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Softball Jordan Nelson

Golden Grizzlies Prepare for Final Week of Regular Season

ROCHESTER, Mich. - Oakland wraps up their regular season as they hit the road for a pair of midwest matchups against Michigan State and Purdue Fort Wayne.

The Golden Grizzlies are coming off their first season series loss, dropping two games out of three to Robert Morris last weekend. Despite the losses, Oakland still saw positive steps in the games, specifically from Reese Ruhlman who returned to the field at third base, after playing DP due to an ankle injury in the previous weeks. The graduate student went 6-of-13 over the three games, tallying five RBI, and hitting home runs in both of the final two games of the series. In the finale she went 3-of-4, finishing just a triple short of a cycle. She is hitting .375 in conference play, joining Brooklyn Plitz (.388), Maci Brown (.379), Madi Herrington (.362), and Kamryn Troyer (.361) in a group of Oakland batters that have just been dominant in league play.

Despite a rough beginning to the weekend, Oakland ace Sydney Campbell finished off the set of games strong, tossing her 19th complete game and 16th win of the season. She still holds the league's lowest ERA (1.73). If the season were to end today, this would be the lowest single season ERA of her career and would be the fifth lowest in program history.

The Golden Grizzlies are comfortably in the second spot in the Horizon League standings with just one week until the postseason, and a sweep of the Mastodons this weekend would be a huge step towards potentially overtaking Youngstown State for the number one seed. They would need some help from the Penguins however, with the only scenario ending with Oakland in the one seed being with their own sweep of PFW and an 0-3 weekend against IUPUI.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS

The Spartans will host the Golden Grizzlies on Wednesday, May. 1 at 5 p.m. The two teams played at the beginning of the season in the Chanticleer Showdown, hosted by Coastal Carolina. The teams started the game, but it was later canceled due to a severe injury to an MSU student-athlete during a collision.

The Spartans are having a bit of a rough campaign, holding a 17-30 overall record (4-16 Big Ten) and last place in the Big Ten. They have lost five of their last seven games.

Their top hitter is sophomore Hannah Hawley, who is batting  a team-high .355 and also leads the team in runs (30), hits (49), doubles (12), and second in home runs (12) and RBI (23).

In the circle, their go-to pitcher is senior Liv Grey, who's 2.68 ERA is top ten in the Big Ten. She is a strikeout machine, averaging 7.7 strikeouts per seven innings and 144 strikeouts total.

SCOUTING THE MASTODONS

The Golden Grizzlies close their regular season with a series at PFW from May 3-4. The Mastodons are currently the first team out of the Horizon League Championship, sitting in the seventh spot with a 9-12 conference record. They most recently beat Green Bay 2-1 in a weekend series this past weekend.

Freshman Agalia Rudd is the big bat in the PFW lineup, batting .350 on the season, fifth best in the Horizon League, while also hitting .437 in league play. Grace Hollopeter is another dangerous hitter in the lineup, with a league-best 11 home runs on the season.

The lead in their rotation is Alanah Jones. With a 8-13 record, 14 complete games, 142 strikeouts, and 3.76 GPA.

Oakland has won nine of the last ten meetings, including three of the last four in Fort Wayne. In a series where Oakland needs a sweep to stay alive for the number one seed, PFW has been swept three times this season.

See Oakland's final-week push as they tune-up for a return to the horizon League Championship.

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Players Mentioned

Maci Brown

#5 Maci Brown

SS/OF
5' 7"
Junior
L/L
Sydney Campbell

#42 Sydney Campbell

RHP
5' 8"
Redshirt Junior
R/R
Madi Herrington

#7 Madi Herrington

UTL
5' 4"
Sophomore
R/R
Reese Ruhlman

#14 Reese Ruhlman

SS/UTL
5' 8"
Senior
R/R
Kamryn Troyer

#24 Kamryn Troyer

OF
5' 6"
Freshman
R/R
Brooklyn Plitz

#15 Brooklyn Plitz

IF/OF
5' 3"
Freshman
L/L

Players Mentioned

Maci Brown

#5 Maci Brown

5' 7"
Junior
L/L
SS/OF
Sydney Campbell

#42 Sydney Campbell

5' 8"
Redshirt Junior
R/R
RHP
Madi Herrington

#7 Madi Herrington

5' 4"
Sophomore
R/R
UTL
Reese Ruhlman

#14 Reese Ruhlman

5' 8"
Senior
R/R
SS/UTL
Kamryn Troyer

#24 Kamryn Troyer

5' 6"
Freshman
R/R
OF
Brooklyn Plitz

#15 Brooklyn Plitz

5' 3"
Freshman
L/L
IF/OF