Wieberg named Academic All-America

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROLLA – University of Missouri-Rolla softball player Kandi Wieberg has added yet another honor for the 2007 season as she has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team for the recently completed campaign.

Wieberg, from St. Elizabeth High School, was a third-team selection on the college division squad that includes players from NCAA Division II and III and the NAIA. She was the only player from a Great Lakes Valley Conference school to be named to the academic squad.

Previously, Wieberg was named to two All-America teams for her play on the field, earning second team honors on the Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association squad and first team laurels on the inaugural Daktronics Division II team as voted on by sports information

directors from Division II institutions.

She was named to the All-America squads along with centerfielder Ashley Winter as the first on-field All-America selections in softball in school history.

Wieberg, a junior at UMR who was named as the "Player of the Year" by the GLVC, batted .402 with a team-high 12 home runs and 39 runs batted in during the recently completed season in which the Lady Miners made their first-ever appearance at the NCAA regional tournament. As UMR's leadoff hitter, she also led the GLVC in doubles (21), total bases (127) and slugging percentage (.751), while ranking second in runs scored (46), hits (68) and home runs. She ranks among the top five in the GLVC in nine categories and is sixth nationally in doubles per game.

During the 2007 season, Wieberg has broken UMR career records for doubles (42) and home runs (24) and tied the record for the longest hitting streak of 18 games. She had a .494 average in conference play with five homers and 16 RBI for the Lady Miners.

In the classroom, Wieberg is a civil engineering major, who has been on the honor roll at UMR and has served as the softball team's representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

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UMR’s Wieberg, Winter named All-America

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROLLA – The honors keep rolling in for two University of Missouri-Rolla softball players – and the latest awards are without question the biggest to date.

Junior second baseman Kandi Wieberg and freshman centerfielder Ashley Winter have been named as All-America performers for the recently-completed 2007 season. Wieberg was named to two All-America squads, earning second team honors on the Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association squad and first team laurels on the inaugural Dektronics Division II team as voted on by sports information directors from Division II institutions.

Winter was chosen to the NFCA’s All-America team as a third team selection in the outfield. The All-America awards are the first in school history for members of the UMR softball program.

Wieberg, who was named as the Player of the Year by the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), batted .402 with a team-high 12 home runs and 39 RBI this spring, in which the Lady Miners made their first-ever appearance at the NCAA Regional Tournament. As UMR’s leadoff hitter, she also led the GLVC in doubles (21), total bases (127) and slugging percentage (.751), while ranking second in runs scored (46), hits (68) and home runs. She ranks among the top five in the GLVC in nine categories and sixth nationally in doubles per game.

During the 2007 season Wieberg, from St. Elizabeth High School, has broken UMR career records for doubles (42) and home runs (24) and tied the record for the longest hitting streak of 18 games. She had a .494 average in conference play with five homers and 16 RBI for the Lady Miners.

Winter, from Richland High School, led the conference in hitting with a .469 average and a team-high 16 stolen bases. She also led the GLVC in on-base percentage at .490 and ranks third in the league in hits (67) and runs scored (41).

Her 15-game hitting streak earlier in the season was the longest in school history by a freshman.

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Lady Miner softball ends in regional play

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The Lady Miners fought back from a four-run deficit with six outs to go to keep their season alive, but saw it end about 90 minutes later when Grand Valley State’s Lisa Pruess homered in the 13th inning to give the Lakers a 5-4 victory over UMR in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional at Lewis University Saturday.

The loss closed the Lady Miners’ first appearance at the regional tournament and their season with a final record of 29-18.

UMR opened regional play by beating Lewis University 5-4 on Thursday. On Friday UMR tallied three runs in the first inning only to see No. 6 Ferris state rally for a 12-4 victory, putting the Lady Miners into Saturday’s elimination game. UMR, however, did not go down without a fight. Grand Valley State jumped out to a 3-0 by the time the second inning ended on three solo home runs off UMR starter Jen O’Hara. Kristin Moleski and Elizabeth Smith hit back-to-back homers in the first with two outs, then Pruess led off the second with a homer.

The Lakers extended their lead in the fifth and knocked O’Hara out of the game when Moleksi hit a line drive off the pitcher’s hand to drive in Karen Walters. Ashley Wallingford took over in the circle and induced a double play grounder off the bat of Smith to get out of the inning.

GVSU starter Lori Andjelich carried a no-hitter into the fifth before Lauren Feltmann broke it up with a one-out single. The Lady Miners then proceeded to break up the shutout in the sixth. Following Krista Porterfield’s leadoff single, Kandi Wieberg belted a two-run homer to left to cut the lead in half. With one out, Kelsey Musselman singled up the middle and then scored moments later when Emily Tucker hit a home run to center to draw the Lady Miners even.

Wallingford pitched around hits or walks in the eighth, ninth, 10th and 11th innings to give UMR a chance to win it. The Lady Miners had a couple of opportunities to end the game in the meantime. Krista Porterfield reached base in the 10th when shortstop Nichole Woityra tripped and fell while backpedaling to field her pop fly, but got thrown out on a close play at second in an effort to get into scoring position. An inning later, Ashley Winter singled with one out and stole second, but Tucker lined out to third to end the inning. After Wallingford retired the first two hitters in the 13th, Pruess hit a pitch over the fence in left to put the Lakers back in front.

UMR had one last chance when Winter singled with two outs in the bottom half of the inning, but Andjelich got Musselman to pop up in front of the plate for the final out.

Ferris State beat the Lady Miners at their own game Friday afternoon, knocking out a big inning early in the contest. The Bulldogs answered UMR’s three first inning runs with eight runs on eight hits, which included a pair of three-run homers. UMR, who brought the top offensive team from the Great Lakes Valley Conference into the regional, got a jump on the Bulldogs, taking advantage of three errors in the top of the first to score the three runs After Kandi Wieberg drew a leadoff walk, Ferris State pitcher Holly Bruntjens threw the ball away on a sacrifice bunt by Ashley Winter to put runners on second and third. A fielder’s choice off the bat of Kelsey Musselman allowed Wieberg to score the first run of the game.

With one out, Emily Tucker singled to the opposite field to bring in Winter and an error on right fielder Ashley Nieman allowed Tucker to reach second. The third error of the inning, this one on McKenzie West, allowed the third run to score. But in the bottom half of the first, the Bulldogs jumped on starter Ashley Wallingford as they batted around and knocked her out of the game before the first inning ended.

Four consecutive one-out singles led to the first two runs, then Laura Crower belted a three-run homer over the left field fence to give Ferris State a 5-3 lead. Wallingford retired the next hitter, but Bruntjens doubled on a ball that Winter couldn’t come up with at the fence and Ashley Nieman followed with a hit to end the Lady Miner starter’s day. Jen O’Hara took over in the circle, but was greeted by a three-run homer off the bat of Sarah Mueller to complete the first inning scoring. After Ferris State added a run in the second, the Lady Miners got back on the scoreboard in the third when Winter singled and Musselman doubled into the gap. However, the rally ended right there as the next three hitters were retired in order.

The Bulldogs put two more runs on the board in the fifth and ended the game an inning later when Amanda Jager homered the lead off the sixth. UMR was held to six hits by Bruntjens, with two of them coming from Winter. Ferris State finished with 13 hits in the contest.

The Lady Miners' first appearance at the NCAA Division II Tournament was historic, exciting – and successful. UMR jumped out to a five-run lead, then withstood a four-run Lewis fifth inning to hold on for a 5-4 victory over Lewis in the opening round of the Great Lakes Softball Regional.

Following three relatively quiet innings to start the game, the Lady Miners unloaded on Flyer starter Julie Wingerter in the fourth inning. After Ashley Winter was retired at first on a close play while trying to bunt her way on, Kelsey Musselman blasted a home run to center to put UMR on the board. Rachel Wilkinson followed with a double in the gap, then Emily Tucker reached on an infield hit.

Lauren Feltmann followed Tucker's hit with an opposite field single to score Wilkinson and send Tucker to third, then stole second moments later. With two outs, Allison Plummer delivered a bloop single to center to bring home Tucker and knock Wingerter out of the game. UMR got its fourth run of the inning when Krista Porterfield greeted Courtney Lyons with a single down the left field line.

Winter opened the fifth with a home run to left to give UMR a 5-0 lead. The Lady Miners were one out away from sustaining that shutout through five innings, but the Flyers got three straight two-out RBI hits to close the lead to 5-4. Christina Willis singled down the line and the ball got past Porterfield to score two runs, then Beth Shelus and Mallory Paine had hits to drive in runs to cut the lead to one. After a walk to Kelly Dianis, Jen O’Hara got out of the inning by retiring Kristy Vanek on a grounder to short.

UMR had a chance to extend its lead in the seventh when it loaded the bases with one out, but a pair of strikeouts ended the threat. O’Hara got the first two Flyers in the seventh, but walked Paine on a 3-2 pitch to bring Dianis up as the winning run, but O’Hara induced her to fly out to Tucker in right to end the game.

The Lady Miners had 11 hits in the game, with Musselman, Wilkinson and Feltmann all getting two hits apiece. O’Hara gave up just five hits and struck out two to improve her record to 19-11.

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Lady Miner softball invited to regional tourney

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROLLA -- For the first time in school history, the University of Missouri-Rolla softball season will not end at the conference tournament.

After a couple of near misses in recent years, the Lady Miners earned a berth to the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional that will take place this week at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill. The tournament gets underway Thursday with UMR facing the host Flyers in its opening round game at 4:30 p.m.

It will be the fourth meeting of the season between UMR and Lewis. The Lady Miners swept the Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader from Lewis April 6 at UMR by scores of 9-1 and 3-2, then the Flyers knocked the Lady Miners out of the GLVC Tournament Saturday with a 6-2 win in the third place game.

UMR goes into the regional as the No. 7 seed with a record of 28-16 after also finishing third in the GLVC regular season race. Lewis, the No. 2 seed and regular season co-champion in the GLVC, brings a 34-12 record into the tournament.

The top seed is GLVC Tournament champion Southern Illinois Edwardsville (41-8), a team UMR split a doubleheader with during the season. The Cougars, the defending regional champions, will open tournament play against eighth-seeded Shepherd (31-17). The Rams finished third in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season but won the

conference tournament over the weekend.

The other four teams in the regional all hail from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. GLIAC Tournament champion Gannon (37-13) claimed the No. 3 seed and will face Ferris State (29-15) in the first round, while fourth-seeded Grand Valley State (32-16), who lost to Gannon in the title game, will take on the league's regular season champion, Wayne State (39-15) in the opening game of the tournament Thursday.

UMR will play either Gannon or Ferris State Friday.

9 a.m. -- #4 Grand Valley State (32-16) vs. #5 Wayne State, Mich. (39-15)

11:30 a.m. -- #1 SIU Edwardsville (41-8) vs. #8 Shepherd (31-17)

2 p.m. -- #3 Gannon (37-13) vs. #6 Ferris State (29-15)

4:30 p.m. -- #2 Lewis (34-12) vs. #7 Missouri-Rolla (28-16)

9 a.m. -- Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2

11:30 a.m. -- Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4

2 p.m. -- Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2

4:30 p.m. -- Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4

9 a.m. -- Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 7

11:30 a.m. -- Winner of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 8

2 p.m. -- Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8

4:30 p.m. -- Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10

12 p.m. -- Winner of Game 12 vs. Loser of Game 11

2:30 p.m. -- Winner of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 13

12 p.m. -- Winner of Game 14 vs. Loser of Game 14, if necessary

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Lady Miners split with Cougars

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROLLA – The University of Missouri-Rolla softball squad bounced back from a tough 2-1, nine-inning loss to No. 10-ranked Southern Illinois Edwardsville in the first game of a double-header

Sunday, April 22 and routed the Cougars 8-0 in the nightcap at the UMR Softball Field.

That victory, coupled with other results around the Great Lakes Valley Conference Sunday, April 29 locks up a spot in the GLVC Tournament that starts May 4 in East Peoria, Ill. UMR improved to 24-13 overall and 12-8 in the GLVC with only a double-header at Rockhurst next Sunday left on the schedule; the bottom six teams in the GLVC standings all have at least

12 losses through Sunday's action.

The Lady Miners grabbed control in game two in the third inning, starting when pitcher Ashley Wallingford got out of a two-on, no-out situation. After getting a strikeout and a ball hit right back to her,

Wallingford got Courtney Mall to fly out to right to end the inning. With that momentum, the Lady Miners put three runs on the board in the bottom half of the frame, which started when Krista Porterfield singled with one out. Kandi Wieberg followed that by blasting a double over Mall's head in center, then Ashley Winter dumped a single into left to put UMR on top.

Wieberg scored on a groundout by Kelsey Musselman, then Rachel Wilkinson belted a single to left center to drive in Winter with the third run of the inning.

UMR tacked on two more runs in the fourth with Wieberg singled up the middle to drive in Lauren Feltmann and Coley Naughton. The Lady Miners then proceeded to close out the game on the eight-run rule with a three-run outburst in the fifth.

With one out, Emily Tucker reached on an infield hit and Feltmann followed that with a hit to center. Naughton singled into the gap in left center to bring home Tucker, then a two-out infield single by Porterfield loaded the bases.

Wieberg reached on an error by third baseman Lauren Zembruski, who bobbled the batted ball and then was late to third in trying to get what would have been an inning-ending force out. The error allowed Feltmann to score, then Winter slapped a single up the middle to drive in the game-ending run.

Wallingford allowed just four hits and fanned three in her five innings of work.

UMR got four hits of its 12 hits from Winter, while Wieberg and Porterfield had two hits apiece.

In game one, the Lady Miners couldn't get a win for Jen O'Hara, who held the Cougars hitless for the first seven innings.

O'Hara did walk seven batters and one of them came across to score in the fourth. Mall led off the inning by reaching on a bases on balls, then stole second and third; on the second stolen bases, Naughton's throw sailed into left field to allow Mall to score.

That lead held up until the seventh when the Lady Miners put together a game-tying rally. Musselman singled to start the inning and pinch-runner Becky Davis was sacrificed to second. Tucker singled home Davis to tie the game and went to second on the throw, giving UMR a chance to win the game.

However, SIUE called on Kaitlin Colosimo to get the Cougars out of the inning and she struck out Feltmann and got Naughton on a pop out to escape the inning.

Zembruski broke up O'Hara's no-hitter in the eighth with a double that a diving rightfielder Allison Plummer couldn't quite reach. O'Hara got out of the eighth, but the Cougars got to her in the ninth and took the lead on a two-out RBI single by Nicole Beecher.

Despite the seven walks, O'Hara did strike out six and allowed just three hits over the nine innings.

Wieberg had two doubles on the afternoon -- one in each game -- and put her name in the record books in the process. She has 19 two-base hits on the season, tying Sabrina Greenwell's single-season record set in 2001, and the 40 in her career broke Greenwell's four-year total of 39. As a

team, the Lady Miners have a school record 83 doubles on the year.

The Lady Miners' eight-game winning streak came to a halt Saturday, April 21 as Southern Indiana took both games of the doubleheader at the UMR Softball Field.

USI broke a 3-3 tie with a run in the fourth inning, which held up for a 4-3 win in the first game, then throttled a sloppy Lady Miner team 11-2 to complete the sweep.

The Eagles got out of the gate quickly in game one, touching Jen O'Hara for three runs in the first inning. The first four USI batters reached base, with Kristin Eickholt and Audra Lindenschmidt delivering run scoring singles to give it a 2-0 lead. An infield hit later in the inning extended the advantage to 3-0.

UMR came back and tied the game with a three-run third inning, which started with a walk to O'Hara with one out. Allison Plummer then reached on an error and a hit by Kandi Wieberg loaded the bases. Rachel

Wilkinson singled home the first run for UMR, then another hit by Kelsey Musselman made it 3-2. UMR tied the game moments later when Emily Tucker slapped a single up the middle.

Southern Indiana regained the lead when it came back to the plate when Kathy Wood drove in Kirsten Morgan who had singled with one out..

The Lady Miners got a leadoff double from Wieberg in the fifth and a one-out single from Plummer in the seventh, but those were the only baserunners UMR had in the final four innings.

Wieberg had two of UMR's five hits in game one.

The second game turned into a nightmare for the Lady Miners, as four errors led to five unearned runs in the 11-2 loss.

USI scored four times in the top of the second to take the lead, with two of the runs scoring on a throwing error. The Lady Miners cut that lead in half in the bottom of the inning, getting four doubles in the inning but scoring only twice.

Three straight two-base hits off the bats of Tucker, Coley Naughton and Ashley Wallingford led to the two runs; however, Wallingford had to stop at third on Krista Porterfield's one-out double and both runners ended up being stranded.

The Eagles proceeded to bust the game open in the third with a five-run outburst, aided by UMR errors in the inning that led to three unearned runs. A dropped throw at first base that would have ended the inning allowed the second run to score, then another miscue brought home the third run. Ally McKinley's two-run double followed that to close the scoring in that inning.

USI scored two more runs in the fourth and held UMR to two hits over the final two innings to end the game on the eight-run rule after five innings.

Porterfield had two hits for the Lady Miners, who had six in the second game. None of the six came off the bat of Kandi Wieberg as her school record-tying 18-game hitting streak came to an end.

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Lady Miner softball in third place

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Fast starts in both games Sunday propelled the Lady Miner softball team to a doubleheader sweep over Bellarmine and into third place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference standings.

The Lady Miners put three runs on the board in the opening inning of game one and came away with a 7-4 win, then scored four times in the first in the second contest and took a 9-2 decision to complete the sweep.

The wins, the seventh and eighth in succession for the Lady Miners, moved UMR to 23-10 overall and 11-5 in GLVC play, just one game behind

SIU Edwardsville for second place in the conference. The Lady Miners will host SIUE next Sunday after playing Southern Indiana Saturday afternoon at noon at the UMR Softball Field.

Emily Tucker's three-run homer in the first inning gave UMR the 3-0 advantage in game one, then pitcher Jen O'Hara essentially kept the Knights at bay for the rest of the afternoon.

Bellarmine scored a run in the bottom of the first, but UMR got that run back in the third when Ashley Winter opened the inning with a triple and scored on Kelsey Musselman's hit. The Lady Miners put two more runs on the scoreboard in the fourth when Kandi Wieberg doubled home Krista Porterfield and scored herself on a double by Winter.

The Knights trimmed the lead to 6-3 with runs in the fourth and fifth, but Tucker drove in her fourth run of the contest in the sixth with a run-scoring double, the Lady Miners' fifth extra base hit of the game.

Bellarmine did get the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, but O'Hara got Courtney Roller to pop out to close the game and improve her record to 14-7.

Each of the top five hitters in the Lady Miner order -- Wieberg, Winter, Musselman, Rachel Wilkinson and Tucker -- all had two hits apiece.

UMR followed that victory by jumping on Knight starter Sharon Brill for four runs in the first inning of the nightcap. Three straight singles, the last by Musselman, brought in the first run, then an RBI single by Tucker made it 2-0. Following a walk to Lauren Feltmann to load the bases, Coley Naughton delivered a two-run single to the opposite field to double the UMR advantage.

The Lady Miners tacked on a run in the second on an RBI double by Wilkinson and another in the fourth when Tucker drove her in with a two-out hit.

After Bellarmine got on the board in the fourth, UMR pushed the lead to 8-1 in the fifth on sacrifice flies by Wieberg and Winter. UMR also scored in the seventh when Winter reached on an infield single -- her third hit of the game -- to score Porterfield.

Tucker also had three hits in game two for the Lady Miners, who had 16 hits in the contest.

Ashley Wallingford picked up the win in the nightcap as she scattered nine hits and struck out six to improve to 9-3.

For the second week in a row, a member of the University of Missouri-Rolla softball team has earned the conference's weekly award.

Tucker was named Monday as the Great Lakes Valley Conference's "Player of the Week" recipient after hitting .667 in four games to help the Lady Miners extend their current winning streak to eight games.

Tucker went five-of-nine in UMR’s April 10 doubleheader sweep at Lincoln with a pair of doubles and three runs batted in. On Sunday at Bellarmine, Tucker was five-of-eight on the day with a three-run homer to start the scoring in UMR’s 7-4 opening game win; she finished the day

with six runs batted in.

Tucker drove in a run in the first inning in each of the last three UMR wins last week.

For the season, Tucker is batting .406 with two home runs and 24 runs batted in for the Lady Miners, who are 23-10 on the season and in third place in the GLVC with an 11-5 record.

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Walk-off grand slam powers Lady Miners

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROLLA – Lauren Feltmann may want to bottle up whatever she found over the weekend and take it with her for the rest of the 2007 season.

The senior third baseman, who has hit into a lot of tough luck throughout the year, followed up a five-hit performance Friday, April 6with a six-hit showing Saturday, April 7, including a walk-off grand slam in an 8-5 victory that started the University of Missouri-Rolla softball team on its way to a sweep of a double-header over Wisconsin-Parkside Saturday at the UMR Softball Field.

The Lady Miners took the home run cue into the second game, belting four solo shots to win 6-4 for their fifth win in their last six contests.

UMR had grabbed a quick 3-0 lead in the opener, touching UW-Parkside starter Meagan Shimkus for four hits in the first inning. Kandi Wieberg picked up a double when left fielder Alea McNellis appeared to have lost the ball in the sun, then Kelsey Musselman doubled with one out to score her.

Emily Tucker followed that with a hit up the middle to make it 2-0, then Feltmann doubled to the fence in left center to close out the scoring.

After Mandi Andrews led off the second with a home run off UMR pitcher Jen O'Hara, the Lady Miners regained their three-run lead in the third when Feltmann singled home Musselman.

The Rangers tied the game in the fourth when they loaded the bases with two outs and Amanda Miller cleared them with a double to right center.

O'Hara pitched out of trouble in the fifth and sixth innings, when the Rangers got runners into scoring position with less than two outs, but Katrina Homa touched her for a one-out home run in the seventh to give UW-Parkside its first lead of the afternoon of 5-4.

However, Wieberg reached base when her pop fly blew away from Ranger shortstop Carrie Schieve, then Musselman singled with one out. Tucker followed that by drawing a walk before Feltmann completed a four-hit, six-RBI game by belting a Shimkus pitch over the fence in left to win the game.

Musselman also had three hits in the opener while Wieberg and Tucker had two each; UMR finished the game with 11 hits.

UMR also got on the board in the first inning of game two as Wieberg singled and later scored on a hit by Musselman.

Andrews, who was the starting pitcher for UWP in the nightcap, hit another leadoff homer in the second to tie the score, but her counterpart, Ashley Wallingford, answered back in the bottom of the inning by homering herself to give UMR a 2-1 lead.

The Lady Miners then got back-to-back homers from Rachel Wilkinson and Musselman in the third to increase the lead to 4-1 and got another run in the third on a sacrifice fly by Coley Naughton.

Wisconsin-Parkside scored twice in the fifth and got another tally in the sixth off Wallingford to get to within one and had runners on second and third with two outs. Lisa Casey then hit a grounder to short and Miller, who was on second, was called out for interference on Musselman

as she was coming in to field the ball to end the threat.

Wieberg gave the Lady Miners some insurance by hitting the team's fourth solo homer of the game with two outs in the sixth, then Wallingford set the Rangers' 3-4-5 hitters down in order to get the complete game win.

She scattered nine hits and struck out seven to improve to 7-3 on the year.

Returning home certainly did wonders for the Lady Miner softball team Friday afternoon.

After dropping three of its four games last weekend away from home in Great Lakes Valley Conference play, UMR swept a doubleheader Friday from seventh-ranked Lewis at the UMR Softball Field.

The Lady Miners routed the Flyers 9-1 in six innings in the opener, handing Lewis its first conference loss in 11 games and ending its 20-game winning streak as well. UMR then held on to win a thrilling nightcap 3-2, as Lewis left the bases loaded in the top of the seventh.

On a day when the weather was cold and brisk -- with temperatures in the low 30s and winds blowing out at around 20 miles per hour -- the Lady Miners got a big hit early in the game to get things rolling.

Wieberg's grand slam in the second inning got UMR on the board, as she homered just inside the foul pole in left to give UMR a 4-0 lead.

That was all that Lady Miner starter Jen O'Hara needed, as she held the Flyers to just four hits in six innings and got some solid defensive play behind her to improve her record to 11-7 on the season. Lewis' only run came in the fifth on a two-out single by Lisa Gartland.

UMR added a run in the third on a sacrifice fly by Coley Naughton, then put the game away with a four-run outburst in the sixth off reliever Jenna Howard. A throwing error allowed Wieberg to score the first run of the inning, then a two-run single by Feltmann and an RBI single by Naughton ended the game due to the eight-run rule.

The Lady Miners had 12 hits in the opener, with Feltmann collecting a season-high four and Emily Tucker getting three.

UMR got off to a quick start in game two as well, as Kelsey Musselman hit a two-run shot to right center in the bottom of the first to give the Lady Miners the lead.

Ashley Wallingford held the Flyers to two hits over the first five innings and fanned 11 as she kept Lewis off the scoreboard until the sixth. UMR increased its lead in the bottom of the fifth when Wieberg doubled with one out and Musselman reached on an infield single with two outs.

An errant throw by second baseman Beth Shelus after the Musselman hit allowed Wieberg to score on the play.

Lewis closed the gap to two in the sixth when Kelly Dianis doubled to the fence to score Shelus and Mallory Paine. But with one out, Kristy Vanek appeared to have tied the game with a fly ball to score Dianis, but the umpire ruled that Dianis left too soon and was called out to end the inning.

The Flyers got another chance in the seventh, as O'Hara walked three batters to load the bases with one out. However, she got Shelus on a called third strike for the second out and Paine on a liner to center that Tucker ran down to complete the sweep.

UMR had six hits in game two, with Rachel Wilkinson and Musselman getting two apiece. Wieberg also had a hit in the nightcap and completed a day in which she reached base in all seven of her plate appearances.

UMR (19-10 overall, 9-5 Great Lakes Valley Conference) will face Lincoln in a non-conference doubleheader Tuesday in Jefferson City, Mo. at 2 p.m. The Lady Miners return to GLVC play April 14 at Northern Kentucky.

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Lady Miners, UMSL split in softball

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ST. LOUIS – A Monday evening double-header between the University of Missouri-Rolla and Missouri-St. Louis softball teams turned into a tale of two contests, as UMR came from behind for an 8-4 victory in the first game but fell 11-3 in the nightcap.

UMR is now 15-10 overall and 5-5 in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) play while Missouri-St. Louis is now 16-18 and 5-7.

UMR grabbed an early lead in the first contest when Ashley Winter singled home Becky Davis in the third inning. However, the Riverwomen scored twice in the bottom of the third and put another run on the board in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead.

The Lady Miners tied the game up in the fifth with two-out RBI singles off the bats of Winter and Rachel Wilkinson, then took the lead for good in the sixth when Davis hit her second home run of the season with two outs.

UMSL closed the gap to one in the bottom half of that inning on an RBI double by Casey Dierkes, but a three-run homer in the seventh by Coley Naughton gave the Lady Miners some insurance.

Jen O’Hara pitched a complete game to pick up her 10^th win of the season, despite scattering 13 hits and not striking out a batter. The Riverwomen had runners on base in every inning except for the seventh, but stranded 13.

Davis and Naughton, who hit the homers for UMR, each had three hits in the game. UMR also got two hits apiece from Winter and Kandi Wieberg.

The Lady Miners jumped out on top in the second game as well, scoring in the second on an RBI single by Lauren Feltmann. After UMSL tied the game in the bottom of the inning on an RBI hit by Danielle Votrian, UMR got the lead back with two runs in the third.

After Wieberg tripled with one out Winter drove her home with a single through the left side. A two-out hit by Emilly Tucker gave the Lady Miners what turned out to be a short-lived 3-1 advantage.

The Riverwomen put six runs on the board in their half of the third with all of the runs coming with two outs. UMSL took the lead on a two-run single by Votrian.

UMSL added two more runs in the fourth and ended the game with two in the sixth as the game was called on the eight-run rule.

Ashley Wallingford took the loss for UMR in Game 2. UMR had nine hits in the game, as Wieberg, Tucker and Naughton had two hits each.

The Lady Miners return to action on Friday, April 6, when they face GLVC leader Lewis in a noon double-header at the UMR Softball Field. UMR will also take on Wisconsin-Parkside in a noon twinbill Saturday.

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UMR softball falls to Quincy; splits with Truman

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

QUINCY, Ill. -- The Lady Miner bats were quieted Sunday afternoon by Quincy pitchers Megan Corey and Sarah Ormond as the Lady Hawks swept a Great Lakes Valley Conference double-header from UMR by scores of 2-0 and 5-1.

UMR was held to two hits in the opener by Corey, a fourth inning single by Emily Tucker and a fifth inning double off the bat of Kandi Wieberg. Both hits came with two outs in those innings and the Lady Miners couldn't get any more offense generated after that.

Quincy got the only run it needed in the opening inning on a sacrifice fly by Melissa Sommerfeld, who also drove in the other Lady Hawk run with a single in the sixth inning.

Jen O'Hara took the loss for UMR despite allowing just three hits and striking out two.

In the nightcap, the Lady Miners took a 1-0 lead in the third when Rachel Wilkinson belted an opposite field home run. However, UMR had left five runners on base in the first two innings and had runners on in the fourth, fifth and sixth frames but couldn't add any insurance runs.

Ashley Wallingford held the Lady Hawks off the scoreboard on just three hits until the sixth, when a pair of hits and an error to start the inning opened the floodgates. Back-to-back hits by Emily Clark and Mary Wiedman started things off, then an error on Wiedman's single allowed Clark to come around to score the tying run.

Jasmyn Wentland followed that hit with an RBI single to put the Lady Hawks on top. A two-run homer by Missy Weaver later in the inning added to the lead as did a run-scoring double by Lindsay Phillips.

UMR got two hits apiece from Wilkinson and Krista Porterfield among its seven in game two.

After going scoreless for 11-plus innings on Thursday, March 29 the Lady Miner softball team staged a pair of two-out rallies to gain a split with Truman State in a non-conference doubleheader at the UMR Softball Field.

Rachel Wilkinson's single drove in Kandi Wieberg with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh of game two to give UMR a 3-2 victory over the Bulldogs after Truman won game one by a 2-0 count.

UMR was shut out in the opener by Ashley McDougal and by Katie Jeannin for the first four innings of the nightcap before finally getting on the scoreboard. It wasn't until Truman had taken a 2-0 lead in the top half of the fifth with a pair of unearned runs for the UMR bats to come to life.

A two-out error by shortstop Kelsey Musselman kept the Truman fifth alive and the Bulldogs took advantage when Jessie Shelman laced a double with the bases loaded to score a pair.

But after Jeannin retired the first two hitters in the bottom half, Krista Porterfield lined a ball off her leg and reached base. Wieberg followed with a double to left center to score Porterfield, then Wieberg scored moments later when Ashley Winter blooped a single to right center to tie the score.

UMR had a chance to get the lead in the sixth when Emily Tucker doubled with one out, but she was stranded on second.

After McDougal entered the game and got the first two hitters out in the seventh, Wieberg got her fourth hit of the game. Winter, who had two hits off McDougal in the opener, was walked on four pitches and Musselman also drew a walk to load the bases. Wilkinson got behind in the count, but then hit a shot over the head of Truman rightfielder Christen Belcher to win the game.

Ashley Wallingford got the win for the Lady Miners as she allowed just five hits and struck out three in a complete game effort, improving her record to 5-1 on the season.

The Bulldogs scored single runs off Jen O'Hara in the first and third innings of game one, getting a solo home run from Hallie Blackney in the first and a run-scoring double from Shelman in the third.

UMR stranded seven runners in the opener and missed a golden scoring chance in the first with runners on second and third and nobody out. It also left two runners on base in the fifth as it was shut out for the first time this season.

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Bats lift Lady Miners to sweep

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROLLA – The University of Missouri-Rolla softball team got plenty of hitting Sunday afternoon, March 25, as the Lady Miners swept a Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) double-header from Kentucky Wesleyan at the UMR Softball Field.

With a total of 23 hits in the two games, UMR posted victories by scores of 5-1 in the opener and 9-1 in a second game that was called in the bottom of the sixth due to the eight-run rule.

UMR grabbed the early lead in game one as it scored twice in the opening inning. A leadoff double by Kandi Wieberg was followed by a bunt single by Ashley Winter. Winter stole second and when the throw sailed into center field, Wieberg came in to score. Winter later scored on a hit by Emily Tucker.

Solo home runs by Kelsey Musselman in the third and Coley Naughton to lead off the fourth gave UMR a 4-0 lead.

Jen O'Hara pitched around trouble throughout the first three innings in particular, but still had a shutout until the sixth when Haleigh Ashworth's two-out double scored Erin Bradley. UMR got that run back in the bottom half of the inning when Wieberg delivered a two-out RBI single.

O'Hara gave up nine hits -- but only three after the third inning -- to improve her record to 9-5 on the season. UMR had 12 hits in game one, with four different players getting two hits apiece.

The Lady Miners fell behind in the nightcap as the Panthers put an unearned run across in the third. With runners on second and third, Kaley Wethington lined out, but a throw to second to try and double off a runner was dropped which allowed Bradley to score from third.

UMR bounced back and scored three times in the bottom half of that frame, which started with Becky Davis' infield hit.

After a hit by Wieberg, Winter brought home the tying run with a single to right and stole second. A throwing error allowed Musselman to reach and load the bases, then Rachel Wilkninson blooped a single to left to score Wieberg. A sacrifice fly by Tucker scored the third run of the inning.

While Ashley Wallingford was able to shut down any Panther threats to score, the Lady Miners put the game away with a six-run sixth inning.

With the bases loaded and one out, Davis singled through a drawn-in infield to make it 4-1. A sacrifice fly by Plummer extended the lead to 5-1, then Wieberg doubled home a run and Winter singled home two more.

After Musselman doubled into the left field corner, Wilkinson ended the game with a single to left to score Winter with the Lady Miners' sixth run of the inning.

Winter had three hits and three runs batted in during game two, while Wieberg, Wilkinson and Davis had two hits each.

Wallingford improved her record to 4-1 as she gave up just four hits in six innings.

UMR (13-6, 4-2 GLVC) is to host Truman State Thursday, March 29 in non-league play at 1 p.m. at the UMR Softball Field.

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UMR softball splits four games

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

JOPLIN -- The University of Missouri-Rolla softball team’s wacky weekend in Joplin came to an end on a high note Saturday, March 10, as UMR knocked off Central Missouri 7-6 to salvage a split of its four games in the Teri Zenner Memorial Classic.

The win came after UMR had allowed a seven-run lead to get away earlier in the day against host Missouri Southern in a 9-7 loss to the Lady Lions.

In the Central contest, the Lady Miners spotted the Jennies a run in the opening inning but tied the game when an error allowed Emily Tucker to score. UCM regained the lead with two runs in the second, but UMR evened things up again in the third by scoring twice. Kandi Wieberg reached on an error to start the frame, then a hit by Ashley Winter and another error loaded the bases. A squeeze bunt by Rachel Wilkinson scored one run, then Becky Davis drew a two-out walk to tie the game at three.

UMR took its first lead of the contest when Wilkinson belted a three-run homer with two outs in the fourth, then after the Jennies drew to within one in the fifth, the Lady Miners got a needed insurance run in the sixth when Winter delivered a sacrifice fly to score Allison Plummer, who had tripled to open the inning.

UCM got back to within a run in the bottom of the sixth on a bases loaded walk, but pitcher Jen O'Hara got Katie Bauer to ground out to keep the lead in UMR's hands. O'Hara then retired the Jennies in order in the seventh to wrap up the win.

Earlier in the day, UMR built a 7-0 lead after two innings against Missouri Southern, but the Lady Lions scored seven unearned runs in the fifth to tie the game and won it in the eighth on J.T. Taylor's two-run homer.

Wilkinson's RBI single got the Lady Miners on the board in the first, then two more runs scored after an error by Taylor on a ball hit by Coley Naughton. UMR tacked on four more runs in the second, two scoring on a double by Wilkinson. Kelsey Musselman scored on a wild pitch after the Wilkinson hit, then Tucker drove home a run with a hit.

After the Lady Lions had tied the contest, UMR had runners on base in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Davis doubled to open up the seventh, but was stranded on second.

Winter and Wilkinson had two hits apiece in each of the two games Saturday, with Wilkinson driving in seven runs on the afternoon.

The Lady Miner softball team staged two late inning rallies Friday night to beat Southwest Baptist 9-7 in nine innings to gain a split on the first day of the Teri Zenner Classic at Missouri Southern.

Earlier in the day, after play had been delayed for several hours due to rain, UMR had its five-game winning streak snapped in a 4-2 loss to Pittsburg State.

UMR and SBU swapped runs throughout the second game, with the Lady Miners winning the game on Becky Davis' two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. That came after UMR had rallied from a 5-4 deficit to force extra innings and again from 7-5 to score twice in the bottom of the eighth.

The Lady Miners got on the board first with two runs in the second as Kandi Wieberg singled and scored on Ashley Winter's double. After a wild pitch sent her to third, Winter scored on a hit by Kelsey Musselman. SBU scored two in the third and a run in the fifth to take the lead, but

the Lady Miners tied it in the bottom half of the frame when Musselman scored on a wild pitch. The Bearcats regained the lead by scoring twice in the sixth, then UMR cut that lead in half when Wieberg hit a solo homer with two outs.

After the Bearcats were retired in the top half of the seventh, Musselman led off the bottom half of the inning with a home run to tie the contest at five. UMR then proceeded to load the bases in the seventh, but couldn't push the winning run across.

The Bearcats got the lead back on Amanda Orchard's two-run double in the top of the eighth, but UMR staged another rally -- this one with two outs and nobody on base -- to extend the contest. A walk to Winter and a double by Musselman led to a two-run double off the bat of Rachel

Wilkinson that drew the Lady Miners even again.

UMR held SBU scoreless in the top of the ninth, then with one out and the tie-breaker runner on base, Davis belted her first career homer to give UMR the victory.

Jen O'Hara got the win in relief, but the Lady Miners got a good start from Ashley Wallingford as she fanned eight and scattered seven hits over 5 2/3 innings.

In the first game of the day, UMR was unable to overcome a 4-0 deficit as its five-game winning streak came to an end. Pittsburg State scored two runs in the third and single runs in the fourth and fifth innings off O'Hara.

The Lady Miners got their runs in the sixth on an RBI single by Wilkinson and a run-scoring double by Emily Tucker.

UMR (9-4) will open Great Lakes Valley Conference play Saturday, March 17 at Saint Joseph's.

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Rally completes Lady Miner sweep

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROLLA – The arm of Jen O’Hara did the work in the first game and the bats did the damage in the nightcap as the University of Missouri-Rolla softball team opened its home schedule with a double-header sweep over Lincoln University Tuesday, March 6 at the UMR Softball Field.

UMR got a two-hit shutout from O’Hara, a sophomore, in a 4-0 victory in the opener, then overcame a six-run deficit to beat the Lady Blue Tigers 16-8 in the second game – a contest where 19 runs were scored in the first two innings.

The Lady Miners improve to 5-2 on the season while Lincoln falls to 3-5.

O’Hara carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning in her start and got the only run support she needed in the third frame thanks to a double steal. She struck out three and walked just one in earning the first of her two victories on the afternoon, as she entered game two in relief to get the win.

UMR got on the board in the third frame when Kelsey Musselman tripled off the fence in right field, then scored on the back end of a double steal after Rachel Wilkinson walked. The Lady Miners tacked on a run in the fourth when Allison Plummer belted a double to score Coley Naughton, who had doubled with one out.

Musselman homered with one out in the fifth to make it 3-0, then Emily Tucker doubled home another run later in the frame to close the scoring.

The second game saw the Lady Blue Tigers benefit from some wildness from UMR starter Ashley Wallingford and two errors by the defense to take a 6-0 lead after one-half inning of play. The Lady Miners got two of the runs back in the bottom half of the first, one scoring on Ashley Winter’s RBI double and the other on a two-out hit by Tucker.

When the Lady Miners came to the plate in the second inning they took advantage of some wildness that was experienced by Lincoln starter Jessica Fowler and produced its biggest run output in an inning this season.

UMR sent 16 batters to the plate in the second and scored 11 times to take the lead. Musselman’s single off the shortstop’s glove cut the lead to 6-3, then a bases-loaded walk to Wilkinson brought home another run. Lauren Feltmann reached on a throwing error by the shortstop and all three runners scored to give UMR a 7-6 lead.

The runs kept coming for the Lady Miners, as Naughton drove in Feltmann with two outs to make it 8-6. Three straight walks followed to force in another run, then Winter delivered a two-run single to give UMR an 11-6 lead. After a passed ball scored Kandi Wieberg Musselman completed her cycle for the afternoon with a run-scoring double.

UMR scored three more times in the fourth, with Winter and Wilkinson driving in runs with hits and Feltmann delivering a sacrifice fly.

O’Hara entered the game in the third and restored some order to the contest, striking out five in the three innings she worked to improve her record to 3-1 on the season. Wallingford fanned four, giving the Lady Miners nine of their 15 putouts via the strikeout route.

Winter, a freshman from Richland (Mo.) High School, finished with three hits and rove in four in the nightcap while Musselman had a pair of hits and two RBI. Wilkinson and Feltmann also drove in a pair of runs each.

UMR is scheduled to play a double-header at Joplin Thursday, March 8, against Missouri Southern, then remains in Joplin to take part in the Teri Zenner Classic over the weekend on the campus of Missouri Southern.

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UMR softball set to start new era

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROLLA – The University of Missouri-Rolla softball team has won 107 games over the last three seasons and with a good percentage of the starting lineup that allowed UMR to finish at 33-10 back in the fold, new head coach Don Kennedy has a good starting point for his tenure with the program.

The Lady Miners are slated to open their schedule at the Evangel Early Bird Tournament Friday with three games, the first of which will be against Oklahoma Science and Arts. Kennedy is hopeful that the experienced look on the roster will pay dividends, especially early in the season before Great Lakes Valley Conference begins.

"It is nice coming into my first year as head coach here at UMR that we have three upperclassmen on the infield," Kennedy said. "Those three players have played a big role in the success that this program has had over the last few seasons. We also have a junior college transfer at shortstop, so all four infield spots will have a lot of college softball experience as we get this season underway."

The returners on the infield are headed by Kandi Wieberg at second base, the team’s top returning hitter from the 2006 campaign as she batted .358 with five home runs, 27 runs batted in and added a team-high 21 stolen bases. Not only was Wieberg potent with the bat in the leadoff

spot in the lineup, she has been a stellar defensive player with just four errors in 193 chances last spring.

Kelsey Musselman, a transfer from Lincoln Land Community College who hit .426 at the junior college level last season, is expected to man the other middle infield position. She finished with 13 home runs and 46 runs batted in last season; 31 of Musselman’s 63 hits last season were for extra bases.

The other corner infield spots will be handled by returning letterwinners who are changing positions this spring. Lauren Feltmann moves from right field to third base while Rachel Wilkinson will shift from shortstop to first base.

Feltmann batted .320 a year ago with five home runs and 20 runs batted in, while Wilkinson was a .315 hitter with 25 runs batted in.

The infield reserves will consist of a trio of freshmen -- redshirt Casey Wilson, Becky Davis and Emily Speorl.

In the outfield, the Lady Miners will have players with considerably less experience at the collegiate level, as only one of the five projected outfielders has played in a GLVC game. The one, Emily Tucker, hit .286 in her freshman year with five home runs, including a game-winning homer in UMR’s victory over Indianapolis in the GLVC Tournament.

Tucker is expected to start in right field, with Allison Plummer projected to get the nod in left and Ashley Winter expected to get the starting role in center. Redshirt freshman Chelsea Appel and newcomer Krista Porterfield will compete for playing time in the outfield as well.

Winter could also see playing time behind the plate, where freshman Nicole Naughton figures to get the starting role. Naughton was an all-metro player in the St. Louis who hit .359 in her senior year and had one-third of her hits for extra bases.

The Lady Miner pitching rotation for the 2007 season includes two returning sophomores, Jen O’Hara and Kaye Wibbenmeyer, and newcomer Ashley Wallingford.

O’Hara went 13-5 in her freshman year with a 2.11 earned run average, while Wibbenmeyer was perfect in six decisions and posted a 1.47 ERA. Wallingford brings solid credentials from the high school level to the UMR program, where she was 17-6 with a 1.07 ERA and 208 strikeouts at Clark County High School.

The Lady Miners did have some significant losses, namely all-region first baseman Holly Weinberg (.451, 13 home runs, 56 RBI), catcher Ashley Weiss (.344, 7 home runs) and pitcher Renee Roberts (14-5, 1.79 ERA), but Kennedy liked what he saw in the fall with the team he will guide to the field for the first time this weekend.

"We have a nice mix of upperclassmen and newcomers,," Kennedy said. "The team gelled together well during our fall season and is working to overcome several injuries we sustained during that time. The key to our success this spring will be good pitching, strong defense and timely hitting."

UMR will open its home schedule March 6 against Lincoln University, with GLVC play set to begin March 17 at Saint Joseph’s.

1. SIU Edwardsville

2. Southern Indiana

3. Lewis

4. Northern Kentucky

5. Indianapolis

6. Wisconsin-Parkside

8. Saint Joseph's

9. Bellarmine

10. Kentucky Wesleyan

11. Quincy

12. Missouri-St. Louis

13. Rockhurst

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