Preview: @bearssoftball Opens Conference Play Against Sacramento State

Friday, March 23

Greeley, CO

1 pm

University of Northern Colorado

Sacramento State

Photo by: Janie Jones

3/22/2018 10:30:00 AM | Softball

Northern Colorado will play a three-game series with the Hornets on Friday and Saturday

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo.- Northern Colorado softball opens its conference schedule this weekend and will also play its first home games of season when they host Sacramento State. UNC (18-15) will play a three-game series against the Hornets starting Friday, March 23^rd at Gloria Rodriguez Field.

The Bears went 4-2 in the Rock Chalk Challenge over the weekend, with wins over Murray State (5-2), Western Illinois (5-1), UMKC (8-0), and Saint Louis (8-0). The losses were both against Kansas (3-8, 1-4) who hosted the tournament.

UNC's lineup was firing on all cylinders in Lawrence, where the Bears ended two games by way of the eight-run rule. The lineup for the Bears outscored opponents 30 to 15 in Lawrence, while batting .296 with four home runs. UNC also had excellent discipline at the plate, walking 31 times and only striking out 23 times.

Lauren Paige was one of the driving force behind the offense for UNC, with a .313 batting average, two home runs, two doubles, four RBIs, and a .688 slugging percentage. Paige also drew seven walks and had a .542 on base percentage to continually pressure opposing pitchers. Overall this season, Paige is third on the team with a .318 batting average and leads the team with five home runs, while also recording 13 RBIs.

Jordyn Wiatrak continued to be a solid rock for the lineup with a .368 batting average, one home run, and two RBIs over the weekend. Wiatrak leads the team with a .323 average and 20 RBIs this season, while being second on the team with four home runs.

Sophia Taylor elevated her hitting this past weekend, leading the team in batting with a .400 average and recording three RBIs. Taylor's strong weekend helped her improve her batting average from .157 to .211.

Mady Young lead UNC with six RBIs in the Rock Chalk Challenge, while hitting .333 with one double and scoring four runs. Young is second on the team with 16 runs scored and has a .264 season average, with 12 RBIs.

From the circle, UNC was able to keeps its opponents in check this past weekend with a 2.58 team ERA in 38 innings pitched. The Bear pitchers also struck out 27 batters and issued only 13 walks.

Valerie Vidal keeps cranking out lights-out performances, finishing the weekend with a 2-0 record, a 1.94 ERA, with two complete-game, shutouts in four starts. Vidal struck out 19 batters and walked five in 18 innings of work. Vidal narrowly missed a no-hitter against Saint Louis after a hard line drive in the top of the sixth was ruled a hit. Vidal has a 12-5 record this season, with a 1.80 ERA in 120.1 innings of work. Her command has also been excellent with 93 strikeouts to only 31 walks.

Along with Vidal, Chandler Elsner pitched very well with a 1.24 ERA in 11.1 innings of work, that included two starts. Elsner pitched a complete game to earn the win against Western Illinois, allowing one earned run. For the season, Elsner has a 2-1 record with a 3.65 ERA in 11 appearances, including four starts and 30.2 innings of work.

Northern Colorado will have its first games against Big Sky competition when it hosts the Sacramento State Hornets this weekend.

Scouting Sacramento State
Sacramento State enters the weekend with a 14-8 record under fifth year head coach Lori Perez. This past weekend, the Hornets co-hosted the NorCal Challenge and swept the tournament with four wins against New Mexico (15-12), Fairleigh Dickinson (7-0), Santa Clara (6-3), Pacific (7-2), and Santa Clara (6-3).

Sophomore Suzy Brookshire has been tough on opposing pitchers, batting .415 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs to lead the Hornets this season. Brookshire has a .862 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage. Senior Zamari Hinton has also been productive for the Hornets lineup with a .390 average and five stolen bases to keep the team aggressive on the bases. As a team, Sacramento State has outscored its opponents 121 to 79.

In the circle, senior Celina Matthias has been key for the rotation with an 8-3 record and a 1.62 ERA in 79 innings pitched. Matthias has pitched nine complete games with four shutouts, while striking out 78 batters and walking 28.

UNC was swept by Sacramento State last season on the road in a three game series.

Following the Bears
Northern Colorado will begin with a double-header against Sacramento State on Friday March 23^rd. The first game will begin at 1 P.M. and the second game is scheduled for 3 P.M. or 15 minutes after completion of the first game. The series between the Bears and the Hornets concludes on Saturday, March 24^th with one game at 1 P.M. Live stats are available through UNCBears.com and you can follow the games on twitter with @bearssoftball.