Lake Forest College Sports Information
May 3, 2006
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

2006 Midwest Conference Tournament Preview
  

In March, all 10 Midwest Conference teams took the field with high expectations and the common goal of capturing the conference championship and thereby earning a bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. Two months and nearly 300 games later, four teams remain in the hunt for the coveted league title. Either Ripon College or Grinnell College will walk away with its first league championship, Lawrence University will take it home for the first time since 1999, or Lake Forest College will continue its title run with a fifth consecutive crown.

Coaches and Season Recaps
Lake Forest head coach Tina Johnson and the Foresters won 10 of 13 league games and claimed their second South Division title in her three years with the team. The squad is undefeated this year against fellow tourney teams with back-to-back one-run victories over Lawrence and Ripon at the MWC Classic and a doubleheader sweep of Grinnell here three weeks ago.

Ripon’s Kelly Witte is in her 10th season as head coach of the Red Hawks and has won nearly 60% of her games. Ripon enters this weekend with an even record (2-2) against tournament teams. The North Division champ lost to Lake Forest on a walk-off home run, defeated Grinnell, and split a doubleheader with Lawrence a week-and-a-half ago.

The most experienced coach here, Kim Tatro, led Lawrence to three conference championships in the 90’s 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 Grinnell’s 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 Grinnell’s postseason ticket, and the team is looking to avenge losses to each of the other three teams here.

Players and Stats
Lake Forest sophomore Christy Condon led the conference in batting average, RBI, and home runs during league play. Erin Watts, who enters the weekend on a nine-game hitting streak, has also provided pop in the middle of the Foresters’ lineup. Overall, the junior leads the squad in hits, runs, and RBI, and trails only senior Melissa Wegner in batting average.

Sophomore Kendra Grant has the fifth-most conference wins among the league’s 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.

Ripon’s 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.

Pitcher Catherine Marinac has anchored Lawrence’s pitching staff. The sophomore leads the team in earned run average, wins, shutouts, and strikeouts, and tops the conference leader board with seven victories in league 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.

Wait and See
Competition is high and anything can happen during the MWC Championship Tournament. All four teams enter the weekend with a blank slate in hopes of winning a Midwest Conference title and earning the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. Play ball!

By Franklyn Beckford