April 12, 2005

Toledo, OH - After having their perfect 3-0 home record spoiled by Central Michigan (15-8, 8-0 MAC), the Rocket softball team (19-19, 4-8 MAC) heads to Ypsilanti, MI for another shot at Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, April 13 for a single game starting at 3:00 p.m. UT will then travel to Kent State for its third three-game series of the season on Saturday-Sunday, April 16-17. The Golden Flashes will open their weekend with the Rockets at 1:00 p.m. both days.

In their last outing, the Rockets faced Central Michigan in a single game to complete a three-game series on Sunday, April 10. UT trailed by three runs heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, and were in desperate need of some hot bats. Freshman pinch-hitter Valerie Moxim led off the inning with a double down the left-field line, and scored off a hard hit by sophomore Denise Van Vossen that ricocheted off CMU pitcher, Jessica Garvin. With two outs and Toledo down by two runs, Garvin loaded the bases with senior Kim Pettitt stepping up to the plate. Pettitt had already hit a two-run homer off Garvin earlier in the game, so the Chippewas made a strategic pitching change putting in Jill DeRoche, who pitched a complete game one-hitter against UT the day before. DeRoche did her job with three pitches and claimed her first save of the season. Rockets' sophomore RHP Stephanie Moore (8-10) was handed the loss, after allowing four hits for five runs (four earned) in her 4.1 innings of work. Pettitt finished out the remainder of the game, hurling 2.2 innings and limiting Central Michigan to one hit.

Still topping the offensive charts for the Rockets is junior SS Gina Muratori with a .400 batting average. In her 120 at-bats this season, the Napa, CA native has produced a team-high 48 hits, 20 runs and 12 RBI. Her .440 on-base percentage also leads the team and ranks her fifth among MAC competitors. Muratori is currently leading the MAC in hits (48) and ranks fourth in total bases (64). Following behind Muratori is sophomore CF Erica Singer with a .310 average and Pettitt with a .308 average. Singer leads the team in doubles (10), which also ranks her fifth among fellow MAC opponents. Pettitt helped lead the team this past weekend to a single-season record of 21 home runs after connecting for her fourth homer of the season. She leads the team in RBI with 20. Despite dropping in her numbers from last week to this week, freshman 1B Leslie Stong continues to be an offensive threat to opponents. Stong holds a team-high .544 slugging percentage, including six home runs this season. She is also topping the conference charts in league-only games in home runs (3) and walks (8), and is also in an eight-way tie for first in triples (1).

Despite a rise in the pitching staff's ERA, Toledo still ranks second among its conference competitors with a combined 2.29 ERA. Pettitt (11-9) claims the top spot on the Rockets' pitching chart with a 2.00 ERA, including a team-high 13 complete games and 112 strikeouts. She has hurled a total of 119.0 innings allowing 96 hits for 34 earned runs, and holds her opponents to a mere .220 batting average. Riding a 6.59 strikeouts/game margin, the Canton, OH native is on pace to overtake Amy Lukowski's 1996-99 total of 493 strikeouts on UT's All-Time Career Records list. If she stays on track, she will surpass Lukowski on Saturday, April 23 in game two against Northern Illinois at Scott Park. Moore is following closely behind Pettitt in the ranks with a 2.28 ERA. However, the Ravenna, OH native has done a good job against her conference opponents and posessess a 1.45 ERA compared to Pettitt's 3.41. Moore is 8-10 on the season, with a 3-3 mark in league standings. She has allowed 118 hits for 39 earned runs in her team-high 119.2 innings of work for the 2005 campaign. Seeing some time in the circle this past week was freshman RHP Kaitlyn Lloyd. Lloyd made her ninth and tenth appearances this past week in games one and two against Youngstown State. She currently holds a 3.85 ERA in 23.2 innings pitched, allowing 30 hits for 13 earned runs.

Toledo will get a chance to avenge Eastern Michigan's (9-13, 5-5 MAC) 3-2, 4-3 victories from March 26, when they face the Eagles in a single game on Wednesday at Varsity Field in Ypsilanti, MI. In its last outing, EMU battled Northern Illinois at home and was defeated, 7-1. The Huskies held the Eagles to four hits compared to their 10, as Eastern Michigan's Aimee Woodrum (5-5) was handed the loss. EMU's lone run came off a homer from Nikki Denman, which was her first of the season. For the 2005 campaign, Lauren Clark is leading Eastern Michigan's offense with a .333 batting average. She has 21 hits in her 63 at-bats, including a team-high 15 RBI. Her slugging percentage of .603 ranks her fifth among MAC competitors. Woodrum is the Eagles' No. 1 pitcher with a 2.20 ERA. She has made 12 appearances this season, allowing 53 hits and 19 earned runs in her 60.1 innings of work. As a team, EMU's batting ranks 10th among conference opponents, while its pitching ranks ninth. In league-only games, the Eagles sit seventh in batting and ninth in pitching.

Kent State (16-18, 4-4 MAC) settled into the fourth spot in the MAC East Division standings after its third week of conference action. Over the weekend, the Golden Flashes went 1-2 against Ohio, losing the final two games of the series, 2-1 and 3-1. KSU is led by two individuals at the plate, who are both hitting over .300. Leading the way is Ashley Ball with a .333 batting average in her 81 at-bats for 27 hits. Jessica Toocheck, who leads the team in hits (31), is Kent State's other offensive power with a .313 average. Although Whitney Lebowitz ranks fifth on the team in batting average (.275) for the season, her .353 average in conference-only games is currently a team high. The pitching duties for the Golden Flashes have been scattered this season with four pitchers making at least 10 appearances. Brittany Robinson (7-9) holds the top spot with a 2.17 ERA, including a team-high 93.1 innings pitched. Her 116 strikeouts this season ranks her fifth among conference opponents. Despite a 2.62 season ERA for Keir McEachern (5-2), she currently posessess a 1.53 ERA in league-only games for a 2-1 mark.