After sweeping their way through the Dome Invitational, the Ferris softball team looks to keep that momentum rolling into their next invitational, this time staying in Illinois for the Bearcat Classic.
During the Dome Invitational, the Bulldogs outscored their opponents 33 runs to 13, with the largest margin of victory coming against the Quincy Eagles, which the Bulldogs won 13-3.
Head coach Jake Schumann spoke about his team’s offensive breakout.
“I have said from day one in the fall that our lineup will be difficult for opposing pitchers to navigate,” Schumann said. “We are deep offensively, with many options coming off the bench as well. I attribute the girl’s work ethic, communication with each other, and the buy-in to a quality at-bat approach to pass the bat and to trust their teammates.”
A player who stood out during the invitational was junior first baseman Alexis Kozlowski. During the four-game stretch, she went 6-12 in her at-bats for a .500 average, with 1 double, four RBI’s and a home run.
For the first day of the Bearcat Classic, the Bulldogs (7-5, 0-0 in GLIAC) will take on the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers (3-7, 0-0 in G-MAC).
The Bulldogs have played the Panthers three times in the past. Ferris currently holds a 2-1 record over the Panthers, with the most recent matchups coming in the 2023 season, where the Bulldogs played them twice.
A standout player for Kentucky Wesleyan is senior outfielder Chloe Apple. This season, shea has 10 hits in 24 at-bats for a .417 average, three doubles, seven RBI’s, five walks while not striking out once this season.
Ferris’ second matchup of the day comes against the No.22-ranked Indianapolis Greyhounds (10-0, 0-0 in GLVC).
The Greyhounds are coming off a 42-23 season, where they made a run to the NCAA Midwest Super Regional but fell in three games to Saginaw Valley State.
The Bulldogs have struggled in the past against the Greyhounds, holding a 5-10 all-time record against them. The Greyhounds are holding a nine-game winning streak coming into their matchup, spanning back to 2010.
On Saturday, the first game of the day comes against the Missouri-St. Louis Tritons (4-9, 0-0 in GLVC).
The Tritons come into this matchup on a six-game losing streak, only a week removed from a 23-0 loss against Pittsburg State. Redshirt freshman southpaw starter Jayla Plotz pitched two innings, giving up eight hits and 10 earned runs.
The Bulldogs look to take advantage of the Tritons’ struggling pitching, with their offensive breakout during the teams five game winning streak. With junior outfielder Emma Gillard being a key player on offense this season, having 14 hits in 37 at bats for a team-leading .378 average. She currently has two doubles, one triple, two home runs, 13 RBI’s while adding four stolen bases.
The second matchup on Saturday comes against the host of the invitational, the McKendree Bearcats (8-2, 0-0 in GLVC).
The Bearcats come into the matchup riding a four-game winning streak, with two of those wins coming against the No.7-ranked Missouri-Southern.
McKendree is led on the mound by a duo of pitchers, those being senior Ellie Vetter and senior southpaw Sami Huck. Vetter has been the more difficult of the two pitchers to face, pitching 31 innings to a 1.81 ERA a 1.00 WHIP, while striking out 36 batters and only allowing 11 walks. Huck has pitched 30 innings to a 4.43 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP, while striking out 30 batters and allowing nine free passes.
The final game of the Bearcat Classic for the Bulldogs comes on Sunday, against the Lincoln Tigers (2-0, 0-0 in GLVC).
These past couple of seasons have been difficult for the Tigers, as in the last five, the team has gone a combined 54-178. Last season was the best record in five years for the Tigers, with the team going 16-32 and finishing second-to-last in the GLVC.
Junior outfielder Ella McDonald is positive for the rest of the season, and knows the team is deep and can make a run the rest of the season.
“I feel very confident about the rest of the season,” McDonald said. “Our team has a lot of depth and every single one of our girls could be in the starting lineup. We also have pitchers who can hit their spots and spin the ball well. I think we have greatly improved from last season.”
The Ferris State softball team will take on the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers and Indianapolis Greyhounds on Friday, Feb 27. Then they take on the Missouri-St. Louis Tritons and McKendree Bearcats on Saturday, before finishing off the invitational against the Lincoln Tigers on Sunday.