Lake Forest College Sports Information
2006 Midwest Conference Tournament Preview Coaches and Season Recaps The most experienced coach here, Kim Tatro, led Lawrence to three conference championships in the 90s and 228 victories in her 13 years with the program. This season the Vikings also broke even against tournament teams with a loss to Lake Forest and a win over Grinnell at the MWC Classic and a doubleheader split against Ripon. In his ninth year as Grinnells skipper, Tom Sonnichsen has the Pioneers in the tournament for the first time since 1998, when they lost to Lawrence in the championship. A doubleheader sweep at Monmouth College on Tuesday punched Grinnells postseason ticket, and the team is looking to avenge losses to each of the other three teams here. Players and Stats Sophomore Kendra Grant has the fifth-most conference wins among the leagues pitchers, and leads the team with an overall earned run average of 1.94. Senior Ashley Closson has also been successful from the pitching circle with a team-best 68 strikeouts. Ripons one-two offensive punch will be one thing to watch this weekend. Freshman Natalie Geenen and senior Rose Reichhart rank first and second, respectively, on the team in batting average, hits, runs and home runs during conference play, and Geenen paces the league in base hits in MWC games and is second in batting average. Junior Jen Mueller is the Red Hawks ace, and the junior leads the squad in earned run average, wins, and strikeouts. Compared to other conference pitchers, Mueller ranks third in ERA in league games, tied-for-second in victories, and fourth in strikeouts. Becca Reason and Loni Philbrick-Linzmeyer paced Lawrence University all season long. The seniors finished the regular season with .398 batting averages and combined for 78 hits and 45 RBI. The Vikings are known for their aggressiveness on the base paths and Reason leads the MWC with nine stolen bases in conference play. With hot hitting from freshman Darcy Ward and senior Karyn Wieland, Grinnell enters the weekend on a roll and looking to continue on that course. In conference games, Ward has the fourth-highest batting average in the league and is tied for the lead in triples. Wieland leads the squad in runs and tied for the team lead in homers. The Pioneers pitching is led by freshman Gaby Flores and junior Lee Anne Steinberg. The pair is ranked first and second, respectively, in the MWC in ERA during league play and has combined for 129 strikeouts in 2006, the highest total of any pitching duo in the conference. By Franklyn Beckford
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