ROCHESTER, Mich. — The Oakland softball program travels to Moon Township, Pennsylvania to face the Robert Morris Colonials for doubleheaders on Friday (March 26) and Saturday (March 27). All four games at the North Athletic Complex will stream on ESPN+. Live stats will also be provided for the series.
WEEKEND INFORMATION
March 26 | 2:30 p.m. |
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Live Stats
March 26 | 5 p.m. est. |
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Live Stats
March 27 | 12 p.m. |
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Live Stats
March 27 | 2:30 p.m. est. |
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Live Stats
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
Robert Morris enters the matchup at 10-8 overall and 5-5 against Horizon League opponents. The Colonials opened the season with five-straight wins, which included a four-game sweep at North Carolina Central. They proceeded to lose four in a row to the likes of Howard and Detroit Mercy before taking two out of the next three against the Titans. RMU then went 1-3 at Green Bay but bounced back with a Tuesday sweep over Cleveland State.
A pair of infielders in Natalie Higgins and Faith Miller has paced the Colonial offense. Higgins leads the HL in batting average (.433) and RBI (27), while Miller is hitting .409 with two doubles and three RBI. Junior pitcher Dana Vatakis has led the RMU pitching staff with a 3-4 record and five complete games in 10 appearances. She ranks first on the team in innings pitched (50.0), strikeouts (37), complete games (five), and shutouts (one).
ALL-TIME VS. RMU
The two programs met for the only time during the 2015 season, when the Colonials shutout OU, 3-0. Former Golden Grizzly pitcher
Erin Kownacki went the distance in the loss allowing just three earned runs while striking out four.
WEEKEND RECAP
OU is coming off its second-straight conference series win, as the squad took three out of four against Northern Kentucky. The Golden Grizzlies split their opening doubleheader with a 5-0 shutout win and 5-2 loss. Oakland swept the Norse in Saturday's doubleheader with a commanding 9-4 victory in game one, followed by a 2-1 walk-off winner in nine innings in game two.
TOP OF THE CONFERENCE
Oakland is tied for first place with UIC at 6-2 in the Horizon League standings. Youngstown State and Green Bay are close behind in standings at two games above .500.
BEST START
The Golden Grizzlies are tied for their best start in conference action through eight games since joining the Horizon League in 2014. Oakland also opened HL play with a 6-2 record during the 2015 campaign. The 2015 team went on to win the Horizon League Championship to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
THRIVING IN THE CIRCLE
Sophomore pitcher
Sydney Campbell is 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA in 43.0 innings in the circle. She ranks second in the HL in wins and fifth in ERA. Against NKU, Campbell went 3-0 with a 1.65 ERA, two complete games, and no walks. The LaGrange, Ohio native pitched a complete-game shutout in the series opener to help OU to a 5-0 victory.
FINDING A GROOVE
Senior second baseman
Jessie Munson had three hits on the season coming into the NKU series. However, she broke out by hitting .615 with a triple, four RBI, and four runs scored in Oakland's conference series win against the Norse. To add, she never struck out and batted 4-for-5 (.800) with runners in scoring position and 3-for-4 (.750) with two outs. Munson collected two or more hits in three of the four games, including a season-high three singles in OU's home opener. The Harrison Township, Mich., native recorded an RBI in three-straight games to open the series as well.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Redshirt junior first baseman
Cammie Brummitt earned Horizon League Player of the Week after hitting .412 with one triple, three home runs, seven RBI, and six runs scored at IUPUI. She slashed .412/.412/1.059 and opened the series with a home run in three-straight games.
GRIFFITH TO THE RESCUE
Junior
Lauren Griffith ranks first on the team and sixth in the Horizon League in batting average (.364). She has garnered multiple hits in five games, including a season-high three against NKU in the series opener and closer.
DO-IT-ALL JONES
Junior third baseman
Madison Jones leads the Golden Grizzlies in extra-base hits (eight), slugging percentage (.674), OPS (1.057), runs (12), and stolen bases (five). All five categories are top-10 marks in the HL.
HITTING IS CONTAGIOUS
Oakland ranks second in the Horizon League with a .277 batting average. Brummitt, Jones, Griffith, and Munson are currently batting above .300 for the Golden Grizzlies. OU has pounded out double-digit hits four times this season, including a season-high 15 at IUPUI (3/12).
POWER SURGE
The Golden Grizzlies rank second in the Horizon League in slugging percentage (.414) and fifth in home runs (seven). Brummitt and Jones are tied for third in the conference with three home runs apiece.
NEWCOMERS
OU welcomed six newcomers — all freshmen — to the program last fall. Four of the six freshmen come from Michigan. The other two newcomers arrive on campus from Ohio and Indiana.
#HLSB PRESEASON POLL
The Golden Grizzlies were picked fourth in the Horizon League Softball preseason coaches poll. Oakland was one of two teams (UIC) to receive a first-place vote in the poll. UIC was projected to win the conference with 99 points and nine of the 10 first-place votes.
