MVC Softball Weekly Release (PDF)

RPI: Four in top-100
Four Missouri Valley Conference teams – Drake (25), Southern Illinois (44), Missouri State (69) and Bradley (86) – are among the nation’s top-100 teams in the April 29 NCAA RPI ratings.

NCAA-Leading Marks
In the NCAA Division I softball rankings, six teams have top-30 rankings: 

Southern Illinois (3rd) - Fielding Percentage
        (16th) - On Base Percentage
        (26th) - WL Percentage

Drake (4th) - Shutouts
        (12th) - Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio
        (18th) - Earned Run Average

Bradley (8th) - Home Runs per game
        (18th) - Slugging Percentage
        (27th) - Scoring

UNI (17th) - Hit Batters
        (30th) - Home Runs per game

Loyola (17th) - Hit Batters
        (28th) - Triples per game

Indiana State (30th) - Stolen Bases per Game

Possible MVC Softball Championship Seeds
There are only three Conference games left in the 2019 season to secure seeds at the MVC Softball Championship held in Peoria, Illinois.  Here are the possible outcomes:

MVC Player of the Week
Kealia Wysocki, C/DP, Jr., Thousand Oaks, Calif. - Bradley
Wysocki hit a team-best .500 last week, helping Bradley to a 4-1 record as the Braves moved into third in the Valley standings.  Five of her eight hits went for extra bases, including two homers and she scored twice in addition to driving in six runs to help Bradley average 7.2 runs per contest.  Wysocki also boasted a .529 on base percentage and 1.125 slugging percentage for the week.  Wysocki, who collected hits in all five contests and had three multi-hit outings, started the week by collecting one of just three Bradley hits in Tuesday’s setback to Illinois State.  She helped highlight a 9-1 victory in the nightcap against the Redbirds, hitting a two-run homer in the third and closing the game with a two-run triple in the fifth in a 2-for-3 outings.  In the series opener against Indiana State she was 1-for-3 with a second inning single and helped keep a sixth-inning rally alive with a walk to load the bases in the sixth in the eventual 8-6 Bradley victory.  Wysocki was a combined 4-for-7 in Sunday’s doubleheader sweep of the Sycamores, going 2-for-4 with a RBI and two doubles in an 8-7 win as she drove in the eventual game-winning run with a two-out double in the sixth.  She collected two of Bradley’s first three hits in the finale in a 2-for-3 effort.  Wysocki got Bradley’s first hit of the contest with a second inning single and her game-tying solo homer in the fourth was her 12th of the season to tie the Bradley season home run record as the Braves went on to complete the series sweep with a 10-2 victory.  

MVC Pitcher of the Week
Nicole Newman, Pitcher, RSr., Madison, Wis. - Drake
Newman went 3-0 with a 0.72 earned run average with 35 strikeouts and only two walks.  She threw back-to-back no-hitters to start the week with the first coming in the 1-0 complete game win at UNI when she struck out 13. Nicole followed that with a five-inning complete game win at Missouri State and ended the week with a complete game in wild comeback win over Bears where she allowed two runs with 11 strikeouts.  Newman is 23-6 overall with a 0.95 earned run average and a nation-leading 327 strikeouts.  She also leads nation in strikeouts per seven inning at 13.0 and hits allowed per seven innings at 2.81. Her 23 wins are the most by a Drake pitcher since Laurie Bowden won a program-record 28 games in 1990 and has three perfect games and two no-hitters this season.

MVC Newcomer of the Week
Emme Olson, SS, Fr., Hartsburg, Illinois - Illinois State
Emme Olson was unstoppable this week for ISU, as the freshman led the team at the plate, boasting a .667 batting average, 1.167 slugging percentage and .733 on-base percentage. In ISU’s doubleheader split versus Bradley on Tuesday, Olson was one of five Redbirds to go 3-for-9 in the twin bill, as she registered a pair of doubles and a triple in the set. She returned to the field Sunday against Loyola and continued her offensive streak, combining for a .833 batting average. Olson led the team with two doubles, three RBIs and a pair walks to take a team-best seven total bases. 

Other notable performances:
PLAYERS
Mandi Roemmich - Drake
Batted .333 (4-for-12) with one run, one double, two walks and five RBI in four games … hit clutch bases clearing double that tied game at 3-3 in fourth inning of eventual 9-5 comeback win over Missouri State on Sunday that helped team clinch its second-straight MVC regular season title … go-ahead two-RBI single in Saturday’s game against Missouri State … batting team-leading .387 behind 63 hits along with team-leading 45 runs and 13 doubles.

Eryn Gould - Evansville
It was another strong week of action for Eryn Gould, who hit .500 while slugging .800 in games against Indiana State and Valparaiso.  Gould drew five walks and was hit by two pitches on her way to a .706 on-base percentage.  Included in that tally was her 10th homer of the year and four runs batted in.  Gould started play against the Sycamores with a 1-2 effort while scoring a run and adding a walk.  In the opener against Valpo, Gould was 2-3 with three RBI and two runs scored; she also added her team-leading 10th home run.  Gould posted a 2-2 game in the second contest in the doubleheader, going 2-2 with a run, RBI and a pair of walks.  She reached base in eight consecutive plate appearances in the doubleheader.  In Sunday’s victory, she picked up another walk while scoring her fifth run of the week.

Allison Spence - Illinois State
Allison Spence went 7-for-13 (.538) at the dish this week, turning in a .615 slugging percentage and .538 on-base percentage to go with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. In ISU’s doubleheader split versus Bradley on Tuesday, Spence was one of five Redbirds to go 3-for-9 in the twin bill. She returned to the field on Sunday against Loyola, going 4-for-8 (.500) with two runs scored and three RBI. With her performance this week, the senior jumped up to second in the league in batting average. Spence is riding a four-game hitting streak, as she tallied at least one hit in each of ISU’s contests this week, and she leads the team with 10 multiple RBI games on the season.

Leslie Sims - Indiana State
Leslie Sims led the Sycamores with a .571/.643/.600 line last week with four stolen bases and four runs scored. The speedy junior registered one extra-base hit and drew a walk as she moved into fifth all-time in MVC history in stolen bases. 

Allyson Ivey - Loyola
Ivey had another productive week at the plate with a .500/.545/.600 slash line, and registered her eighth home run of the season Sunday. She added two more muti-hit games, including a 3-for-4 performance in Loyola’s 9-4 win over Illinois State. The three-hit game was her sixth consecutive multi-hit outing. Ivey’s five hits and eight total bases paced the Ramblers, and added four runs to finish second on the team this past week. Loyola went 2-0 this week in games Ivey notched a hit.    

Kyana Mason - Missouri State
MSU’s only active senior eclipsed 60 hits on the season and posted a pair of multiple-hit games on the week to help the Bears to a conference win over Drake and a 2-2 week. She smacked her league-leading fifth triple of the season in Tuesday’s win at UMKC, going 2-for-4 with a stolen base. She followed that effort by collecting three hits in the Drake series, with a walk and a key sacrifice bunt in the third game of a hotly-contested series against the Bulldogs. Mason also logged 10 assists on the week from the hot corner.  

Jenny Kohl - UNI
Jenny Kohl had a clutch weekend for the Panthers. Kohl played very well on both sides this week. She batted .300 and had a .417 on base percentage. Jenny Kohl gave the Panthers a chance to force extra innings with a two RBI single in the bottom of the sixth in a game against Southern Illinois. In extra innings of that same game, she made a diving catch to end the inning after the Salukis had loaded the bases. Kohl also added on a couple other diving catches along with her hitting performance.    

Jenny Jansen - Southern Illinois
Jenny Jansen hit .500 (7-for-14) with a .857 slugging percentage and a .533 on-base percentage in SIU’s series sweep of the Northern Iowa Panthers. The Warrenton, Mo. native tallied two doubles, a home run, a walk, and seven RBI in Southern’s three wins. Jansen recorded hits in all three victories, including back-to-back three-hit games. In SIU’s 6-1 win in the series opener, Jansen went 3-for-4 with a double and tied her career-high with four runs batted in. She followed by going 3-for-6 with a go-ahead, two-run home run that put SIU up for good in its 4-2, 12-inning win. In the series finale, Jansen roped a single and drew a walk to extend her hitting streak to nine games.

PITCHERS
Izzy Vetter - Evansville
Aces starter Izzy Vetter went a perfect 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in 14 innings of work last week in contests against Indiana State and Valparaiso.  She got started on Wednesday in Terre Haute, tossing four scoreless innings of relief.  Vetter gave up three hits while striking out five in the appearance.  In the second end of Saturday’s doubleheader, Vetter tossed a complete game, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out a career-high 10 batters on the way to her eighth win of the year.  She came into Sunday’s series finale in relief, throwing three frames of 1-run, 3-hit ball to take her second win of the week.  She fanned 18 batters in 14 innings in her three appearances.

Kiley Jones - Loyola
In her two appearances this week, Jones was the winning pitcher for both of them. The righty was on her game in Loyola’s midweek clash with Valparaiso, throwing a complete game effort with just two earned runs and six hits. She pitched 3.2 innings of relief that stymied the Illinois State Redbirds en route to earning her 60th career victory. Jones’ week saw her spot a 3.94 ERA with six strikeouts thru 10.2 innings pitched.

Erin Griesbauer - Missouri State
Griesbauer compiled a 1-0 record with a 1.62 ERA on the week in three appearances. She tossed a complete-game effort in her hometown of Kansas City as part of a 4-1 at UMKC early in the week. She struck out three and gave up just one run while picking up her seventh win. She also made two appearances against Drake over the weekend, both in relief, allowing just one earned run in two appearances with a strikeout in 1.2 innings of work.

Jaclyn Spencer - UNI
Jaclyn Spencer made her presence known on the mound this past week. She notched a 1.11 ERA and struck out 15 batters. Spencer only allowed her opponents to bat .167. Although her team did not win during both of her appearances, she gave the team a chance. Against Southern Illinois she pitched all seven innings including five innings in extras and had a pitch count of 190. She had eight strikeouts in that game and only three of the four runs were earned. 

Brianna Jones - Southern Illinois
Brianna Jones was dominant in the circle during SIU’s first three-game sweep at UNI since 2007. The three-time All-MVC first team selection went 3-0 with a microscopic 0.40 ERA over 17.1 innings of work. Jones allowed just one earned run on 12 hits, of which just two went for extra base hits. The Manchester, Tenn. native struck out 13 while walking just four and held the Panthers to a .197 batting average. Jones went the distance in the series opener, as she allowed just one earned run on five hits. In SIU’s 12-inning win in Saturday’s nightcap, Jones returned to throw seven innings in relief and held the Panthers to just four hits and no runs. The senior hurler came on in relief in the series finale and allowed just three hits and no earned runs in three and a third innings of work to improve to 21-7 on the season.

NEWCOMERS
Keeler van Breusegen - Bradley
Van Breusegen started four of five in the outfield last week, hitting .300 for the week as she helped Bradley to a 4-1 record and climb into third in the standings.  She reached base in all four plate appearances in the series opener against Indiana State, going 3-for-3 with two doubles, two runs, a walk and one RBI.  After a first-inning single, van Breusegen led off the third with a double and would come around to score.  The next inning, she ripped a two-out RBI double to left center to give the Braves a 5-3 lead and led off the sixth inning with a walk as she would score on insurance run in the 8-6 Bradley win.  She also drew a walk in the 10-2 win in the series finale as Bradley completed the sweep.  For the week, van Breusegen owned a .462 on base percentage and .500 slugging percentage.      

Izzy Vetter - Evansville
Aces starter Izzy Vetter went a perfect 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in 14 innings of work last week in contests against Indiana State and Valparaiso.  She got started on Wednesday in Terre Haute, tossing four scoreless innings of relief.  Vetter gave up three hits while striking out five in the appearance.  In the second end of Saturday’s doubleheader, Vetter tossed a complete game, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out a career-high 10 batters on the way to her eighth win of the year.  She came into Sunday’s series finale in relief, throwing three frames of 1-run, 3-hit ball to take her second win of the week.  She fanned 18 batters in 14 innings in her three appearances.    

Jessica Shields - Loyola
Shields logged three hits in her 10 at-bats this past week, and added her 20th multi-hit game of the season with two base knocks in Loyola’s win over Valpo. She added a stolen base in the midweek game against the Crusaders to extend her conference lead and break the single-season program record. The outfielder had the team’s fifth highest on-base percentage this past week (.364) as well as the fifth highest batting average at .300 exactly. 

Payton Minnis - Missouri State
Minnis batted .400 on the week with a pair of multi-hit games and helped the Bears to a pair of wins. She collected a team-high 3 RBI and batted 4-for-10 with a .462 on-base percentage. She smacked an RBI triple at UMKC in a non-conference win on Tuesday -- the first of her career -- and also had an RBI single in the win. She followed that with a two-hit outing against Drake on Sunday, scoring two runs in the rubber game of the series and upping her season average to .346.   

Ashley Wood - Southern Illinois
Ashley Wood hit .538 (7-for-13) with a .615 slugging percentage and a .538 on-base percentage in SIU’s first three-game sweep at UNI since 2007. Wood finished with a double, a RBI and recorded hits in all three wins, including the first back-to-back three-hit games of her young career. The Orland Park, Ill. native went 3-for-4 with a double and a RBI in SIU’s 6-1 win in the series opener and followed with another 3-for-4 performance in Southern’s 4-2, 12-inning win in Saturday’s nightcap. In the series finale, Wood notched a base hit to extend her hitting streak to eight games.