University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Friday, March 2
Fayetteville, AR
5:30 pm
University of Northern Colorado
at
University of Arkansas
Preview: @bearssoftball Goes South This Weekend for the Razorback Invitational
3/1/2018 6:07:00 PM | Softball
Northern Colorado will play Arkansas, Central Connecticut State, and Dartmouth
GREELEY, Colo.- Northern Colorado softball will keep traveling the country this weekend, as they head to Fayetteville, Ark. for the Razorback Invitational. The tournament is hosted by the University of Arkansas and UNC will play two games against the Razorbacks this weekend. The Bears also have a two-game series against Central Connecticut State and one game against Dartmouth.
UNC (8-8) played a single game against Colorado State on Tuesday that the Bears lost 9-4 in Fort Collins. The past weekend, UNC went 3-2 in the Libby Matson Invitational, with two wins against host Pacific (5-2, 9-8) and one against Seattle (1-0).
The Bears showed improvement in two-out hitting in Huntsville over the weekend, going 15-for-56, a .268 average. In the previous 10 games, UNC went 11-for-70 for a .157 average. The team also took advantage of bases loaded situations with a .333 batting average, improving on its previous .188 average.
Lauren Paige is hitting a blistering .471 in the last six games for the Bears and has a .529 slugging percentage. Paige currently leads the team with a .405 batting average and a .548 slugging percentage. She is currently on an eight game hitting streak, with four multi-hit games.
Valerie Vidal continues to be the ace for UNC in the circle, with a 5-3 record and a 2.53 ERA in 55.1 innings. Vidal has five complete games, including three shutouts and a no-hitter, in nine starts. She has tallied 42 strikeouts to only 17 walks this season. In her last start against CSU, Vidal struggled and was tagged for six runs in five innings of work.
UNC is having no trouble this season starting off innings, reaching base 41-of-105 in lead-off opportunities for a .390 average. Mady Young has been a major factor for the Bears in these situations, reaching base 15-of-26 opportunities for a .577 average.
Young and Madi Schmidt have been key for the Bears lineup with the duo hitting .333 and .323 respectively on the season. Schmidt has elevated her hitting with a .400 average over the last six games and has record six RBIs, with 12 total bases overall.
The Bears will try and come out of the weekend with a winning record for the third time this season and they face three different teams on the road.
Scouting Central Connecticut State
Central Connecticut State began its season a week ago and went 2-3 to start head coach Breanne Gleason's fifth year at the program. The Blue Devils defeated Siena twice (8-5, 6-1), but lost games to Florida International (0-2), Michigan State (4-5), and Boston College (0-1).
Senior infielder Gianna Hathaway leads the Blue Devils with a .500 batting average after five games and hit a pair of doubles in the opening weekend. Sophomore outfielder Emily Cornin showed her speed with five stolen bases on five attempts and also has a .286 average this season. The Blue Devils pitching staff has recorded a 2.68 ERA in 34 innings pitched, with two complete games. They have recorded 13 strikeouts and eight walks.
Scouting Arkansas
Arkansas has jumped out to a 10-1 record to open the season under fourth-year head coach Courtney Deifel. The Razorbacks have picked up wins against Grand Canyon (6-2), Loyola Marymount (6-5), and No. 21 Utah (4-2). Last weekend, Arkansas won four consecutive games with the eight-run rule coming into effect. The lone loss for the Razorbacks came against McNeese State (5-6)
Autumn Buczek leads the Razorbacks with a staggering .487 batting average and she has scored 10 runs this season. Hannah McEwen leads Arkansas with 17 RBIs and has hit three home runs, which is tied for the team lead with four other players. Mary Haff has been lights out for the Razorbacks with a 0.81 ERA in 34.2. Haff has been dominate with her control, recording 57 strikeouts to only three walks
Scouting Dartmouth
Dartmouth has struggled to begin their season, with an 0-5 record after starting games last weekend under fourth-year head coach Shannon Doepking. The Big Green opened the season at the FAU Strike Out Cancer series. Dartmouth lost five games to Tulsa (0-8), Illinois-Chicago (0-4, 2-3), Texas State (0-3), and Florida Atlantic (0-8).
Micah Schroder has been the best hitter for Dartmouth this season, with a .333 batting average and one double. Big Green has struggled on offense, with the lineup only producing two runs in five games. Shelby Wilkison leads the team with a 3.21 ERA in 9.1 innings pitched and has an 0-2 record this season.
Following the Bears
Northern Colorado plays its first game of the Razorback Invitational against Central Connecticut State on Friday, March 2nd at 12:30 P.M. (MT). Later that day, the Bears take on host Arkansas at 5:30 P.M. On Saturday, March 3rd, UNC plays Dartmouth at 10 A.M. and Central Connecticut State at 12:30 P.M. The Bears conclude their time in Fayetteville with one game on Sunday, March 4th against Arkansas at 10:15 A.M. The second game against Arkansas will be streamed live on SEC Network+ (with a subscription). Live stats for the game will be provided by ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Follow the games live on Twitter with @bearssoftball.
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UNC (8-8) played a single game against Colorado State on Tuesday that the Bears lost 9-4 in Fort Collins. The past weekend, UNC went 3-2 in the Libby Matson Invitational, with two wins against host Pacific (5-2, 9-8) and one against Seattle (1-0).
The Bears showed improvement in two-out hitting in Huntsville over the weekend, going 15-for-56, a .268 average. In the previous 10 games, UNC went 11-for-70 for a .157 average. The team also took advantage of bases loaded situations with a .333 batting average, improving on its previous .188 average.
Lauren Paige is hitting a blistering .471 in the last six games for the Bears and has a .529 slugging percentage. Paige currently leads the team with a .405 batting average and a .548 slugging percentage. She is currently on an eight game hitting streak, with four multi-hit games.
Valerie Vidal continues to be the ace for UNC in the circle, with a 5-3 record and a 2.53 ERA in 55.1 innings. Vidal has five complete games, including three shutouts and a no-hitter, in nine starts. She has tallied 42 strikeouts to only 17 walks this season. In her last start against CSU, Vidal struggled and was tagged for six runs in five innings of work.
UNC is having no trouble this season starting off innings, reaching base 41-of-105 in lead-off opportunities for a .390 average. Mady Young has been a major factor for the Bears in these situations, reaching base 15-of-26 opportunities for a .577 average.
Young and Madi Schmidt have been key for the Bears lineup with the duo hitting .333 and .323 respectively on the season. Schmidt has elevated her hitting with a .400 average over the last six games and has record six RBIs, with 12 total bases overall.
The Bears will try and come out of the weekend with a winning record for the third time this season and they face three different teams on the road.
Scouting Central Connecticut State
Central Connecticut State began its season a week ago and went 2-3 to start head coach Breanne Gleason's fifth year at the program. The Blue Devils defeated Siena twice (8-5, 6-1), but lost games to Florida International (0-2), Michigan State (4-5), and Boston College (0-1).
Senior infielder Gianna Hathaway leads the Blue Devils with a .500 batting average after five games and hit a pair of doubles in the opening weekend. Sophomore outfielder Emily Cornin showed her speed with five stolen bases on five attempts and also has a .286 average this season. The Blue Devils pitching staff has recorded a 2.68 ERA in 34 innings pitched, with two complete games. They have recorded 13 strikeouts and eight walks.
Scouting Arkansas
Arkansas has jumped out to a 10-1 record to open the season under fourth-year head coach Courtney Deifel. The Razorbacks have picked up wins against Grand Canyon (6-2), Loyola Marymount (6-5), and No. 21 Utah (4-2). Last weekend, Arkansas won four consecutive games with the eight-run rule coming into effect. The lone loss for the Razorbacks came against McNeese State (5-6)
Autumn Buczek leads the Razorbacks with a staggering .487 batting average and she has scored 10 runs this season. Hannah McEwen leads Arkansas with 17 RBIs and has hit three home runs, which is tied for the team lead with four other players. Mary Haff has been lights out for the Razorbacks with a 0.81 ERA in 34.2. Haff has been dominate with her control, recording 57 strikeouts to only three walks
Scouting Dartmouth
Dartmouth has struggled to begin their season, with an 0-5 record after starting games last weekend under fourth-year head coach Shannon Doepking. The Big Green opened the season at the FAU Strike Out Cancer series. Dartmouth lost five games to Tulsa (0-8), Illinois-Chicago (0-4, 2-3), Texas State (0-3), and Florida Atlantic (0-8).
Micah Schroder has been the best hitter for Dartmouth this season, with a .333 batting average and one double. Big Green has struggled on offense, with the lineup only producing two runs in five games. Shelby Wilkison leads the team with a 3.21 ERA in 9.1 innings pitched and has an 0-2 record this season.
Following the Bears
Northern Colorado plays its first game of the Razorback Invitational against Central Connecticut State on Friday, March 2nd at 12:30 P.M. (MT). Later that day, the Bears take on host Arkansas at 5:30 P.M. On Saturday, March 3rd, UNC plays Dartmouth at 10 A.M. and Central Connecticut State at 12:30 P.M. The Bears conclude their time in Fayetteville with one game on Sunday, March 4th against Arkansas at 10:15 A.M. The second game against Arkansas will be streamed live on SEC Network+ (with a subscription). Live stats for the game will be provided by ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Follow the games live on Twitter with @bearssoftball.
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Players Mentioned
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