March 12, 2007

Briefly... The LMU softball team's 12 game home stretch continues this week with six home games. LMU has won five straight, and will host Miami (OH) in a doubleheader on Tuesday at 1pm. The week continues with a pair of doubleheaders against Canisius on Friday and Saturday starting at noon.

Weekly Schedule
Tuesday, March 13 - LMU vs. Miami (Ohio) - 1pm (DH)
Friday, March 16 - LMU vs. Canisius - noon (DH)
Saturday, March 17 - LMU vs. Canisius - noon (DH)

About the Lions... LMU has won five straight games, including four last weekend. Melissa Dykema pitched a perfect game in LMU's 10-0 five inning victory over Beloit in the LMU Tournament. The Lions followed that up with another 10-0 shutout over Dakota Wesleyan in the second game of the day.

LMU's winning streak continued with another sweep on Saturday. The Lions used a seventh-inning run to defeat Tennessee-Martin 6-5, and then got strong pitching and hitting for a 4-2 win in the final game of the tournament over UTM.

Perfection... For Melissa Dykema's first career shutout, not only did she not allow a run, but she did not allow a hit, or any Beloit player to reach base. She retired all 15 batters she faced to record her first perfect game. Not bad for her 13th career start.

Happy Birthday... Sophomore Kirsten Slouber celebrated her birthday in style on Saturday, hitting a home run and a triple in LMU's 4-2 win over Tennessee-Martin. For the game, she scored twice and drove in two runs. Slouber is currently on an 11-game hitting streak, the longest of her career.

Double Digit Ks... With 11 strikeouts against Tennessee-Martin on Saturday, Tiffany Pagano hit double digit strikeouts for the fourth time this season. She had 13 strikeouts against Northern Colorado and Hawaii earlier this season, and struck out 11 against UC Riverside on February 28th.

Double Double, LMU Style... The Lions hit five doubles in the 4-2 win over Tennessee-Martin, and as a team, LMU has already hit 46 this year. The Lions are spreading the doubles around, as five different players have at least seven doubles this year.

Terrific Transfer... Senior Kylie Conroy transferred to LMU from Baylor to be a part of the Lion squad for her final year of college, and it's paying off for Conroy and LMU. The second baseman is hitting .405 and is leading the team in home runs (6) and RBI (26). She has a team-high .750 slugging percentage.

Super Senior... It should not surprise anyone to see Margo Pineda's name atop the Lion statistics. The senior outfielder leads the team with a .476 batting average and a .510 on-base percentage. Pineda has 13 multiple hit games and had a nine-game hitting streak earlier in the season.

The Opponents...
Miami (OH)... The Redhawks come into Tuesday's game with a 7-12 record. MU went 1-4 at the UNLV Tournament last weekend, picking up a win over Harvard, but falling to Portland State, Oregon, UNLV and New Mexico State. MU is led by Halle Popson and Briana Burke who are both hitting .356. Burke has six doubles and leads the team with 12 RBI. The Redhawks have a team ERA of 4.42, and Kelly Cabana leads the team in wins with a 4-3 record. Meredith Lynch has 43 strikeouts in 55.2 innings.

Canisius... The Golden Griffins are 6-6 after the weekend, and will play doubleheaders at UC Riverside and Cal State Northridge before playing doubleheaders at LMU on Friday and Saturday. Canisius went 3-2 at the Long Beach State tournament over the weekend, picking up two wins over Southern Utah and a victory over Eastern Kentucky, but falling to UCLA and Long Beach State. The game against UCLA was a pitcher's duel, with the Bruins pulling out the 1-0 win. Katie Miranto leads the team with a .447 batting average. Cameron Norton leads the Griffs with 13 RBI and has a .344 batting average. Courtney Piar leads CC in the circle with a 1.52 ERA. She has 32 strikeouts in 23.0 innings.

Looking Ahead... LMU's 12-game homestand continues next week when the Lions host Ohio State for a doubleheader on Wednesday. The Lions finally head back out on the road for a doubleheader at UC Santa Barbara next Sunday.

- GO LIONS! -