SRU Roster I
SRU Schedule I
2014 SRU Stats SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University softball team heads south this weekend for its season-opening tournament in Clermont, Florida over spring break. The Rock will be competing in the National Training Center Tournament for the third consecutive season and will face eight non-conference opponents in five days.
| 2015 NTC Tournament Schedule |
| Date | Opponent | Time |
| 3/7 | Urbana | 11 a.m. |
| 3/7 | Notre Dame (Ohio) | 3 p.m. |
| 3/8 | Tiffin | 1 p.m. |
| 3/8 | Mercy | 3 p.m. |
| 3/10 | Concordia (St. Paul) | 3 p.m. |
| 3/10 | Kutztown | 5 p.m. |
| 3/11 | Wayne State | 11 a.m. |
| 3/11 | St. Could State | 3 p.m. |
SCOUTING THE ROCKConference: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West
Last season: 16-26 overall, 11-16 PSAC-W
Preseason poll: 5th in PSAC-W
Returning bats: Slippery Rock returns two all-conference student-athletes in junior third baseman
Ashley Samluk and sophomore outfielder
Eliza Sykes. Samluk was voted the PSAC West's top third baseman after having a break through year as The Rock's clean-up hitter. She hit .355 and led the team in hits, runs, doubles and home runs. Sykes broke onto the scene as a freshman in 2014 with a .297 batting average and 14 runs scored, while leading the team with seven stolen bases. Junior shortstop
Katie Kaiser is also back after starting every game in 2014. Kaiser is the top active leader in career home runs, batting average, runs scored, hits, RBI and doubles. Joining her is sophomore catcher
McKenzie Popatak, who looks to build on an impressive rookie campaign in which she hit .265 with four home runs and a team-high 23 RBI.
Returning arms: Leading the charge will be sophomore pitcher
Carly DeRose, the squad's No. 2 pitcher as a freshman in 2014. DeRose went 6-12 with a 5.18 ERA in 18 starts and 23 appearances last spring. Across 104.0 innings pitched, she logged 10 shutouts and 58 strikeouts. Also returning for The Rock is sophomore
Sarah Petrash, who went 1-1 with one start in five appearances as a freshman last spring. In 12.2 innings pitched, she recorded a 4.42 ERA with seven strikeouts.
Head coach: Slippery Rock head coach
Stacey Rice enters her first season in 2015 after serving three years as an assistant coach and two years as a graduate assistant with The Rock. Before beginning her coaching career at SRU, Rice was one of the most decorated players and prolific hitters in program history. Rice holds the all-time records for runs scored, hits, doubles, total bases, walks and at-bats while ranking second all-time in home runs and RBIs.
Up next: After the NTC Tournament, Slippery Rock concludes non-conference play with a four-game swing in Salem, Va. as part of the Salem Invitational Tournament March 13 and 14.
SCOUTING URBANAConference: Mountain East Conference
Last season: 28-21-1, 16-11-1 MEC
2015 record: 0-0
Preseason poll: 7th in MEC
All-Time vs. Rock: 0-0
Bat to watch: Sophomore utility player, Courtney Stewart, hit .326 as a freshman with team-highs of 34 runs, 57 hits, 11 doubles and six triples.
Arm to watch: Junior captain Cortney Moore is the team's most experienced pitcher and returns after going 1-2 with a 5.66 ERA in 12 appearances last spring. She tallied 15 strikeouts and a complete game in 38.1 innings pitched in 2014.
Head Coach: Danielle Lowe has recorded an 87-90-2 overall record through her first four seasons at Urbana. Lowe came to Urbana from the University of Findlay where she spent 4 seasons as an assistant coach following 3 seasons as the Oilers' starting second baseman.
SCOUTING NOTRE DAMEConference: Mountain East Conference
Last season: 24-30-1, 12-13-1 MEC
2015 record: 3-5
Preseason poll: 9th in MEC
All-Time series: SRU 1-0 (last meeting in 2001)
Bat to watch: Through six games, senior outfielder Kelsey Coleman leads the team with a .458 batting average, 11 hits, two home runs, five runs, a pair of doubles, a triple and six RBI.
Arm to watch: Senior pitcher Ashley Pokraka is 1-2 with a 3.29 ERA across two complete game performances. In 17 innings, she has struck out 11 and held batters to a .275 average.
Head coach: Amy Kyler came to Notre Dame in 2007, from Purdue University, where she served as an assistant coach for the Boilermakers in 2006 and 2007. During her collegiate playing career, Kyler broke nearly every major pitching record at Cleveland State and was named the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Pitcher of the Year in 1997. She played professionally in the National Pro Fastpitch league and the Women's Professional Softball League and was named an All-Star five times.
SCOUTING TIFFINConference: Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Last season: 23-22, 10-16 GLIAC
2015 record: 1-3
Preseason poll: 5th in GLIAC
All-Time series: Tied 1-1 (last meeting in 2012, Rock won 2-0)
Bats to watch: The dynamic upperclassmen duo of Jena King and Madison Yanek pace the offensive attack for the Dragons. Last season, King and Madison hit .379 and .333, respectively, and combined for 44 runs, 89 hits, 17 doubles, seven home runs and 51 RBI.
Arms to watch: Sophomore Taylor Spang returns to the mound for the Dragons after compiling a 10-9 record and 2.19 ERA as a freshman in 2014. She led the team with 15 complete games and logged a team-high 78 strikeouts while limiting opponents to a .230 average over 117 innings pitched.
Head Coach: Jeff Nickerson enters his seventh season as Head Coach of the Dragons. Prior to coming to Tiffin, he had head coaching stints at Presbyterian College in South Carolina and Ohio Northern University and has a career mark of 335-258 in 14 years of head coaching duties.
SCOUTING MERCYConference: East Coast Conference
Last season: 19-30, 11-17 ECC
2015 record: 0-0
Preseason poll: 5th in ECC
All-Time series: 0-0
Bats to watch: Senior catcher Jackie Couillard returns poised to repeat her breakout 2014 season in which she hit .416 with seven homers, 36 RBI, 34 runs scored and 13 doubles. Sophomore utility Julie Gross also returns after earning a pair of First Team All-East Region honors as a freshman last spring. She hit .378 with 23 RBI, 16 runs scored and nine doubles.
Arms to watch: Anna Cochis returns after going 2-6 with a 3.16 ERA in 21 games from the circle as a freshman last season. In 48.2 innings pitched, she tallied 18 strikeouts and had nine scoreless outings on the season.
Head Coach: Mike Fazio enters his fifth season at Mercy in 2015, with a 91-104 overall record across his first four seasons.
SCOUTING CONCORDIA (ST. PAUL)Conference: Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
Last season: 20-34, 13-17 NSIC
2015 record: 2-5
Preseason poll: 9th in NSIC
All-Time series: Tied 1-1 (last meeting in 1999, Rock lost 2-0)
Bat to watch: Junior outfielder Teona Zepeda headlines the offensive attack for Concorida, coming off an impressive sophomore campaign where she hit .339 with 58 hits, 16 RBI, 24 stolen bases and a team-high 40 runs scored.
Arm to watch: Senior pitcher Stephanie Kappes anchors the rotation after compiling a 11-20 record in 40 appearances last spring. She recorded a 4.33 ERA with 28 complete games, three shutouts and 159 strikeouts in 223.1 innings pitched.
Head Coach: Bob Bartel, in his 11th season at the helm of the Golden Bears, is the all-time wins leader in Concordia softball history with a 326-219 record. He has guided the program to three NCAA Sweet Sixteens and an Elite Eight appearance in 2005.
SCOUTING KUTZTOWNConference: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East
Last season: 20-29, 11-17 PSAC-East
2015 record: 3-1
Preseason poll: 5th in PSAC-East
All-Time series: Tied 6-6 (last meeting in 2013, SRU won 7-6)
Bat to watch: Senior first baseman Colleen Smith, a two-time All-Atlantic Region and All-PSAC East First Team selection, returns after finishing the 2014 season with a .365 batting average, 24 runs scored, 14 doubles, six home runs and 40 walks.
Arm to watch: Senior pitcher Dominique Ficara returns after a solid 2014 season where she went 14-15 in 37 appearances. Ficara recorded a 2.39 ERA with 21 complete games, four shutouts and 102 strikeouts in 190.1 innings pitched.
Head Coach: Judy Lawes enters her 28th season as head softball coach at Kutztown in 2015. Lawes has recorded a winning record in 26 of her 27 seasons at KU and holds an overall record of 831-464-2, the 10th highest rank among active Division II coaches.
SCOUTING WAYNE STATEConference: Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
Last season: 35-18, 20-8 NSIC
2015 record: 3-2
Preseason poll: 6th in NSIC
All-Time series: SRU 0-3 (last meeting in 2012, Rock lost 6-1)
Bat to watch: Senior outfielder Kaiti Wiliams returns after a stellar 2014 season where she was named the MVP and First Team All-NSIC. She led the Wildcats with a .440 batting average, 73 hits, 43 runs scored, 45 RBI, 10 home runs and nine stolen bases.
Arm to watch: Senior pitcher Kelcie Bormann anchors the rotation after going 17-4 with a 2.00 ERA in 2014. She recorded eight complete games, three shutouts and held batters to a .222 average with 146 strikeouts over 143.2 innings pitched.
Head Coach: Shelli Manson is in her first year as head coach of the Wildcats. Prior to Wayne State, she spent five seasons as head coach at Westminster College in Missouri and three seasons as an assistant coach for Louisiana Tech.
SCOUTING ST. CLOUD STATEConference: Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
Last season: 14-28-1, 8-17-1 NSIC
2015 record: 5-5
Preseason poll: 9th in NSIC
All-Time series: SRU 1-0 (last meeting in 2011, Rock won 4-1)
Bat to watch: Through 10 games this season, sophomore first baseman Jessica Goerger leads the team with a .464 batting average and has added three runs, four doubles, a triple and three RBI.
Arm to watch: Megan Hedstrom is off to the best start from the rubber for St. Cloud State, compiling a 2-1 record in five appearances with a 3.77 ERA and six strikeouts in 13.0 innings pitched.
Head Coach: Paula U'Ren is in her 18th season as head coach of the Huskies, with a 559-370 overall career record. U'Ren played collegiately at Augustana College, where she was a three time NCAA Division II All-American selection.
