The Bulldog Softball team will hope “Mother Nature” will look kind upon the team this week as they are scheduled to play eight games over the next five days. Truman will kick off the week by playing Missouri-St. Louis on Tuesday on the road and end the week at the first of two MIAA Crossover Tournaments in Warrensburg.
Senior pitcher Richelle vanGennip has continued to be a dominate force in the circle for the ‘Dogs. vanGennip made four appearances during the Rebel Spring games and posted a 2-1 record with a 0.33 earned run average.
vanGennip won 2-1 against #15 California (Pa.) and struck out 13 in doing so, pitched a complete game shutout, the first of her career in a 9-0 victory over Southwest Minnesota State, was a hard-luck looser in a 1-0 loss to Ashland (Ohio) and had three-plus scoreless and hitless innings in relief in a 5-4 loss to Tiffin (Ohio).
For the season, vanGennip is 5-4 with a 1.09 ERA and has already eclipsed last year’s strikeout total of 87 by recording 91 through her first 11 appearances. Last year, vanGennip averaged 3.2 strikeouts per game, while this season it has jumped to 8.2.
Offensively, the Bulldogs have struggled to a .215 team batting average with junior Alex Weber leading the team with a .353 mark. Weber added five more stolen bases last week to her total of 12 for the season.
Truman’s first stop this week will be in St. Louis to the defending regular season champions of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, Missouri-St. Louis. The Tritons were 36-19 last year but are just 7-5 after being swept in a doubleheader by Southwest Baptist over the weekend.
Missouri-St. Louis is led by Katie Bartlett who is hitting .514 with six home runs and 19 runs batted in thus far. As a team, the Tritons are hitting .322 but allowing opponents to hit .347 with a team ERA of 5.82. Leslie Davis is their leading pitcher with a 4-2 record and a 5.93 ERA and 12 strikeouts.
This weekend the Bulldogs will play in the first of two MIAA Crossover tournaments. These games will not count toward the conference standings but serve as a purpose to add additional regional games to the team’s NCAA resume.
On Friday, Truman will play Fort Hays State (6-5) and Northwest Missouri (8-9) before taking on Washburn (7-8), Nebraska-Omaha (8-6) and Missouri Western (7-9) on Saturday.
Fort Hays is led by hitter Maddie Holub with a .325 average and six home runs while in the circle by Kayla Rupp (2-3; 2.88 ERA; 14 Ks).
Northwest is hitting .302 as a team but their pitchers have allowed an opposing batting average of .360. Dacey Hassey (.392; 2HR; 21 RBIs) leads the Bearcats offensively while Jenna Creger (3-6; 3.64 ERA; 32 Ks) has been the pitching leader.
Alex Zordel (.375; 5HR; 10 RBIs) and Kayla Long (4-5; 3.99 ERA; 26 Ks) are the leaders for a Washburn team that is hitting .275 as a team and has an ERA of 4.81.
The final two games of the crossover come against the top two schools in the MIAA preseason Coaches Poll.
Nebraska-Omaha received 94 votes and six-first place votes but has gone 8-6 in the early going. The Mavericks have a .374 team batting average and a 2.83 ERA. Treightin Yates (.447; 1 HR; 15 RBIs) leads UNO at the dish while Lindsey Slocum (4-1; 1.59 ERA; 43 Ks) is the ace of the pitching staff.
Missouri Western picked up the other five first place votes and received 92 overall tallies to finish second in the poll. The Griffons were eighth nationally in the first NFCA preseason coaches poll but have started the season with a 7-9 record.
The Griffons are hitting .253 as a team and are led offensively by Maegan Roemmich (.308; 6 2Bs). The team ERA is 4.37 with Jonnell Belger (3-4; 3.86; 35 Ks) leading the staff.
LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK:
The Bulldogs escaped the cold and snow of Kirksville to the not-so “Sunshine” state of Florida last week for spring break. After playing the first three days and going 2-4, the remaining schedule was washed out due to rain.
Truman got the trip off to a great start with a 2-1 walk-off win against #15 California University of Pennsylvania. With the score tied heading into the bottom of the seventh, Kristen Siegler scored on a fielding error to give the Bulldogs the victory.
Richelle vanGennip fanned 13 Vulcan hitters and allowed just four hits in the complete game victory.
In the second game of the day, Truman’s stranded nine runners on four hits and seven walks in a 2-0 loss to Ferris State (Mich.). The Ferris State Bulldogs scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings off of Ashley Rotkvich, who was tagged with the loss.
The offense came alive in a 9-0 defeat over Southwest Minnesota State on Monday. Alex Weber went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and Katie Pitts had two hits and three RBIs in the victory over the Mustangs. Weber and Pitts each had three stolen bases.
The Bulldogs scored in every inning with two in the first and four in the second to jump out on top while vanGennip allowed three hits and struck out five in the run-ruled, five inning contest.
A big third inning against Rotkvich allowed Tiffin University (Ohio) to defeat the Bulldogs 5-4 in the second game on Monday.
The Dragons scored five times on four hits before Rotkvich was lifted with two outs in the inning trailing 5-1.
Truman tried to rally by scoring a pair of runs in the fifth and another run in the seventh.
The offense was shutdown in both games on Tuesday. The Bulldogs were shutout in a 1-0 loss to Ashland (Ohio) and 7-0 to the defending NCAA Division II national champions, Lock Haven.
vanGennip allowed the only run for the Eagles in the third inning on a two-out double but scattered four hits in the complete game loss.
Truman managed just two hits while striking out 10 times. Weber and Meredith Kusky had the two hits for the ‘Dogs.
It was 1-0 through three innings against the defending champs but Lock Haven broke through and got to Rotkvich in the fourth with two more runs and added four off of Beth Schnurbusch in the fifth.
The Bulldogs were held to just one hit in the game, a single by Katie Pitts in the fifth inning.
Weber led the team with a .350 batting average going 7-for-20 with a double and five stolen bases. Kusky and Christine Ulses each hit .250 with Ulses leading the team with four runs batted in.
BULLDOG FASTBALLS:
Two position players have played and started in all 16 games. Junior Alex Weber and freshman Kristin Grossman.
The Bulldogs have stolen 36-of-43 bases thus far while opponents are12-of-16. Weber has been successful on 12-of-13 attempts while sophomore Katie Pitts is 7-for-8 and freshman Laura Miller is 7-of-10.
Grossman leads the team with eight runs batted in while fellow newcomers Christine Ulses and Meredith Kusky are tied for second with seven.
Senior Erica LaCombe is closing in on 100 career hits. LaCombe is sitting on 99. LaCombe has the most experience of any Bulldog by a long margin. The senior has played in 143 games while her next closest on the team is Weber with 80.
Truman is hitting .215 as team through 16 games with five home runs by five different players.
The pitching staff has a 2.69 ERA with Richelle vanGennip leading the way with a 1.09 ERA.
Truman pitchers have struck out 111 opposing batters and allowed just 41 walks. Opponents are hitting .223 against the hurlers with just two home runs.
UP NEXT:
Conference games begin with a weekend series against Washburn and Emporia State on Mar. 27 and 28th.
Both doubleheaders are scheduled to begin at noon in Kirksville at the Truman Softball Field
Courtesy Truman State University
