April 18, 2005
Softball to Wrap Up Season With 9 Games in 5 Days
Complete Northern Colorado Softball Notes in PDF Format
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University of Northern Colorado Bears (10-21)
at University of Nebraska Cornhuskers (27-15)
Games #32-33 l Thursday, April 21, 2005 l 4 p.m. (Mountain)
Lincoln, Neb. l Bowlin Stadium
University of Northern Colorado Bears (10-21)
vs. Utah Valley State College Wolverines (10-31-1)
Games #34-37 l Saturday-Sunday, April 23-24, 2005 l 12 p.m./10 a.m.
Greeley, Colo. l UNC Softball Field
University of Northern Colorado Bears (10-21)
vs. University of Texas-El Paso (17-26)
Games #38-40 l Monday-Tuesday, April 25-26, 2005 l 12 p.m./10 a.m.
Greeley, Colo. l UNC Softball Field
GAME INFORMATION
The University of Northern Colorado Bears' softball squad will play nine games in five days against three different teams. The Bears will travel to Lincoln, Neb., to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a doubleheader on Thursday. The Bears will then return home to close the season with a pair of doubleheaders against Utah Valley State on Saturday and Sunday and a three-game set with UTEP on Monday and Tuesday.
THE BEAR FACTS
BEARS TO HONOR PARENTS, SENIORS ON SATURDAY
The University of Northern Colorado softball team will honor the squad's parents and seniors on Saturday in a ceremony between games against Utah Valley State. The Bears have two seniors on this year's squad and both Stephani Miller and Whitney Platten will be honored between the two games on Saturday. UNC Athletic Hall of Fame member Jan Breckenridge will also be in attendance to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Saturday.
FIVE OVER .300
Five Northern Colorado players are hitting over .300 on the season despite the Bears' 10-21 overall record. Senior Whitney Platten leads the way at .395, while freshman Kati Miller is hitting .373 this season. Sophomore Casey Hogue is batting .320. Sophomore Kelsey Dumler is batting .311, while freshman Mackenzie Barrett is hitting .304 for the Bears this year.
BALANCED BATS
The Bears have four players with 13 or more RBI this season. Leading the way is senior Whitney Platten with 18 RBI. Sophomore Casey Hogue is second with 14 RBI. Senior Nicole Martinez and freshman Mackenzie Barrett are tied for third on the squad with 13 RBI each.
BARRETT LAYS THE SMACK DOWN
Freshman Mackenzie Barrett has made quite a splash this season for the Bears. Barrett, a walk-on from Lakewood, Colo., has taken over the team lead in home runs with five this season. She is hitting .304 this season with 24 hits and 10 runs scored. She is also tied for second on the team with 10 walks. Earlier this season, Barrett was named the NCAA Division I Independent player of the week on March 25. Barrett tallied eight hits, six RBI and three home runs in hitting .381 for the week. Barrett launched a pair of home runs in a 6-5 loss to Youngstown State on March 14 at the Rebel Games. Barrett is hitting .293 this season with 17 hits, 10 RBI and three home runs.
DUMLER TAKES OVER PITCHING LOAD
Sophomore pitcher Kelsey Dumler has taken over the pitching duties as the Bears have been decimated by injuries. Dumler is 6-13 this season with a 6.44 ERA in 108 2/3 innings of work. Senior Stephani Miller is suffering from a sore shoulder and has not pitched since the Rebel Games in mid-March. Miller has a 3-7 record with a team-best 3.20 ERA in 62 2/3 innings pitched.
PLATTEN TIES SINGLE-GAME DOUBLES RECORD
Senior Whitney Platten tied the Bears' single-game record for doubles when she tallied three two-baggers in a 9-4 win over George Mason. Cody Hicks set the record on April 27, 1999 against Colorado College. Platten leads the Bears in doubles this season with 10. The single-season record for doubles is 12, which was set by Erin Peterson in the 2003 season.
DUMLER FINDS HER MARK
Sophomore pitcher Kelsey Dumler tossed her first career collegiate shutout in the Bears' 11-0 win over Rider. Dumler limited Rider to only two hits in the contest.
SISTER ACT
Sisters senior Stephani Miller and freshman Kati Miller are enjoying spending the season playing together as teammates. Stephani is leading the team with a 3.20 ERA in 65 2/3 innings pitched, while Kati is hitting .373 to rank second on the team.
PRESEASON PICK
University of Northern Colorado senior catcher Whitney Platten (Lakewood, Colo.) was named to the preseason NCAA Division I All-Independent team. Platten hit .350 last season with six home runs and tallied 22 runs batted in. Platten also scored 11 runs and was named to the Division I-II All-Independent team in 2004.
BEARS LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK
After struggling to a 6-32 finish in the 2004 season, the Bears will look to bounce back to the form they had in both the 2002 and 2003 seasons when they averaged 23 wins a season.
BEARS CONTINUE DIVISION I TRANSITION
On May 10, 2002 the UNC Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve a move for the UNC intercollegiate athletics program to NCAA Division I. This season is the second of a four-year transition period before officially becoming a Division I school in 2007. UNC will be unable to compete in NCAA postseason competition until the 2007-08 season. UNC will be competing as an independent during the 2004-05 school year and will hopefully find conference affiliation before the end of the reclassification period.
HEAD COACH
Linda Witt is entering her fifth season as the head coach of the UNC softball squad. During Witt's tenure as the Bears' leader she has compiled a record of 74-110 overall. Witt will be charged with taking the Bears back to Division I softball, a level she is very familiar with at UNC.
"We are going back to Division I and it's exciting because I was a part of the tradition as a player and now I have the opportunity to do it as a coach," Witt said.
Witt was named the Co-Coach of the Year in 2002 after leading the Bears to a 28-18 overall mark and an 11-5 record in league action. Witt has compiled an overall mark of 41-36 in two full seasons as the Bears' head coach. Witt played for the Bears' during here college days and led the squad to the NCAA championship game in 1978 before falling to UCLA, 2-0, in the title contest.
A 1978 graduate of UNC, Linda Witt spent 20 years as a teacher and coach at University High School (UNC Laboratory School). While at University High, Witt coached the girls' gymnastics team (1979-93), girls' track & field team (1979-2000) and boys' track & field team (1984-2000). Her gymnastics' squads captured 10 state championships and five runner-up finishes during her tenure, including several individual state championship performances. In addition, she coached numerous track & field athletes to individual state titles.
Along the way, Witt has garnered many coaching honors, including National High School Athletic Coaches Association - National Coach of the Year Runnerup (1994), NHSACA Regional Coach of the Year (1994), Gatorade "Coach Who Cares" Award (1993), McDonald's Regional Coach of the Year (1992) and Colorado Sportswoman Coach of the Year (1985).
Witt has also been very active in the Northern Colorado softball community. She coached several competitive travel teams from 1989-93 and helped initiate numerous softball tournaments, camps and clinics. From 1995-97, she served as a softball instructor and clinician at the Greg Riddoch Sports Academy.
As a student-athlete at UNC, Witt excelled in field hockey and softball. For her efforts, Witt was inducted into the UNC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996 and was recognized along with her 1978 softball teammates during the induction of the team at the 1998 ceremony. Witt was also a member of the United States Field Hockey team from 1979-1982.
