@BearsSoftball Opens Big Sky Play at Southern Utah

Friday, March 24

Cedar City, UT

1:00 pm

University of Northern Colorado

Southern Utah University

Photo Credit: Mark Aguire

3/22/2017 10:20:00 AM | Softball

By: Thomas Hoffman, uncbears.com

Greeley, Colo - Northern Colorado Softball officially kicks off Big Sky Conference Competition Friday, when they travel to Cedar City, Utah, to take on the Thunderbirds. First pitch is set for 1PM for Friday's double-header, and the two schools will close out the series for game three on Saturday.

Scouting the Bears
• Cheyenne Talmadge is 9-9 in stolen bases this season, the only player with a 1.000 stolen base percentage with at least eight attempts.
• At 337 assists, UNC has recorded 50 more assists than the next closest BSC team (North Dakota 282).
• Erica Dick leads the team in batting average (.361), slugging percentage (.608), triples (2), total bases (59) and on base percentage (.427).
• UNC's 21 home runs leads the Big Sky Conference.
• Adeline Coldiron has picked off two batters this season. No other BSC catcher has picked off a runner in 2017.

Scouting the Thunderbirds
• Kendall Kapitzke leads the Thunderbirds with six doubles, four home runs and bats .311 from the dish.
• Southern Utah has been outscored 49-111 so far this season.
• The Thunderbirds have hit into nine double plays, while as a team, they have only turned three.
• As a pitching staff, Southern Utah holds a collective 6.39 ERA.
• SUU has played two common opponents with UNC, UCSB and Bradley. The Thunderbirds are 1-3 against those teams, while UNC is 3-2.
• In 19 games, Southern Utah has committed a total of 26 errors.
• When opponents score first, SUU is 1-12 on the season.

Who to Watch For
Jayme Reddacliff - Jayme is having one of her best seasons in the Blue and Gold. In her senior campaign thus far, Reddacliff boasts an ERA of 3.07, eight complete games and only 20 walks in 109.1 innings pitched. With seven wins already in 2017, Jayme is just two wins away from setting a Division I program record.

Last Time Out
The Bears are coming off a 3-1 weekend at a tournament hosted by CSUN. UNC's only loss came against the host school, falling 6-5 in eight innings.
Last time vs. Southern Utah
All time, Northern Colorado holds a 7-19 record against the Thunderbirds. Last season, Southern Utah came to Greeley for a three-game series last April. While two of the games were canceled due to snow, UNC came away with a 5-4 win in the only game played that weekend.
Player of the Week
Fresh off of Rachel Johnson earning Northern Colorado's first player of the week honor for the Big Sky Conference, Erica Dick picked up College Sports Madness Player of the Week. Dick, who leads the team in a number of offensive and defensive categories, also broke the program record for most RBI, previously held by Mikayla Duffy. Erica is on track to break at least two more career records before the 2017 season comes to a close.
Patient Hitting
The Bears continue to show great maturity at the plate in 2017. In all but one game, UNC has a drawn a walk and now have recored at least one in 14 consecutive games. While Northern Colorado has forced 87 walks so far, the pitching staff has only given up 57.
Assisted Living
Shana Easley's pitching staff won't set any records in strikeouts this year, but neither her nor her players really care. Trusting their defense more than ever, UNC leads the Big Sky Conference with 337 assists. With more than 20 games, left in the season, the team is on track to break the 2014 single-season record of 512.
Wearing one for the Team
Northern Colorado is the fifth best team in the conference in on base percentage, mostly in part due to their high number of hit by pitch count. Already with 19 in 2017, the Bears lead the BSC and are on pace to break the 2015 record of 33. Adeline Coldiron leads the team with seven of the 19 free passes.
Wiatrak Power
Not only does Jordyn Wiatrak lead the team in home runs and double so far this season, 31 games into the season, Wiatrak also sits second and third in the conference, respectively, in regards to both of those categories.
No Harm No Foul
Appearing in three games last week, and pitching a total of 19.1 innings, Jayme Reddacliff gave up only two earned runs. Her 0.72 ERA and 1-1 record were the best of 2017 up until now.
Don't Even Try It
Adeline Coldiron, who has started each of the ears' 31 games at catcher, has picked off two runners attempting to steal bases. No other pitcher in the Big Sky Conference has accomplished such a feat.
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.