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The Shockers open their Valley campaign by hosting Northern Iowa this weekend. The Saturday DH starts at noon with the Sunday single game also starting at noon.
The Panthers were the preseason pick for third in the Valley among a fairly tightly packed top five. Their record thus far is 20-6. The have losses to Nebraska (currently 23/RV) and 21/18 Arizona State. Among past/future opponents of the Shocks, they have wins over Western Illinois (twice), Missouri State and Kansas. The NCAA has not started publishing this year's RPI yet, so it is difficult to gauge the strength of their schedule. Three of their losses and one of their wins are against two SEC teams, but not teams from the upper echelon of the SEC.
The Panther offense is led by Alyssa Buchanan (OPS of 1.174 and three home runs) and Chelsea Ross (OPS of 1.031 and also three homers). Ross was on the Preseason All-Conference Team and has been Player of the Week once. The team has an OPS of .872, a pretty amazing number.
Ross and Buchanan are also the mainstays in the circle for Northern Iowa. Ross has an ERA of 2.16 and a WHIP of 1.35. Buchanan's ERA is 1.45 and she has a WHIP of 0.90!!. She was Pitcher of the Week this past week. Their team ERA is 2.25. Although I am sure the Panthers will give the Shocks all they can handle and then some, these numbers for both offense and defense suggest they have had some soft spots in their schedule.
PaigeL paces the Shocker offense with an OPS of 1.245. Macklin's offense continues to improve, and she now has an OPS of 1.076. Cacy, also moving up the charts, is the team leader in home runs with three. For comparison, the team OPS of the Shocks is .802.
Jenni has an ERA of 2.66 with a WHIP of 1.43. Katie's numbers are 4.09 and 1.48. It seems Kelsey is the pitcher most likely to be seen in relief. Her ERA is 3.34 and her WHIP is 1.43.
The Panthers were the preseason pick for third in the Valley among a fairly tightly packed top five. Their record thus far is 20-6. The have losses to Nebraska (currently 23/RV) and 21/18 Arizona State. Among past/future opponents of the Shocks, they have wins over Western Illinois (twice), Missouri State and Kansas. The NCAA has not started publishing this year's RPI yet, so it is difficult to gauge the strength of their schedule. Three of their losses and one of their wins are against two SEC teams, but not teams from the upper echelon of the SEC.
The Panther offense is led by Alyssa Buchanan (OPS of 1.174 and three home runs) and Chelsea Ross (OPS of 1.031 and also three homers). Ross was on the Preseason All-Conference Team and has been Player of the Week once. The team has an OPS of .872, a pretty amazing number.
Ross and Buchanan are also the mainstays in the circle for Northern Iowa. Ross has an ERA of 2.16 and a WHIP of 1.35. Buchanan's ERA is 1.45 and she has a WHIP of 0.90!!. She was Pitcher of the Week this past week. Their team ERA is 2.25. Although I am sure the Panthers will give the Shocks all they can handle and then some, these numbers for both offense and defense suggest they have had some soft spots in their schedule.
PaigeL paces the Shocker offense with an OPS of 1.245. Macklin's offense continues to improve, and she now has an OPS of 1.076. Cacy, also moving up the charts, is the team leader in home runs with three. For comparison, the team OPS of the Shocks is .802.
Jenni has an ERA of 2.66 with a WHIP of 1.43. Katie's numbers are 4.09 and 1.48. It seems Kelsey is the pitcher most likely to be seen in relief. Her ERA is 3.34 and her WHIP is 1.43.
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