WARRENSBURG, Mo. (March 8, 2017) - The MIAA season is upon us for Jennies Softball. They host Southwest Baptist Friday, March 10 to start conference play. It is also the Jennies first home game of the 2017 season.

When: Friday, March 10, 1 p.m. (Originally scheduled for Saturday, March 11, the game has been moved due to inclement weather in the forecast.)

Where: Warrensburg, Mo. - Jennies Softball Field

Opponent: Southwest Baptist Bearcats - 13-5, 0-0 MIAA

How to Watch
Video is available through Central Missouri's internet portal through Stretch Internet and live stats can be found at UCMathletics.com

Leading Off
• This weekend against Southwest Baptist will mark the first MIAA doubleheader for the Jennies in the 2017 season.
• Last year, the Jennies went 13-13 in the MIAA, their fourth straight year with a .500 record or better.
• In the Jennies last games, they took a pair of losses at Truman State. The Bulldogs shut out the Jens in both games, 13-0 and 6-0. 
• Central Missouri played four games against Southwest Baptist a year ago, winning all four and have won seven straight against the Bearcats. 
• Central Missouri was picked to finish fifth in the 2017 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll. The Jennies tallied 105 points in the poll.
• 2017 will mark the 46th season of Jennies softball. It will also be the 11th season under the direction of Head Coach Susan Anderson.

Quick Hits
Anderson vs. the Bearcats
• The Jennies and Bearcats have been 27 previous times while Coach Anderson has been at the head of UCM Softball. She has a 21-6 record vs. SBU with seven straight wins, including four in 2016. 

Jennies at Home
• This marks the first home game for Central Missouri this season. A year ago, the Jens were 9-7 at home and are 378-164 all-time in home games and 183-74 all-time at Jennies Field at the South Recreation Complex.

Milestones
• Senior Lauren Mabe became just the fifth Jennie to ever reach 200 earlier this season. She laced an RBI double in her first at bat against Illinois-Springfield for her 200th. Mabe is now chasing both Beth Savage and Jakki Prater who hold the UCM record with 222 hits. 
• In the dugout, coach Susan Anderson needs one more win to reach 500 for her career, in its 18th season. 318 of Coach Anderson's wins has come at the helm of Central Missouri, second-most in school history. 

Tight Rope Walking
• Through 19 games, 11 have been decided by two-runs or fewer. Central Missouri is 5-6 in those games, and 5-4 in games decided by just one run. 

Three-Run Rule
• Three seems to be the magic number for the Jens so far this season. When Central Missouri reaches three runs in a game, they are 4-2. However they have scored two runs or fewer in 13 of their 19 games and are 2-11 in those contests. 

Worm Killer
• One reason Jennies freshman pitcher Alexa Bradley has been successful has been her ability to keep the ball on the ground. While she isn't a strikeout pitcher, just 16 in 56.1 innings, Bradley has induced 96 ground ball outs, and four double-plays. With 62.7% of her outs coming on the ground, Bradley has been able to keep the ball in the yard, giving up just 14 extra-base hits.

Bases Juiced
• The Jennies are getting out-hit this season with runners in scoring position, but are making the most of their opportunities with the bases loaded. With three ducks on the pond, Central Missouri is battng .278. Hitters are batting just .193 against Katie Giacone with runners on base, which is keeping her from giving up big innings. 
• Five different Jennies have hits with the bases loaded - Hailey Crabtree, Allie Dishinger, Jordan Johnson, Alex Leonhart and Lauren Mabe. 

Balls in Play
• One big disparity between the Jennies offense and the opposition is putting balls in play. Central Missouri is striking out in 23.5% of their at bats, while Jennies pitchers are striking out the opposition in just 10.7 percent of their at bats. That offensive number has gone down though as the Jennies struck out only six times in 44 at bats against Truman. 

Scoring Early
• When the Jennies have scored, it has usually been early. 58% of the Jennies runs this season have come in the first three innings. The only inning they are outscoring opponents is the third. Of their 50 runs scored, 29 have come in innings 1-3. 

Doubleheaders
• The doubleheader with Truman State was the Jennies first of the 2017 season. The have one more tournament left, next weekend, the Missouri Western Regional Crossover before continuing MIAA play.

In the MIAA
• Jennies pitching is sixth in the MIAA this season with a 3.23 ERA. Jordan Johnson is 15th individually and has a 3.07 ERA and Katie Giacone is a spot behind her in 16th, having pitched to a 3.28 ERA.  

Scouting the Opposition
Southwest Baptist Bearcats
SERIES HISTORY:  Central Missouri holds a large lead in the all-time series with Southwest Baptist. They are 82-19 all-time against the Bearcats including seven straight wins. The Bearcats have actually had their most success in Warrensburg going 13-26 at UCM. 
SCOUTING REPORT: Southwest Baptist holds a 13-5 record, all in nonconference play. They went 5-1 at the Arkansas-Monticello Eight State Classic and swept a doubleheader with Missouri S&T on Tuesday, allowing just two runs.  
At the plate, SBU is batting .276 led by Jaidyn Mawhinney's .423 average. The Bearcats aren't known for their power, hitting just four home runs in 18 games. Stormy Christerson is their leader in RBI with 12. She too is hitting .400.  
The Bearcats have been winning thanks to their pitching and defense. SBU is second in the MIAA with a 1.75 team ERA and lead the league with a .981 fielding percentage. Kacey Ayers is the team's wins leader with an 8-2 record. She has a 1.78 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 67 innings. In 31 innings, Claire Miller has a 3-1 record with a 0.90 ERA and 40 strikeouts.