Softball team plays Hope in first round of MIAA Tournament

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College softball team travels to play Hope College in the first round of the 2014 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament Thursday, May 1.

THE MATCHUP: Olivet (26-9, 10-6 MIAA) vs. Hope (21-14, 13-3 MIAA)
DATE/TIME: Thursday, May 1 at 11 a.m.
VENUE: Trine University; Angola, Ind.
LIVE STATS: http://livestats.prestosports.com/trine
ADMISSION: Adults – $7 per day, MIAA students with ID – free, Non-MIAA students and All MIAA Faculty/Staff with ID – $5

MIAA TOURNAMENT: The Comets are the No. 3 seed, while the Flying Dutchmen are the No. 2 seed. The other first round game features #1 seed Trine (Ind.) University play No. 4 seed Calvin College. The losers of the two first round games will face each other at 3:30 p.m., while the winners play each other at 5:30 p.m. Action resumes Friday morning at noon.

SEASON SERIES: Hope swept the regular season doubleheader at Wolters Stadium in Holland. The Flying Dutch used a walk-off home run to win game one, 3-1,and then beat the Comets, 11-4, in game two.

OLIVET HEAD COACH JAMES FARNUM: James Farnum is in his 10th season at the helm of the Comets. He is the winningest softball coach in school history, compiling a 185-56 record.

HOPE HEAD COACH MARY VANDEHOEF:  Mary VandeHoef is in her fourth season as Hope's head coach and has an 80-68-2 record

CAPTAINS: The 2014 team captains are senior Lauren Lenard, of Dimondale, and sophomore Maddy Siebenmark, of Bridgman.

BOUNCING BACK: Senior Alyssa Nielsen, of Greenville, was sidelined for the majority of the 2013 season with an injury. She has recovered from the injury to lead the team with a .413 batting average, seven triples and .630 slugging percentage.

FRESHMEN PITCHERS: Freshmen Ashlynn Grubb, of LaGrange, Ind., and Morgan Stratton, of Grand Blanc, are the aces of the Comet pitching staff. Grubb has a 17-7 record and 1.47 ERA with 161 strikeouts in 156.2 innings. Stratton, who was sidelined for some of the season with an injury, has a 9-1 record and 1.20 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 64 innings.

GRUBB GETTING IT DONE AT PLATE, TOO: Grubb has also been able to contribute to the team at the plate. She is second with a .394 batting average but leads the team with 41 hits, 12 doubles, 32 hits and 60 total bases.

BATTING LEADOFF: Senior Ashley Milheim, of Eaton Rapids, has batted in the leadoff spot in the lineup in 27 games. She tops the team with 36 runs scored and 24 walks, while hitting .377 and posting a .496 on-base percentage.

HUROSKY HITTING: Senior Terri Hurosky, of Nashville, has started every game in centerfield and has recorded a .337 batting average. She has 10 doubles, including tying a single-game school record with three vs. Kalamazoo, four triples and one home run for a .538 slugging percentage.

LENARD'S LAST AT-BAT: Lenard hit a two-run home run in her final collegiate at-bat at home against Oberlin. For the season, she has a .330 batting average. Lenard has made only two errors in 222 chances while starting every game at first base.

BREAKING RECORDS: The Comets have won a school-record 26 games in 2014. The previous mark was 24 victories by the 2006 team.

SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS: Nielsen's seven triples are a single-season school record. Milheim's 24 walks are also a single-season mark. Lenard has drawn 18 walks, which is the second-most for a season. Grubb's 17 pitching wins are the most in a season.

CAREER RECORDS FOR LENARD: By virtue of starting against Hope, Lenard will break the career record for games played, and if she starts the second game of the tournament, she will break the career record for most games started. Lenard has started 131 consecutive games. She also needs only one RBI to tie the career record. Lenard is already first all-time in most walks (50) and most times hit by pitch (seven).

MIAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Olivet is competing at the MIAA Softball Tournament for the first time since 2006.