YSUsports.com - Softball Takes on Two Big Ten, Two MAC Foes at Miami (Ohio) Invitational

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March 22, 2007
Softball Takes on Two Big Ten, Two MAC Foes at Miami (Ohio) Invitational
     After two weeks off, the Youngstown State softball team returns to action for five games in three days at the Miami (Ohio) Softball Invitational, March 23-25, at the Miami Softball Diamond in Oxford, Ohio.
    The Penguins take on two teams from the Big Ten and two from the Mid-American Conference in their five-game round-robin tournament. On Friday, Youngstown State opens the tournament against Big-Ten member Purdue (6-20) at 10 a.m. and Toledo (2-12) at Noon. The Penguins square off against
Michigan State (15-12) on Saturday at 2 p.m. and visit Miami (Ohio) (8-19) at 4 p.m. The Penguins conclude the tournament against the Redhawks on Sunday at Noon.
    Youngstown State went 3-1 in its first action of the season at the George Mason Invitational, March 10-11. Junior Becky Hibner led the Penguins with a .467 batting average and freshman Autumn Grove batted .417 with a home run and a double.
    Senior Karlie Burnell led the Penguins’ pitching staff with two victories and a 2.00 earned-run average. Burnell fi red two complete games and struck out 10 in 14 innings pitched.
Head Coach Christy Cameron is in her eighth season at the helm of the Penguins and owns a 139-213-1 record at YSU. Her nine-year career mark is 155-241-1.
    Purdue is currently 6-20 and takes on IUPUI on Tuesday, March 20, in Indianapolis, Ind. Leading the Boilermakers is Ashley Hall with a .348 batting average while Katie Mitchell is batting .342 with four home runs. Ashley DiDomenico and Brooke Baker each have three victories and DiDomenico leads
the staff with a 3.15 earned-run average. This will be the first meeting between YSU and Purdue.
    The Toledo Rockets enter this week with an overall record of 2-12. Leslie Stong leads the Rockets with a .395 batting average and four home runs. This will be the 22nd meeting between the Rockets and Penguins with YSU owning a slim 11-10 advantage in the all-time series.
    Michigan State, who is 15-12, and the Penguins have met only once with the Penguins defeating the Spartans, 4-3, in 1990. Kara Weigle owns a team-best .386 batting average with six triples and three home runs. Megan Hair leads the Spartans pitching staff with six victories and a 2.36 earned-run average.
    Miami and Youngstown State have met just three times previously and the Redhawks own a 2-1advantage in the series. Halle Popson boasts a .353 batting average for the 8-19 Redhawks while Kelly Cabana leads Miami with four victories.

Penguin Hits
• Senior ace Karlie Burnell became the fifth player in school history to post at least 30 career wins after picking up two victories at the George Mason Tournament on March 10-11. Burnell fired two complete-game victories and struck out 10 batters in 14 innings pitched.
• Sophomore Kristen McDonnell hit her 11th career and first home run of the season against Morgan
State on March 11. McDonnell now ranks tied for fifth all-time with Tiffany Patteson (2003-06).
• Freshman Autumn Grove turned a solid outing in the Penguins’ first tournament. Grove batted .417 with a double and home run at the George Mason Tournament, March 10-11.
• The Penguins banged out 39 hits in four games for a .331 batting average at the George Mason Tournament on March 10-11. Of their 39 hits, 14 went for extra bases and they finished with a .508 slugging percentage.
• Sophomore Tasha Hess picked up her first victory of the season over Morgan State on March 11. She struck out three batters and did not allow a run.

Burnell Climbing Wins Chart
With two wins during the Penguins’ opening weekend, senior Karlie Burnell moved into fifth place on the YSU all-time wins list with 30. Burnell is also just the fifth player in school history to post at least 30 career victories.

McDonnell Moves into Fifth
Sophomore Kristen McDonnell, who tied a school record with 10 home runs in 2006, belted her first of the season and 11th of her career against Morgan State on March 11. With the round-tripper, McDonnell moved into a tie for fifth place on the YSU all-time home run list with Tiffany Patteson (2003-06). McDonnell needs one more homer to move into a tie for fourth with Char Kudlock (2002-05).

Extra-Base Hit Parade
In the first four games of the season, the Youngstown State softball team banged out 39 hits for an average of 9.6 hits per game. Of their 39 hits, 14 were of the extra-base variety, including nine doubles, three triples and two home runs. The Penguins also batted .331, scored 21 runs and slugged
.508 as a team over the first weekend.

Grove Makes Immediate Impression
Freshman Autumn Grove could not have played much better in her first collegiate tournament than at
the George Mason Tournament on March 10-11. The freshman infielder batted .417 with a double
and a home run, scored four times and drove in two more. For the weekend, Grove finished with a slugging percentage of .750.

Hibner Just Hits
Junior Becky Hibner has adjusted quickly to her new role in the leadoff spot in the batting order. The left-handed hitter led the Penguins at the George Mason Tournament with a .467 batting average (7-for-15) and also scored three times.

Burnell Third on Whiffs List
Not only is senior Karlie Burnell inching her way up the YSU career wins list, but the Brampton, Ontario, native is climbing the career and single-season strikeout charts. With 110 strikeouts last season, Burnell set a career best in that category and ranks third on the single-season strikeout chart. She also ranks
third on the career chart with 240 strikeouts.