Contact: Lou Groce, Director of Media and Information, 920-229-8157
GRINNELL, Iowa – After winning its third consecutive Midwest Conference (MWC) regular season championship, the Lake Forest College softball team will serve as the host of the 2016 MWC Tournament and play fourth-seeded Illinois College in the opening round tommorow. Monmouth College and Carroll University will square off in the tourney opener.
The Fighting Scots and the Pioneers should be very familiar with each other as the two clubs split a doubleheader on the final day of the regular season. Monmouth finished the regular season at 16-4 in the MWC and 26-10 overall. The Scots 26 wins are a Monmouth College single season record.
Sophomore Liz Hippen has been dominant in the circle for the Fighting Scots. She has a 13-5 record and a 1.68 earned run average on the season, which is second in the MWC. Hippen has fired a conference-best 129 innings and has struck out a league-high 149 batters. Kaylee Kurtz and Brianna Perschall assist Hippen with the pitching duties and have 11 combined wins on the season.
At the plate, Charlotte Park has slugged a league-leading eight home runs, eight doubles and has 24 RBI on the season. Park’s .697 slugging percentage is the best in the tournament and her .479 on-base percentage is good for second in the league. Setting the table is left fielder Kirstyn Ozga, who has a team-best 47 hits and a .373 batting average. Hippen is no slouch at the plate and is hitting .346. The left side of the infield has been particularly strong in the batters’ box as shortstop Elena Sakellaropoulos and Michaela Guthrie both tout averages over .340.
Shelby Sommer and Kelly Strasser have led the way for the Pioneers, who finished the season at 14-6 in league action and 23-13 overall. Just a freshman, Sommer has dazzled both in the circle and in the batter’s box. In 19 appearances, she is 12-6 with a 2.43 ERA and has tossed 106 2/3 innings. At the dish, she is second on the team with a .383 batting average with 13 doubles and 25 knocked in. Hannah Miller has also been a great two-way player for Carroll. Miller is 9-6 in the circle and is hitting .321 at the plate.
Shortstop Megan Kohlmetz has been a solid contributor at shortstop and is hitting .336. Catcher Veronica Rodriguez not only has handled the Pioneers’ pitching staff, but is hitting .358 and is second on the team in slugging (.585).
Lake Forest (24-11, 18-2) enters the tournament as the favorite after winning the regular season title. Jessi Werner, Jenny McTague, Sally Snarski and Alex Hemmer have been critical to the Foresters’ third consecutive championship. Werner and McTague have been dominant in the circle this season and have been the only two pitchers to throw for the home team. In conference action, the pair has combined to go 18-2 to go with a 1.48 ERA and is holding opposing hitters to a paltry .179 average. McTague has tossed no-hitters against Carroll and St. Norbert College this spring, while Werner has chucked three complete game shutouts and has 131 strikeouts in just 120 2/3 innings pitched.
Hemmer has done an outstanding job of handling the Foresters’ 1-2 pitching punch. The senior catcher has also been stellar in the batter’s box, hitting 10 doubles, four homers and 66 total bases. Both Hemmer and classmate Sally Snarski has OPS over 1.000 for the season. Snarksi has a .504 on-base percentage with six homers and a .398 batting average.
The Lady Blues are making their first MWC Tournament appearance since 2007 after finishing 13-7 in conference action. Illinois College has a potent lineup and leads the MWC in both batting average (.332) and runs scored (205). Katie Prizer has the top average on the team at .398 and is tied for the team lead in hits with Shelby Koehler (45). Koehler and Lea Hall have both driven in 25, while Hall leads the club with a .582 slugging percentage and five long balls. Jackie Reilly and Elyce Trout have also put together solid seasons from their left field and second base positions, respectively.
In the circle, Amanda Price has put together a solid 8-4 campaign and sports a 2.14 ERA. Mariah Hedges also has eight wins to her credit this spring. Neither pitcher relies much on the strikeout as they have 88 strikeouts in 174 innings pitched. As a team, the Lady Blues have a .960 fielding percentage which is tops in the conference.
Monmouth and Carroll will take the field at 10:00 a.m. on Friday to open the tournament, with Lake Forest and Illinois College following at 12:00 p.m. The losers of the first two games will then play at 2:00 p.m. and the winners of the first two games will square off at 4:00 p.m.