University of Toledo
Dayton
Toledo Hits the Road for UT Chattanooga Challenge
2/14/2019 10:30:00 AM | Softball
Toledo, Ohio - Toledo Softball will travel to Chattanooga, Tenn. this weekend to compete in the UT Chattanooga Challenge (Feb. 15-16). The Rockets will play four games in two days, facing competition from Dayton, Kennesaw State, Indiana State and Tennessee Tech. While live broadcasts will not be available, live stats for each game can be found here.Â
Last time out
The Midnight Blue and Gold is coming off of the season-opening Northern Iowa UNI-Dome Classic (Feb. 8-10). Toledo lost its first four games, but ended the weekend on a high note, topping Saint Louis 4-0 in a game that featured a record breaking performance from sophomore pitcher Erin Hunt and a grand slam from sophomore shortstop Kylie Norwood.
Norwood led the Rockets all weekend, going 8-for-17 (.471) while recording eight hits, eight RBIs, two homers, 14 total bases, eight putouts and nine assists to end the tournament with a .824 SLG%, .474 OBP and .895 FLD%. Norwood's grand slam came in the second inning of the final game and was the only score of the day.
Hunt, a transfer from Hillsdale College, had herself a day against the Billikens. In her first Division I start, Hunt recorded 14 strikeouts through all seven innings, breaking Amy Lokowski's single-game program record of 12 from 1999. She completed the game with two hits, four walks and a 2.53 ERA.
Scouting Dayton
The Flyers are 3-2 in 2019 and are coming off a 31-25 campaign last season. Dayton went 15-8 during league play, and finished third in the Atlantic 10 conference. The Flyers return three players from 2018 who earned postseason honors for their performance: Catchers Kyle Davison and Abby Ehrenborg were both named to the NFCA Division I All-Region Second Team and A-10 All-Conference First Team, while infielder Lisa Tassi earned a spot on the All-Conference Second Team.
Dayton's coming off the season opening Charleston Southern Willie Jewell Invitational where the team went 3-2, earning victories over Maryland Eastern Shore, 14-0, and South Dakota, 4-3. Davidson and infielder Ellie Ziegler paced the squad. Ziegler went 5-for-14 with two RBIs and five total bases, and Davidson went 6-for-17 with three runs, one double, 3 RBIs and seven total bases. Jessica Gilliam was the top pitcher for Dayton. Through 11.2 innings, Gilliam maintained a 0.00 ERA, giving up 12 hits, nine runs, six walks and eight strikeouts.
Toledo is 13-6 all-time against the Flyers but hasn't played them since the 2014 season when the Rockets split the two-game series (6-0 win, 9-4 loss).
Scouting Kennesaw State
The Owls are currently 1-4 on the season and finished 2018 ranked No. 43 in the nation with a 39-17 (14-3 Atland Sun) record. KSU swept the ASUN conference championships and played two games in the NCAA Regionals before being bounced. KSU returns Third Team NFCA All-American Maddie Roth to its lineup for her senior year. Roth hit .377 with 57 hits, 13 doubles and 36 RBIs in 2018, and earned a slew of post-season honors.
Kennesaw State is coming of the Phyllis Rafter Memorial tournament where the Owls' lone win came against Morehead State in the second game of the weekend. Roth went 8-for-17 (.471) over the weekend, and was one of four athletes to hit above .300, joining Kira Czyrklis (.500/.529/.857), Hannah Thomason (.375/.474/.438) and Jessie Mullen (.333/.375/.533) at the top of the lineup. KSU's three pitchers all had similar outings, with each throwing at least 10 innings while giving up 12 hits and 14 runs.
Toledo leads the all-time series 4-0 but hasn't seen the Owls since a 7-4 win back in March 2012.
Scouting Indiana State
The Sycamores are 2-0 on the season so far and are coming off a Feb. 9 double header against Stetson. ISU won 6-4 in game one and 10-2 in the second. Top returner for Indiana State is junior infielder Leslie Sims who earned a spot on the 2018 NFCA All-Region Team after hitting .410, going 26-for-26 in stolen base attempts, and earning a .476 OBP.
ISU went 26-28 (12-14 Valley) last year and made it to the second round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament before getting bumped by No. 4 seed Valparaiso.
The all-time series between UT and ISU is tied at 1-1. Both games were played last season in the WKU Hilltopper Classic where Toledo fell, 7-2, in game one but bounced back for a 4-1 victory on the final day of the tournament.
Scouting Tennessee Tech.
TTU went 16-33 (7-15 Ohio Valley Conference) in 2018. Top returners for TTU are Raegan Sparks and Hallie Davis. Sparks went 38-for-129 (.295) with 23 runs, six doubles, nine homers and 29 RBIs. David went 23-for-109 (.200) with five doubles, one triple, nine homers and 20 RBIs. Top pitcher for the Golden Eagles is Kayla Hughes who earned 60 strikeouts through 123.2 innings last season, ending with a 5-11 record.
The Golden Eagles are 2-2 on the season and coming off the Black and Gold Invitational. TTU won their final two games of the tournament, beating Jackson State 7-3 and Houston Baptist 7-6. Gabby LaSala was arguably the top hitter over the weekend. LaSala's batting average was just .267 but she raked in five runners with one double and one triple through four hits. She also scored five runs.
TTU leads the all-time series 4-2. UT and TTU last played in 2011 when the Golden Eagles won 9-1.
UT Chattanooga Challenge
Chattanooga, Tenn. - Feb. 15-16
Toledo Game Times:
Fri. vs Dayton - 11 a.m.
Fri. vs Kennesaw State - 4:00 p.m.
Sat. vs Indiana State - 11 a.m.
Sat. vs Tennessee Tech - 1:30 p.m.
