Previewing the 2008 GPAC Softball Tournament, No. 2 Midland Lutheran College versus No. 7 Doane College on Thursday, May 1, at 2:00 PM
Midland Lutheran College
27-13 (17-7 GPAC)
The Warriors are the No. 2 seed for the conference tournament. Midland Lutheran used some help from the Tigers at the end of the year to vault over Morningside and Northwestern. MLC has won 11 of 14 games since dropping game two of their doubleheader with the Tigers on April 15.
Midland Lutheran is led offensively by center fielder Nichole Hraban's .355 average, four home runs and 28 RBIs. Shortstop Jessi Smith is second on the team in doubles with 10 and in average, batting .340. Leadoff hitter Natalie Meduna leads the team in stolen bases with seven.
The Warriors boast a strong pitching staff, led by Lyndsi Heine's 1.16 earned run average (ERA) in 78.1 innings of work. Kelly Sladek has a 3.42 ERA and leads the team in strike outs with 123. Rachel Thies has a 4.23 ERA and has worked the second most innings with 89.1, two-thirds of an inning behind Sladek's team leading 90. Each of the Warriors top three starters has nine wins on the season.
Doane College
23-13 (14-10 GPAC)
The Tigers are the No. 7 seed after winning three of their last four conference games. Doane returns to the tournament after missing out a year ago. The Tigers finished with their third straight 20+ win season.
Doane has been paced offensively by freshman Kristin Schmidt's .372 batting average, four home runs and 24 RBIs. Whitney Poole and Joy Vasa are second on the team with a .358 batting average. Poole led the Tigers with 25 stolen bases in 28 attempts. Stephanie Mosley tied for the team lead with four home runs while batting .351. She had a team-best .404 batting average in conference play.
On the mound, Vasa finished with an 8-7 record and 2.21 ERA. Megan Steele was 7-2 with a 4.22 ERA and finished the season with three straight wins. Jennifer Liddell is coming off a leg injury and picked up her second save on Sunday. She is 8-4 with a 4.34 ERA.
Looking back to April 15
GM 1: Midland Lutheran 8-6 (8 innings)
GM 2: Doane 3-2 (8 innings)
Thies took game one for the Warriors, allowing six runs in eight innings of work. She allowed 11 hits but struck out six Tiger batters. The slugfest between the two teams featured five home runs in the game, thank in part to 50+ mph winds in Crete. Vasa took the loss as she allowed eight runs, six earned, over seven-plus innings.
Erin Brue went 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored and three RBIs for the Warriors in game one. Mallory Ruhl added a 3-for-4 effort with one run scored and two RBIs. Dani Wooldrik had a pinch-hit two-run home run. Doane was paced by Stephanie Mosley's 2-for-4 effort with two runs and an RBI. Whitney Poole went 3-for-5 with an RBI and Jennifer Montoya added two RBIs for the Tigers.
Game two turned into a pitcher's duel between Jennifer Liddell and Kelly Sladek. The two teams went into extra innings tied at 2-2. Liddell worked out of a couple of jams, stranding nine runners on base. She finished the game striking out two and working around 10 hits and two walked batters. The Tigers did just enough for the victory, as Sladek struck out 10 batters. Doane finished with seven hits and scored the winning run in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly by Alyssa Ledon.
Tournament Coverage
The Tiger Sports Network (TSN) will broadcast each Tiger game of the two-day tournament. The tournament format is double elimination. Doane and Midland Lutheran will face off at 2:00 PM in Hastings at the Smith Softball Complex located on the north side of town just off of US Hwy 34/281.
The Tigers' second game will start at 4:00 PM versus either Morningside College or Dana College. If the Tigers would fall into the loser's bracket, they could potentially play at 6:00 PM on Thursday evening. If the Tigers win two games on Thursday, they will advance to day two of the tournament which is scheduled for Friday starting at 12:00 PM (noon).
Stay tuned to the GPAC web site for complete tournament results. Thursday's forecast calls for 69 degrees and cloudy skies. There is a 50-percent chance for rain/snow showers on Friday and if any games are postponed, they will be played on Saturday.