Preview: @bearssoftball Honors Five Seniors, Hosts Montana in Final Home Series

Friday, April 27

Greeley, CO

1 PM

University of Northern Colorado

Montana

Left Column: Chandler Elsner(Top), Lauren Paige (Bottom) Right Column: Rachel Johnson (Top), Kaley Garcia (Middle), Kelli Kleis (Bottom)

4/25/2018 12:35:00 PM | Softball

Chandler Elsner, Kaley Garcia, Rachel Johnson, Kelli Kleis, and Lauren Paige will play their final home games this weekend

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo.- Northern Colorado softball will host Montana for a three-game series this weekend to close out its home schedule for the 2018 season starting with a doubleheader on Friday.

The series wraps up on Saturday with Senior Day, as the Bears will honor five players who have been major contributors to the program's growth the last four seasons. Chandler Elsner, Kaley Garcia, Rachel Johnson, Kelli Kleis, and Lauren Paige will play their final game at Gloria Rodriguez Field before graduating next week.

UNC (23-22, 5-6) has not played a competitive game in two weeks after the series against North Dakota and Metro State was cancelled last week. The Bears were swept by Portland State in their most recent series.

With two weeks to go in the regular season, UNC is sitting at sixth in the conference, with a half-game lead over Idaho State. The top six teams in the conference qualify for the postseason and UNC is looking for its first berth in the Big Sky Championship since 2014.

The five seniors who will be graduating have helped head coach, Shana Easley, recorded the most wins in her tenure at the at UNC and the most wins for the program since 2012. The 23 wins so far this season is also the third highest total in program history.

Chandler Elsner has made 46 appearances for the Bears, including seven starts, with three career wins in 98.2 innings pitched. The three wins have all come this season, along with her first career complete game against Western Illinois (3/16). Elsner allowed one run on five hits, while striking out three and walking two. Along with the wins, Elsner set career highs this season in starts (7), innings pitched (46.2), and strikeouts (16).

Kaley Garcia has played in 164 games, with 126 career starts, hitting five home runs, recording 45 RBIs, 61 runs, and has a .271 batting average overall. With 28 career doubles, Garcia is tied for 10^th in UNC history and currently has a career-best 14 this season. In the field, Garcia has a .970 career fielding percentage with five assists. Garcia has stepped up her senior year with career highs in hits (42), RBIs (23), runs (26), and batting average (.298).

Rachel Johnson has been a consistent performer for UNC during her career, starting 160 of 168 games she appeared in. In her career, Johnson has hit 22 home runs that ranks third in program history. Johnson recorded a career best 10 home runs in the 2017 season. Overall, Johnson is batting .260 as Bear and has recorded 94 RBIs, which is tied for fifth in program history. As a first baseman, Johnson ranks second in UNC history with 1111 putouts and has been involved in a program best, 32 double-plays turned. Johnson is also ninth in UNC history with 29 doubles and is tied for second with 70 walks.

Kelli Kleis has been a contributor for Bears at the plate and in the circle during her career. Kleis has made 33 career starts in 69 appearances, recording seven wins in 181.2 innings pitched, with 85 strikeouts. In her freshman year, Kleis had four wins and two complete games in 85 innings of work and 39 strikeouts, all career highs. At the plate, Kleis has recorded 13 hits with three doubles, 13 RBIs, and 11 runs scored in 72 at bats.

Lauren Paige has been power bat and a power arm during her four-year career at UNC. At the plate, Paige has a career .264 average, with 19 home runs that is tied for fifth in program history. Paige has recorded 69 RBIs, 44 runs, and 14 doubles for the bears, with a .459 slugging percentage. Paige is tied with Johnson for second in UNC history with 70 walks and has already set a single-season program record this year with 34 walks. In the circle, Paige has been a key relief pitcher for the Bears, with 59 appearances and has also made seven starts. She has six wins with one complete game and has tallied three saves for her career. Paige's command has been remarkable with 50 strikeouts to only 21 walks. This season, Paige is currently ranked first in the nation in walks-per-seven innings with a 0.49 statistic. Paige has set career marks in 2018 in batting average (.328), home runs (8), runs (22), wins (4), saves (2), and strikeouts (36).

The Bears can secure their spot in Ogden this weekend with a sweep of Montana and if Southern Utah wins two games against Idaho State.

Scouting Montana
Montana is fourth in the Big Sky with a, 8-7 record in conference and 22-24 overall for the season. The Grizzlies hosted Portland State last weekend in a three-game series, with the Vikings winning two of the three games. In non-conference, Montana faced several highly ranked teams including then No. 1 Oklahoma, along with No. 5 Oregon and No. 11 Arizona. The Grizzlies dropped each of the games against ranked opponents.

Senior infielder Ashlyn Lyons leads Montana with a .396 batting average and also leads the team with 12 doubles. Lyons has hit six home runs and recorded 30 RBIs on the season. Another senior infielder, Delene Colburn, is right behind Lyons with a .369 batting average and leads the team with nine home runs and 37 RBIs. Colburn also leads the team with 28 walks and is tied for the team lead with six stolen bases in eight attempts. Sophomore Michaela Hood has been the go-to starter for the Grizzlies, with a 7-8 record in 17 starts. Hood has a 2.78 ERA in 100.2 innings pitched and has struck out 82 batters, while walking only 29.

Northern Colorado traveled to Missoula in 2017 and were swept by the Grizzlies in a three-game series.

Following the Bears
UNC takes on Montana with a double-header schedule for Friday, August 27 with the first game at 1 P.M. (MT) and the second game starting 20-30 minutes after the completion of game one. The series concludes on Saturday, August 28^th with Senior Day and first pitch scheduled for 1 P.M. Live stats will be available on UNCBears.com and follow the games live on Twitter with @bearssoftball.