Texas Two Step Awaits @BearsSoftball

Friday, February 24

Abilene, TX

3:00 pm

University of Northern Colorado

Prairie View A&M University

2/22/2017 8:30:00 AM | Softball

By: Thomas Hoffman, uncbears.com

Greeley, Colo - Northern Colorado Softball embarks for yet another tournament Friday at Abilene Christian University. In their own version of the Texas two-step, UNC will play three games against the hosts ACU and two versus Prairie View A&M before returning home to Colorado.

vs. Prairie View A&M (at ACU) (Feb. 24) -- Live Stats | @bearssoftball
at Abilene Christian (Feb. 24) -- Live Stats | @bearssoftball
at Abilene Christian (Feb. 25) -- Live Stats | @bearssoftball
vs. Prairie View A&M (at ACU) (Feb. 25) -- Live Stats | @bearssoftball
at Abilene Christian (Feb. 26) -- Live Stats | @bearssoftball

Scouting the Bears
• Jojo Wiatrak and Erica Dick are both batting over .300, going .345 and .313 respectively.
• Adeline Coldiron has started each of the Bears' 10 games, combining for 36 put outs and five assists with only one error.
• Cheyenne Talmadge and Kenzie Kudrna have combined for a team-high 10 runs.
• Jayme Reddacliff has yet to give up a home run this season.

Scouting the Wildcats
• The Wildcats are .500 (4-8) in stolen base attempts in 2017
• Seven ACU players have started all 11 games for head coach Bobby Reeves.
• Abilene Christian already has a victory over at Big 10 opponent this year, defeating Iowa, 3-1, two weekends ago.
• Sidney Holman leads ACU with a 2.23 ERA, starting in four games and appearing in eight.

Scouting the Panthers
• The Panthers began the season with four consecutive losses in a tournament at Louisiana Monroe.
• Left fielder Shelby Williams has reached base in each of the first PVAMU six games.
• Williams also led the team with three stolen bases in their last game.
• The Prairie View roster bolsters 10 total freshmen, making them the youngest roster in the tournament.

Who to Watch for
Adeline Coldiron- The senior catcher has started every game behind the dish for head coach Shana Easley. Coldiron has combined for 36 put outs and five assists with only one error. At the plate, the Loveland, Colorado, native is 3-19, but has four walks and a hit by pitch, resulting in an on base percentage of .333.

The Rundown
Last time out
vs Abilene Christian
The Bears and Wildcats have only met once in program history, with the Bears taking the win, 10-6, in 2014. Morgan Yuhas led the way in the UNC victory, going 3-5 with two RBI. Jayme Reddacliff got the start in that game, going 4.2 innings with only one earned run.
VS Prairie View A&M
The Panthers and the Bears have never met in competition. The two games slated for Friday and Saturday will provide opportunity for bragging rights.
Dominant Duo
UNC's one-two punch of Erica Dick and Jojo Wiatrak are a force to be reckoned with. Both are batting well over .300 in the early part of the season and each player also ranks in the top five in the Big Sky Conference for hit totals.
Val's Victory
Valerie Vidal took control of the circle Sunday against No. 14 Tennessee. In a game in which the Volunteers scored 16 runs, Vidal held the SEC powerhouse scoreless in the fourth inning, the only frame in which Tennessee did not score.
Oh Snap
In the second inning of the Bears' game against Tennessee, Catcher Adeline Coldiron's snap throw to second, picked off the would be Volunteer base runner. It was the first pick-off for Coldiron in 2017.
Not in Her House
Jayme Reddacliff has started six games for head coach Shana Easley this season. In those games, totaling 27.1 innings pitched, she is yet to surrender a home run.
Mrs. Steal Your Base
Cheyenne Talmadge is 5-5 in stolen base attempts in 2017. Talmadge's total leads all players in the Big Sky Conference. Montana's Mckenna McGill has the BSC's only other perfect recording, going 4-4.
New Year New Staff
Head coach Shana Easley has hired assistant coaches, Travis Owen and Kaelene Curry over the offseason. Owen arrives from a successful Radford program and Curry makes her second stint as part of UNC's staff, arriving from Sonoma State.
New Kids on the Block
UNC adds three new faces to the program in 2017. Hunter Damico, Autumn Anderson and Sophia Taylor all arrive in Greeley looking to make an impact in their freshmen campaigns.
Seeing triple
Last season, Northern Colorado and Erica Dick led the nation in triples per game by a team and by a player, respectively with .43 and .40.
Early Signing Success
UNC ventured out into four different states to sign new recruits during the early signing period in November. Natalie Joyner (Wash.), Mady Young (Kan.), Ally Steiner (Ariz.) and Emma Brockman (Ore.) will all arrive on campus next season.
Frequent flyers
The Bears will spend the first month of the season traveling the Southwestern part of the United States. Tournaments in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas keep UNC busy before coming home on March 7 against Colorado State.
Record watch
2017 could be a monumental year for Erica Dick. The senior ranks top-10 in UNC history in 10 career categories. Dick has already scored more runs than anyone in Bear history with 123 and counting.
Chasing a legend
Head coach Shana Easley enters 2017 one win behind Jen Schunke for second all-time in UNC DI history. Easley is 26 wins from tying Linda Witt (88) who holds the most wins in the DI era.
Recent renovations
On top of renaming Butler-Hancock Softball Field to Gloria Rodriguez Field, UNC Softball will welcome a brand new scoreboard and backstop. Renovations to the facility continue with eyes on new dugouts as the next project.