Spring break trip highlighted by six-game winning streak

Softball team's offense improves in Florida as pitching declines; key weekend series cancelled

March 19, 2007 —

The worst thing to happen to the SVSU softball team over spring break was leaving Ft. Myers. But unlike many other students, it had less to do with the nice weather and more to do with victories.

The Cardinals started out the trip in Ft. Myers losing their first four games, including two shutouts, but won their next six to leave the city with a 6-4 record. SVSU then traveled about 90 miles north to Bradenton, where they lost three straight the next day.

The Cardinals finished the trip with two wins on March 10 and finished with an 8-7 record overall. They were scheduled to play four games in Romeoville, Ill. this past weekend, but the games were cancelled due to inclement weather.

SVSU turned things around in Ft. Myers by improving on the mound and at the plate. The Cards gave up 20 runs in their four losses but just 13 in their six wins. Similarly, they scored just six runs in their first four games but responded with 29 runs during win their streak.

While sophomore Stacy Kraatz and freshman Kari Bowlby each lost twice in the Cards' first four games, came back to win two games apiece during the win streak. Bowlby saved two games, as well, both Kraatz wins. The freshman shut out Dominican College on March 7.

Sophomore Marsha Beaubien started the Cards' win streak off at the plate, going 6-for-7 with a double, two triples, and two RBIs in wins over Wilmington College and the University of the Sciences. Beaubien started just one of SVSU's first four games, but was in the starting lineup in five of the six games during the win streak.

The Cards swept doubleheaders against Dominican and Winona State to conclude the win streak. The closest of the four games was the first against WSU, which went 10 innings and ended on an RBI single by the Cards' lone senior, Lorelea Rice. Kraatz went the normal distance, pitching seven innings of two-run ball. Sophomore Mallory Miller pitched the last three innings, allowing just one hit and earning the win.

Rice, batting leadoff this year, went 3-for-5 in the game. The team's captain finished the trip batting .378, third on the team, and scored nine runs, tied for tops on the team. She added 17 hits, second on the team, along with one home run and five RBIs.

She saw just nine innings on the mound, but seven of those were in a complete game shutout of the University of the Sciences on March 5.

Only Kraatz and freshman Angela Kaiser batted better than Rice. Kraatz, who played first base while not pitching, hit .420 with a team-leading 21 hits and five doubles. She tied with Rice for the team lead with nine runs, and added seven RBIs, tied for second on the team.

Kaiser started 11 games in centerfield and batted .400 with three doubles, one home run, and seven RBIs. She led the team with a .600 slugging percentage.

The Cards' early season success can also be attributed to the improvement of sophomore shortstop Nicole Fick and Beaubien, who started five games at third base and three as the designated hitter.

Fick, who batted just .185 a year ago, hit .359 in Florida with a team-high nine RBIs. She was third on the team with 14 hits and second on the team with seven runs. Beaubien, meanwhile, finished the trip with a .346 average after her hot start, compared to .145 last season.

Sophomore Jessica Anhel had a disappointing spring, batting just .244 after being second on the team with a .305 average last season. She tied with Kraatz and Kaiser with seven RBIs, but had just a .244 slugging percentage compared to last season's .482 mark.

As a team, the Cardinals vastly improved at the plate, hitting .298 throughout the trip. That average is 56 points better than last year's .242 team season average. Additionally, this year's .385 slugging percentage is 61 points better than last year's .324 percentage.

The Cards' pitching still needs some work as they try to adjust from losing last year's ace Karen Ray. The team's ERA was 3.57 over the trip, compared to last season's 2.53. Bowlby led the team with a 2.71 ERA, 3-2 record, four complete games, and 40 strikeouts in 41.1 innings. Kraatz pitched one more inning than Bowlby and compiled a 3-4 record with a 3.80 ERA, both third on the team, in a team-high seven starts.

This past weekend's cancelled games were certainly disappointing for the Cards, who would have had a chance to see how they stack up against four teams from the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Part of the series included a matchup with No. 6 SIU-Edwardsville.

SVSU travels to Indiana this weekend to play Indianapolis and St. Joseph's before beginning its GLIAC schedule at conference power Ashland on March 31.