Game Time...Northwestern College opens GPAC play against 22nd-ranked Morningside for its home opener on Thursday afternoon, March 22. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 3pm with game two around 5pm. The Red Raiders earned votes in the last NAIA Coaches' poll and are off to a 13-4 start to the season. Morningside, ranked 22nd, is 12-7 on the year.
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All-Time...Northwestern is 12-28 all-time against Morningside and has lost five straight in the rivalry. They are 3-7 over the last 10 match-ups, losing both games last year (2-0 and 3-0).
Scouting Reports...
#22 Morningside College: 12-7 Head Coach: Jessica Jones-Sitzman (20th year)
The Mustangs have won two straight and bring a 12-7 record into Thursday afternoon's doubleheader. Morningside is 2-3 against ranked teams, losing to #2 Columbia (14-4) and to #25 Science & Arts (8-2, 7-2) and defeating (RV) Friends (13-5, 5-3). They swept Kansas Wesleyan last time out on March 17, 5-3 and 11-8.
Jones-Sitzman, in her 20th season as the Mustangs' head coach, is the all-time winningest coach of any sport at Morningside, owning a 653-349 record coming into the season. She has guided the Mustangs to 13 30 win seasons, eight NAIA championship appearances and 14 conference titles (regular and postseason). Jones-Sitzman, the 2016 and 2017 GPAC coach of the year, returns three starters and nine players from a 2017 team that won the GPAC regular season title with a 17-3 record, 40-12 overall. They went 1-2 at the NAIA Championships.
By the Numbers:
Batting Average: .315 Opponent Batting Average: .321
Runs / Game: 6.7 Runs Given Up / Game: 4.9
Hits / Game: 8.8 Hits Given Up / Game: 8.8
Stolen Bases: 18/20 Stolen Bases by Opponent: 11/14
Individual Players:
Tracey Edwards: .411 BA, 19 runs, 12 RBIs
Abby Connor (1st team all-GPAC in 2016): .387 BA, 3 HR, 13 RBI
Ashton Whited: .370 BA, 9 runs, 5 RBIs
Mackenzie Lose: .362 BA, 18 runs, 4 HR
Hallie Misiaszek: 7-3, 3.99 ERA, 52.2 IP, 62 Ks
Alex Nelson: 2-1, 1.64 ERA, 25.2 IP, 23 K's
(RV) Northwestern College: 13-4 Head Coach: Chris Nachtigall (7th year)
Northwestern has won four straight games and is off to a 13-4 start to the season, earning votes in the first edition of the NAIA coaches' poll. They are 4-3 against ranked teams, defeating (RV) Olivet Nazarene, #11 St. Francis and (RV) Jamestown. The Red Raiders own wins over Indiana Tech, Jamestown and York (2) during their current win streak.
By the Numbers: (GPAC rank)
Batting Average: .315 (T3) Opponent Batting Average: .258 (1st)
Runs / Game: 6.7 (T3) Runs Given Up / Game: 3.4
Hits / Game: 9.4 (3rd) Hits Given Up / Game: 6.8
Stolen Bases: 39/44 (1st) Stolen Bases by Opponent: 6/9
Individual Players:
Emily Bosch: .528 BA, 11 runs, 4 HR, 16 RBIs
Emily Sones: .424 BA, 3 runs, HR, 11 RBIs
Jessica Sandbulte: .356 BA, 17 runs, HR, 9 RBIs
Emma Schnell: .354 BA, 9 runs, 4 HR, 14 RBIs
Emma Schnell: 6-1, 1.49 ERA; 47 IP, 44 K's
Kayla Tindall: 6-2, 2.38 EAR, 47 IP, 53 K's
