Regular Season Champ Mavs Start MIAA Tourney Thurs
May 4, 2010 | General, Softball
Complete Notes
Tournament Home Page
The field and seedings for the MIAA postseason tournament will not be known until Wednesday night, but the 23rd-ranked Mavericks know they will play two games Thursday at Blue Valley Sports Complex in Overland Park, Kan., as either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed.
All eight teams that make the event play four first round games Thursday at 6 p.m. After that, the four winning teams play second round games and the four losing teams play consolation games at 8 p.m.
The semifinal and the remainder of the consolation bracket games will be played on Friday and then the championship round will be Saturday starting at noon. The winner receives an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament and the field for that tournament will be announced Monday at 9 a.m. on NCAA.com.
The Mavericks wrapped up the regular season with at least a share of the MIAA title. They are 45-9 overall and 18-2 in the MIAA. Emporia State can win twice Tuesday at Southwest Baptist to claim a share of the title with UNO. If the Hornets lose at least once, then UNO takes the trophy outright.
UNO Awaits Tuesday and Wednesday Games For Seed and Opponent
Tuesday Emporia State plays Southwest Baptist and if the Hornets can sweep the Bearcats, then ESU will claim a share of the MIAA championship with Nebraska-Omaha with identical 18-2 records. That will also mean that ESU will be the No. 1 seed and UNO the No. 2 seed due to the tie-breaker.
Regardless of what happens Tuesday, the Mavs will have to await Wednesday's games to see who they play Thursday. The No. 1 seed plays No. 8 and No. 2 plays No. 7 in the first round. There is still plenty to be decided in those bottom seeds.
Mavs Take School-Record 25-Game Winning Streak Into Postseason
The Mavericks will enter the MIAA postseason tournament having not suffered a loss since April 3 at Emporia State. They have won a school-record 25 straight since then and are out-scoring opponents, 151-33 during the streak (6.0 to 1.3 runs per game).
Beth Haley has a 0.78 ERA during the stretch and opponents are batting .176 against her. Overall, the Mav pitching staff has a 1.13 ERA during the streak.
The Mavericks have been behind eight times during the streak. Sunday against Central Missouri they were down, 1-0 in the first inning. On April 20 against Wayne State they were also down, 1-0 after half an inning. Pittsburg State went up, 3-0 in the first inning on April 17 before the Mavs tied it in the second. NWMSU went up, 1-0 on April 13 and Augustana struck first both games of a doubleheader on April 11. Fort Hays State did so on April 10 and Upper Iowa did on April 8.
Mavs Clinch 11th Conference Title in School History
With an 18-2 record in league play, the Mavs clinched their first MIAA championship in their second year in the conference. They joined the league last year after winning 10 North Central Conference titles, the last in 2008. Head coach Jeanne Scarpello has been around for four of those NCC titles.
Last Year in the MIAA Tourney:
The Mavericks were the No. 4 seed in last year's tournament and they swept through the first three rounds of the tournament to reach the championship round. Third-seeded Emporia State battled through the consolation rounds to take on UNO in the finals. The Hornets beat UNO twice, 5-1 and 5-3 to claim the crown.
The Mavs beat Pittsburg State, 5-0 in five innings in the opener and then they topped No. 1 seed Central Missouri, 7-3 in the second round. They beat No. 2 Missouri Western, 2-0 in nine innings to advance to the finals. Alli Hukill and Kristin Wellwood drove in the two runs in the top of the ninth.
Mavericks Jump to 23rd Nationally, Remain 5th in Region
The Mavericks remained in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll for the second straight week, jumping to No. 23 in the poll release on April 28. They also stayed put in the NCAA South Central Region ranking at fifth. New polls are expected this Wednesday.
The NCAA will announce the field for the South Central Region I and II tournaments on Sunday, May 9. Eight teams from the region make the postseason.
Mavs Set Home Run Record
The Mavericks hit two home runs last Wednesday to set a UNO single-season record. They now have 56, breaking 2003's record of 54. Alli Hukill had six in one weekend this year and with 11 right now, she's sixth in UNO single-season history. 21 is the individual record and four more would put her in second.
Offense and Pitchers On Pace For Other Records
UNO's .346 team batting average is on pace to be the second best in school history. The 1994 team hit .358 to set the record (1,000 at-bat minimum). The Mavericks are currently second with 326 RBI and need 40 more to move to first. 366 is the record set in 1994. The pitching staff is also on pace to enter the record book. The Mavs are averaging 5.75 strikeouts per game, currently the fourth best average. The 291 strikeouts is sixth and UNO needs 42 to enter the top five.
Slocum Sweeps MIAA Honors For Second Time
The Mavs have earned seven MIAA athlete of the week honors this year. Lindsey Slocum swept both hitter and pitcher of the week honors on March 29 and April 27. Beth Haley was named pitcher of the week twice and Alli Hukill was hitter of the week once.
Slocum nearly threw her second perfect game of the year last week. She ended the week 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA. Last Saturday at Truman, she started game two and faced the minimum 15 batters as the Mavericks invoked the run rule after five innings. On an 0-2 count, she allowed a leadoff single in the first inning, and then that base runner was thrown out trying to steal second. That hit was the only thing that kept her from a perfect game, as she retired her and the next 14 batters in order. Slocum, who shared last week's hitter of the week honor with Emporia State's Angela Mahan, batted .500 (6-for-12), drove in four and scored six runs. She had at least one hit and one run in each game. While nearly throwing a perfect game in the nightcap Saturday against Truman, Slocum went 2-for-4 at the plate with a home run.
She earned both the MIAA pitcher and hitter of the week on March 29. She threw a perfect game March 28 and went 2-0 during the week with a 0.95 ERA. On top of throwing a perfect game, Slocum produced huge numbers at the plate. Slocum had eight hits that week while allowing batters just nine in three appearances. She scored five runs and drove in eight while allowing just two runs to score against her.
Hukill's six home runs and Haley's no-hitter helped the Mavericks sweep the honors on April 19. Hukill hit six home runs during the MIAA Northern Crossover to earn all-tournament MVP honors. Haley threw a no-hitter April 13 against Northwest Missouri and ended the week 3-0 with a 0.40 ERA.
Haley earned her first honor on March 22 after she went 2-0 with a save in three appearances and a perfect 0.00 ERA.
Slocum and Haley Give Mavs Two No-Hitters
The Maverick pitching staff has produced two no-hitters this year, both of them in MIAA games. Lindsey Slocum had a perfect game on March 28 against Missouri Southern and Beth Haley threw a no-no April 13 against Northwest Missouri.
Slocum's gem helped head coach Jeanne Scarpello set the UNO coaching win record with her 460th win. Slocum faced the minimum 15 batters and struck out 10 of them. No Lion put a ball in play in fair territory until the fifth inning when the lead off hitter flew out to center field. The next batter tried bunting to get on, but Slocum fielded the ball and threw her out at first. She then got the next batter to pop up to Treightin Yates at second base to give her the gem.
Haley took a perfect game into the seventh inning against NWMSU and then walked and hit a batter before closing out a no-hitter. Haley didn't allow a batted ball to leave the infield. She struck out four and 13 of the 21 outs were ground outs. She also caught three batted balls, including two liners back to her. With a full count and two outs in the seventh, Haley walked Erin Leslie, giving up a chance at perfection. She then hit the next batter before getting the final Bearcat batter to foul out to first baseman Kristin Wellwood.
Scarpello Reigns as UNO's Wins Leader
Maverick head coach Jeanne Scarpello entered the year as UNO's leader in winning percentage and on March 28 she became the school's leader in total wins. She's currently 487-148-1 with a .767 winning percentage.
Scarpello, in her 11th year at UNO, surpassed Mary Yori, her predecessor on the win chart. Yori won 459 wins from 1989-99.
Mavericks Lead League in Batting and Pitching
The Mavericks lead the MIAA with a .345 batting average and they were sixth in the nation as of the April 25 NCAA statistic report. Treightin Yates leads the team with a .451 average and she's second in the MIAA and 24th in the nation. Lindsey Slocum is 10th in the conference batting .373 on the year.
The Mavericks also lead the conference with a 1.68 ERA, the only one below 2.00 among the 11 teams. Their pitchers make up three of the top four ERAs in the league. Beth Haley is second in the conference with a 1.55 ERA and Slocum is third with a 1.61 mark. Melissa Negrete is third with a 2.04 mark.
Yates Leading Team at the Plate
Senior second baseman Treightin Yates started the year on a 12-game hitting streak, building her average to .463 at the time. Since then, she has hit safely in all but 11 games and her average has only slipped to .451, best on the team and second in the MIAA.
Yates has 26 multi-hit games and 14 mulit-RBI games. She's batting .516 in the 20 MIAA games.
Haley Nearly Perfect During Winning Streak
Junior pitcher Beth Haley has allowed just mime earned runs in the 81 innings she's pitched during UNO's current 25-game winning streak. She's gone 13-0 with a 0.78 ERA and has allowed just seven extra-base hits. She's given up 12 walks with 56 strikeouts. She hasn't lost a game since pitching at then-No. 18 Emporia State on April 3.
Slocum's Bat Kept in Lineup at All Times
Lindsey Slocum, one of the top pitchers and hitters in the MIAA, has a place in the batting order no matter the situation. She is second on the team batting .373 overall. When she gets the start as a pitcher, she is batting .386 and when she doesn't start, she plays in the outfield and in those situations, she's batting .357. Six of her home runs and 38 of her RBI came while an outfielder and three homers and 14 RBI came as a pitcher.
On a doubleheader on March 28 against Missouri Southern, Slocum hit a grand slam as an outfielder in game one and then tossed a perfect game in the second game.
Batting Around...
• The Mavs haven't allowed more than two runs in a game since Pittsburg State scored four on April 17 (13 straight games). Lindsey Slocum has a 0.00 ERA during that stretch and the team has a 0.58 ERA. UNO has a 60-8 strikeout to walk ratio during that stretch.
• The following players have started every game this year at their respective positions: Alli Hukill (RF), Treightin Yates (2B), Kristi Meneely (C) and Kristin Wellwood (1B).
• Slocum has started every game as either the pitcher or center fielder. She has batted in the fifth spot in the lineup every time.
• The Mavs have had 10 hits or more in 30 of their 54 games this year. The pitching staff has allowed double-digit hits just four times this year.
• The Mavs have two grand slams this year. Slocum hit one on March 28 against MSSU and Hukill hit one on April 18 against UCM.
• Katelyn Hinton leads the Mavs with nine stolen bases.
• Alli Hukill leads the Mavs with four outfield assists.
• Julia Krejci is 4 for 5 as a pinch hitter, Chelse Koca is 3 for 9 and Molly Negrete is 3 for 11. Overall, UNO is 10 for 26 (.385) in pinch-hit situations with 10 RBI.
Coming Up Next
The NCAA will announce the field for the South Central Region I and II tournaments on Monday at 9 a.m. via a webcast selection show on NCAA.com. Eight teams from the region make the postseason with the top two teams hosting four-team sub-regionals.
Tournament Home Page
The field and seedings for the MIAA postseason tournament will not be known until Wednesday night, but the 23rd-ranked Mavericks know they will play two games Thursday at Blue Valley Sports Complex in Overland Park, Kan., as either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed.
All eight teams that make the event play four first round games Thursday at 6 p.m. After that, the four winning teams play second round games and the four losing teams play consolation games at 8 p.m.
The semifinal and the remainder of the consolation bracket games will be played on Friday and then the championship round will be Saturday starting at noon. The winner receives an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament and the field for that tournament will be announced Monday at 9 a.m. on NCAA.com.
The Mavericks wrapped up the regular season with at least a share of the MIAA title. They are 45-9 overall and 18-2 in the MIAA. Emporia State can win twice Tuesday at Southwest Baptist to claim a share of the title with UNO. If the Hornets lose at least once, then UNO takes the trophy outright.
UNO Awaits Tuesday and Wednesday Games For Seed and Opponent
Tuesday Emporia State plays Southwest Baptist and if the Hornets can sweep the Bearcats, then ESU will claim a share of the MIAA championship with Nebraska-Omaha with identical 18-2 records. That will also mean that ESU will be the No. 1 seed and UNO the No. 2 seed due to the tie-breaker.
Regardless of what happens Tuesday, the Mavs will have to await Wednesday's games to see who they play Thursday. The No. 1 seed plays No. 8 and No. 2 plays No. 7 in the first round. There is still plenty to be decided in those bottom seeds.
Mavs Take School-Record 25-Game Winning Streak Into Postseason
The Mavericks will enter the MIAA postseason tournament having not suffered a loss since April 3 at Emporia State. They have won a school-record 25 straight since then and are out-scoring opponents, 151-33 during the streak (6.0 to 1.3 runs per game).
Beth Haley has a 0.78 ERA during the stretch and opponents are batting .176 against her. Overall, the Mav pitching staff has a 1.13 ERA during the streak.
The Mavericks have been behind eight times during the streak. Sunday against Central Missouri they were down, 1-0 in the first inning. On April 20 against Wayne State they were also down, 1-0 after half an inning. Pittsburg State went up, 3-0 in the first inning on April 17 before the Mavs tied it in the second. NWMSU went up, 1-0 on April 13 and Augustana struck first both games of a doubleheader on April 11. Fort Hays State did so on April 10 and Upper Iowa did on April 8.
Mavs Clinch 11th Conference Title in School History
With an 18-2 record in league play, the Mavs clinched their first MIAA championship in their second year in the conference. They joined the league last year after winning 10 North Central Conference titles, the last in 2008. Head coach Jeanne Scarpello has been around for four of those NCC titles.
Last Year in the MIAA Tourney:
The Mavericks were the No. 4 seed in last year's tournament and they swept through the first three rounds of the tournament to reach the championship round. Third-seeded Emporia State battled through the consolation rounds to take on UNO in the finals. The Hornets beat UNO twice, 5-1 and 5-3 to claim the crown.
The Mavs beat Pittsburg State, 5-0 in five innings in the opener and then they topped No. 1 seed Central Missouri, 7-3 in the second round. They beat No. 2 Missouri Western, 2-0 in nine innings to advance to the finals. Alli Hukill and Kristin Wellwood drove in the two runs in the top of the ninth.
Mavericks Jump to 23rd Nationally, Remain 5th in Region
The Mavericks remained in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll for the second straight week, jumping to No. 23 in the poll release on April 28. They also stayed put in the NCAA South Central Region ranking at fifth. New polls are expected this Wednesday.
The NCAA will announce the field for the South Central Region I and II tournaments on Sunday, May 9. Eight teams from the region make the postseason.
Mavs Set Home Run Record
The Mavericks hit two home runs last Wednesday to set a UNO single-season record. They now have 56, breaking 2003's record of 54. Alli Hukill had six in one weekend this year and with 11 right now, she's sixth in UNO single-season history. 21 is the individual record and four more would put her in second.
Offense and Pitchers On Pace For Other Records
UNO's .346 team batting average is on pace to be the second best in school history. The 1994 team hit .358 to set the record (1,000 at-bat minimum). The Mavericks are currently second with 326 RBI and need 40 more to move to first. 366 is the record set in 1994. The pitching staff is also on pace to enter the record book. The Mavs are averaging 5.75 strikeouts per game, currently the fourth best average. The 291 strikeouts is sixth and UNO needs 42 to enter the top five.
Slocum Sweeps MIAA Honors For Second Time
The Mavs have earned seven MIAA athlete of the week honors this year. Lindsey Slocum swept both hitter and pitcher of the week honors on March 29 and April 27. Beth Haley was named pitcher of the week twice and Alli Hukill was hitter of the week once.
Slocum nearly threw her second perfect game of the year last week. She ended the week 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA. Last Saturday at Truman, she started game two and faced the minimum 15 batters as the Mavericks invoked the run rule after five innings. On an 0-2 count, she allowed a leadoff single in the first inning, and then that base runner was thrown out trying to steal second. That hit was the only thing that kept her from a perfect game, as she retired her and the next 14 batters in order. Slocum, who shared last week's hitter of the week honor with Emporia State's Angela Mahan, batted .500 (6-for-12), drove in four and scored six runs. She had at least one hit and one run in each game. While nearly throwing a perfect game in the nightcap Saturday against Truman, Slocum went 2-for-4 at the plate with a home run.
She earned both the MIAA pitcher and hitter of the week on March 29. She threw a perfect game March 28 and went 2-0 during the week with a 0.95 ERA. On top of throwing a perfect game, Slocum produced huge numbers at the plate. Slocum had eight hits that week while allowing batters just nine in three appearances. She scored five runs and drove in eight while allowing just two runs to score against her.
Hukill's six home runs and Haley's no-hitter helped the Mavericks sweep the honors on April 19. Hukill hit six home runs during the MIAA Northern Crossover to earn all-tournament MVP honors. Haley threw a no-hitter April 13 against Northwest Missouri and ended the week 3-0 with a 0.40 ERA.
Haley earned her first honor on March 22 after she went 2-0 with a save in three appearances and a perfect 0.00 ERA.
Slocum and Haley Give Mavs Two No-Hitters
The Maverick pitching staff has produced two no-hitters this year, both of them in MIAA games. Lindsey Slocum had a perfect game on March 28 against Missouri Southern and Beth Haley threw a no-no April 13 against Northwest Missouri.
Slocum's gem helped head coach Jeanne Scarpello set the UNO coaching win record with her 460th win. Slocum faced the minimum 15 batters and struck out 10 of them. No Lion put a ball in play in fair territory until the fifth inning when the lead off hitter flew out to center field. The next batter tried bunting to get on, but Slocum fielded the ball and threw her out at first. She then got the next batter to pop up to Treightin Yates at second base to give her the gem.
Haley took a perfect game into the seventh inning against NWMSU and then walked and hit a batter before closing out a no-hitter. Haley didn't allow a batted ball to leave the infield. She struck out four and 13 of the 21 outs were ground outs. She also caught three batted balls, including two liners back to her. With a full count and two outs in the seventh, Haley walked Erin Leslie, giving up a chance at perfection. She then hit the next batter before getting the final Bearcat batter to foul out to first baseman Kristin Wellwood.
Scarpello Reigns as UNO's Wins Leader
Maverick head coach Jeanne Scarpello entered the year as UNO's leader in winning percentage and on March 28 she became the school's leader in total wins. She's currently 487-148-1 with a .767 winning percentage.
Scarpello, in her 11th year at UNO, surpassed Mary Yori, her predecessor on the win chart. Yori won 459 wins from 1989-99.
Mavericks Lead League in Batting and Pitching
The Mavericks lead the MIAA with a .345 batting average and they were sixth in the nation as of the April 25 NCAA statistic report. Treightin Yates leads the team with a .451 average and she's second in the MIAA and 24th in the nation. Lindsey Slocum is 10th in the conference batting .373 on the year.
The Mavericks also lead the conference with a 1.68 ERA, the only one below 2.00 among the 11 teams. Their pitchers make up three of the top four ERAs in the league. Beth Haley is second in the conference with a 1.55 ERA and Slocum is third with a 1.61 mark. Melissa Negrete is third with a 2.04 mark.
Yates Leading Team at the Plate
Senior second baseman Treightin Yates started the year on a 12-game hitting streak, building her average to .463 at the time. Since then, she has hit safely in all but 11 games and her average has only slipped to .451, best on the team and second in the MIAA.
Yates has 26 multi-hit games and 14 mulit-RBI games. She's batting .516 in the 20 MIAA games.
Haley Nearly Perfect During Winning Streak
Junior pitcher Beth Haley has allowed just mime earned runs in the 81 innings she's pitched during UNO's current 25-game winning streak. She's gone 13-0 with a 0.78 ERA and has allowed just seven extra-base hits. She's given up 12 walks with 56 strikeouts. She hasn't lost a game since pitching at then-No. 18 Emporia State on April 3.
Slocum's Bat Kept in Lineup at All Times
Lindsey Slocum, one of the top pitchers and hitters in the MIAA, has a place in the batting order no matter the situation. She is second on the team batting .373 overall. When she gets the start as a pitcher, she is batting .386 and when she doesn't start, she plays in the outfield and in those situations, she's batting .357. Six of her home runs and 38 of her RBI came while an outfielder and three homers and 14 RBI came as a pitcher.
On a doubleheader on March 28 against Missouri Southern, Slocum hit a grand slam as an outfielder in game one and then tossed a perfect game in the second game.
Batting Around...
• The Mavs haven't allowed more than two runs in a game since Pittsburg State scored four on April 17 (13 straight games). Lindsey Slocum has a 0.00 ERA during that stretch and the team has a 0.58 ERA. UNO has a 60-8 strikeout to walk ratio during that stretch.
• The following players have started every game this year at their respective positions: Alli Hukill (RF), Treightin Yates (2B), Kristi Meneely (C) and Kristin Wellwood (1B).
• Slocum has started every game as either the pitcher or center fielder. She has batted in the fifth spot in the lineup every time.
• The Mavs have had 10 hits or more in 30 of their 54 games this year. The pitching staff has allowed double-digit hits just four times this year.
• The Mavs have two grand slams this year. Slocum hit one on March 28 against MSSU and Hukill hit one on April 18 against UCM.
• Katelyn Hinton leads the Mavs with nine stolen bases.
• Alli Hukill leads the Mavs with four outfield assists.
• Julia Krejci is 4 for 5 as a pinch hitter, Chelse Koca is 3 for 9 and Molly Negrete is 3 for 11. Overall, UNO is 10 for 26 (.385) in pinch-hit situations with 10 RBI.
Coming Up Next
The NCAA will announce the field for the South Central Region I and II tournaments on Monday at 9 a.m. via a webcast selection show on NCAA.com. Eight teams from the region make the postseason with the top two teams hosting four-team sub-regionals.
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ Softball
IF/OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
C/OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
IF/OF
/ Softball
LHP/OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
C/IF
/ SoftballTuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
