each time the RedHawk defense buckled down and got out of the inning, including Jenna McGivney tagging out the potential tying run at home in the bottom of the fourth after Ball State had gotten runners at second and third with only one out.
Simpson took over the final two games, pitching two shutouts to help earn Miami the championship. The RedHawks won a rematch with Northern Illinois, 3-0, on May 8 and then defeated Western Michigan, 1-0, May 9 to take the title. Simpson allowed only three total hits in those two games combined and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. For the tournament she was 4-0 with a 0.50 ERA. Joining her on the MAC All-Tournament Team was Sarah Billstrom and Kat Russette. Russette was the leading hitter for Miami at the MAC Championship (.400), while Billstrom hit the game-winning home run against Western Michigan and had a career-high eight assists at shortstop in that game.
REDHAWKS IN NATIONAL RANKINGS... Jessica Simpson appears in the latest NCAA rankings, as she is tying for 15th with 10 shutouts. The team also is ranked among the top 100 in several categories:
ERA: 2.70 - 92nd
Win Loss Percentage: .585 - .85th
Doubles Per Game: 1.21 - 81st
MAC HONORS... The Mid-American Conference announced its regular season softball awards on May 7. Junior shortstop Sarah Billstrom was named to the first team for the second consecutive year. Freshman pitcher Jessica Simpson, sophomore catcher Jenna McGivney, senior third baseman Alexis Javier and freshman outfielder Jordan McElroy were named to the second team. Simpson and McElroy also were named to the MAC All-Freshman Team.
During the regular season, Simpson was honored twice as MAC East Division Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 24 and April 14, while junior outfielder Alicia Hogl was named MAC East Division Player of the Week May 5.
SIMPSON'S AMAZING FRESHMAN YEAR... Few freshman have made an impact at Miami like Jessica Simpson (North Canton, Ohio) has in 2009. The MAC Tournament MVP has a 23-11 record with a 1.90 ERA on the season. That includes a 9-5 record and 2.09 ERA during conference play, which earned her Second-Team All-MAC honors. Simpson's freshman year ranks among the top five in several single-season Miami categories. Her 23 wins are the second-most all-time and marks only the third time a RedHawk pitcher has won 20 or more games in a year. She also ranks fourth in winning percentage (.676), fourth in appearances (41), third in games started (31), third in complete games (23), third in innings pitched (210.0), second in shutouts (10) and third in strikeouts (174).
BILLSTROM A TOP OFFENSIVE FORCE... Junior shortstop Sarah Billstrom (Douglasville, Ga.) has been one of the keys to the RedHawk offense this season. She leads the team with seven home runs and 31 RBI, while ranking third in batting average at .316. Her .377 batting average during MAC games earned her a spot on the first team for the second-consecutive year. Billstrom has a knack for getting the big hit. None was bigger than her solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning in the MAC Championship game against Western Michigan (May 9). With Bronco starter Meredith Whitney matching Jessica Simpson in putting up zeros through the first five innings, Billstrom was able to to connect with a fastball and send it 20 feet past the leftfield fence to give Miami the win. That shot earned her a spot on the MAC All-Tournament Team. She also is a strong defender, leading the team with 83 assists on the year.
HOGL MAKES HER RETURN... After suffering an injury in the fall, it was questionable whether junior outfielder Alicia Hogl (Bellingham, Wash.) would be able to play this season. She made her return in time for conference play and had an immediate impact on the RedHawk offense. Hogl has hit .329 (25-for-76) since making her return, with 15 RBI and 13 runs scored. She also has 12 walks this year, giving her 55 for her career. That puts her second on the Miami career list. The final week of the regular season she earned her first MAC East Division Player of the Week award after hitting .400 (4-for-10) with her first career grand slam in a 7-2 win over Eastern Kentucky (April 28).
ABOUT MICHIGAN... Michigan enters the NCAA Tournament with a 41-10 record and ranked seventh in the nation. It won the Big Ten Conference with a 17-3 record. The Wolverines lost their final game of the regular season (the Big Ten has no conference tournament) on Sunday to Michigan State 2-1. That ended the team's 21-game winning streak. They played three MAC opponents this season, defeating Ohio 3-2 (March 8), Central Michigan 7-2 (April 8) and Eastern Michigan 9-0 (April 15). Michigan is led by All-America candidate Nikki Nemitz. She has had a great year on the mound with a 24-5 record and 0.90 ERA. The leading hitter is Amanda Chidester with a .369 batting average, six home runs and 34 RBI.
The Wolverines and RedHawks have met nine times previously with Michigan holding an 8-1 series advantage. Last season, the Wolverines defeated Miami 12-0 in five innings at the Louisville Tournament on March 15, 2008. Pitcher Jordan Taylor was able to hold RedHawk hitters without a hit in that game.
ABOUT NOTRE DAME... Notre Dame is coming off winning the BIG EAST Tournament with a 1-0 win over DePaul on Sunday. The Fighting Irish are 41-15 overall and went 20-4 in the BIG EAST. They are currently ranked 25th in the nation in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll. Brittney Bargar is the leading pitcher at 23-10 with a 1.58 ERA. Erin Marrone is the leading hitter at .369 with four home runs and 13 RBI. Notre Dame is 6-0 against MAC schools this year, having swept doubleheaders against Toledo and Western Michigan, as well as take single games from Northern Illinois and Ball State.
Despite the relative close proximity between the schools, the RedHawks and Fighting Irish have only met five times previously with Miami holding a 3-2 advantage. The two teams have not played since Feb. 20, 1999, when Notre Dame came away with a 9-3 victory.
ABOUT CLEVELAND STATE... Cleveland State has won 22 of its past 26 games to earn its second NCAA Tournament berth in school history. The Vikings are 35-16 overall and went 17-5 in the Horizon League. They won the Horizon League Tournament championship with a 4-2 win over UIC on Sunday. The top pitcher is Amanda Mancenko, who is 28-12 with a 2.53 ERA. Natalie DeMatties is the leading hitter with a .367 batting average, two home runs and 20 RBI. Cleveland State was 2-1 against MAC schools in 2009, dropping a 10-9 decision to Ohio on Feb. 8, but sweeping a doubleheader on April 29 at Kent State, 4-1 and 6-0. The Vikings had scheduled doubleheaders against Eastern Michigan and Toledo rained out.
Miami holds a 3-2 series record in five meetings against Cleveland State. The two teams last met March 27, 1999, at the Georgia Tech Tournament with the RedHawks coming away with a 3-2 win.
UP NEXT FOR THE REDHAWKS... Only the winner of this double-elimination tournament gets to advance to the next round. If the RedHawks are able to survive and advance, they will move onto the Super Regional round, which is a best-of-three series May 21-22 against the winner of the Waco Regional (in that regional are Northwestern, Louisiana-Lafayette, Baylor and Texas State). That series would take place on the campus of one of the two participants.
