@BearsSoftball Kicks Off Eight-Game Home Stand With MSU-Denver

Tuesday, April 19

Greeley, Colo.

4:00 PM

University of Northern Colorado

Metropolitan State University of Denver

Photo by: Ed Navarro

4/18/2016 4:45:00 PM | Softball

The Bears and Roadrunners will play at 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19 in Greeley.

By: UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado begins an eight-game home stand with a doubleheader against Metro State-Denver on Tuesday (April 19) and will continue on into the weekend with a three-game series against Portland State (April 22-23).

WAYS TO WATCH:
Live Stats

GAME TIMES:
MSU-Denver – Tues. 4:00 & 6:00 p.m.
PSU – Fri. 1:00 & 3:00 p.m. | Sat. 2:00 p.m.

PROMOTIONS:
Kids Day (April 19) – all kids in attendance will receive scroll banners and get a chance to meet and talk with players after the game. They will also get a chance to run bases under the stadium lights after the game.
Bark in the Park (April 22) - Bring your furry friend to the game and enjoy complimentary doggy goody bags!
Alumni Game (April 23) - Following the game, softball alumni are welcome to stick around the field for fun, food, and fellowship.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
- Northern Colorado (5-29, 1-11 Big Sky) picked up its first Big Sky win of the season at North Dakota last weekend. The Bears pulled out a 6-4 victory, snapping the team's 11-game losing skid.
- The Fighting Hawks took the final two games in Grand Forks, winning 5-4 and 7-1.
- Designated player, Lauren Paige had a commendable series. She batted .625 and had a slugging percentage of 1.500 in the three game series against UND. She finished 5-8 with one double, two home runs and six RBI. Paige also walked 3 times.
- In the series finale, the Bears stranded 12 runners on base in the six-run loss. The 12 runners were the most the team has left on so far this season.
- UNC split games with Metro last season and only picked up one win against PSU in the three-game set.

SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS
- Metro State (26-16, 21-9 RMAC) heads to Greeley on a three-game losing streak after dropping a game to Regis University and Colorado-Colorado Springs.
- MSU-Denver currently sits in second place overall in the RMAC, behind only Colorado Mesa and have already clinched their spot in the conference tournament.
- The Roadrunners boast the best batting average in the RMAC as a team, batting .368 overall. They have eight players batting over .300 and are led by Hayley Fields. Fields is currently working a .368 BA, with 53 hits and 30 RBIs.
- Fields is also their ace on the mound. She comes into Tuesday's doubleheader with a 3.33 ERA and a 14-5 record in 21 games in the circle.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
- Portland State (11-25, 5-7 Big Sky) currently sits fifth in the Big Sky with a 5-7 record. The Vikings have entered a bit of a slump coming to Greeley, dropping its last seven games, including being swept at Montana last weekend. It's their second longest losing streak of the season.
- Despite the ups and downs PSU still has four players with a .300 average or better. Candice Orozco reps the best BA on the team at .321 and leads the team in RBI with 16.
- Pitcher Alyssa Burk maintains a solid ERA of 3.58 and a 3-3 record in 11 games. Burk also leads the rotation in strikeouts with 40.

FITZHERBERT AT BAT
- Second baseman Sarah Fitzherbert has kept her bat hot through 12 games now. Fitzherbert recorded at least one hit in all three games against UND and extended her hitting streak to 12. She bumped her batting average up from .279 to .286 after hitting .333 in the series. She notched four hits and one RBI against the Fighting Hawks.
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STUCK IN A CHASE FOR RECORDS
- For the last nine games shortstop Erica Dick has been just two home runs and four runs away from tying the program's NCAA Division I career runs and HRs records. Dick currently has 21 career homers and 111 runs and could tie or break each record as early as this weekend. The last time she touched home plate came in the Montana series where she finished with three runs and one home run.

ALL-TIME SERIES
- Northern Colorado and MSU-Denver have only played four times despite being less than an hour apart. The Bears lead the series 3-1 with two games being played in 1984 and then last season. The Roadrunners split the doubleheader in Denver last year.
- PSU leads the series over Northern Colorado 17-7. The Bears picked up one win in the series at Portland State last year, but have only taken a series from the Vikings once since 2007.

ROAD WIN
- UNC snapped its 11-game losing streak at North Dakota last weekend. The Bears picked up their first Big Sky and second road win of the year, 6-4. Jayme Reddacliff (5-13) worked a no hitter for three innings and had only been hit twice until the seventh. She too snapped a seven-game losing streak in the process.

UNDER THE LIGHTS
- For the first time this season Northern Colorado will host a night series with Metro State. It will be the first game in over two years that will be held past 6:00 p.m.