2008 Woodie Awards
Pitching troubles show without ace
Ken Woods
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: Sports
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Junior Courtney Jacobson started the game for Western (3-17) but did not last long. She allowed five runs in 1.2 innings of work, including giving up two home runs in the first inning.
Jacobson was pulled with two outs in the second inning. She just did not seem to have it on the mound for the 'Winds.
"I felt it was time for a change. She had given up three hits, and I wanted to make sure we got out of that inning," said coach Holly Van Vlymen. "They had runners on second and third, and (freshman Colleen Beibel) is good in relief coming in getting the outs we need right away."
Augustana (11-7) capitalized at the plate, scoring nine runs and hitting three home runs. Jacobson struggled and never seemed to recover from the two early four-baggers.
"Augustana is a strong hitting team; they took advantage of our misses," Van Vlymen said. "(Jacobson) did OK and started to miss a little bit, and (Beibel) did a good job, for the most part, in relief, and they were taking advantage of everything at the plate."
Beibel pitched 5.1 innings of relief, giving up six hits while allowing four runs. The pitching struggles may be due to the absence of staff ace Kamren Ferguson. The junior has been sidelined with an arm injury, and the timeline for recovery is a couple of weeks.
The 'Winds were also without sophomore pitcher Lori Pankratz. The depleted roster may have led to the high number of runs on the scoreboard.
"(Ferguson) is missed, but one person doesn't make a team," Van Vlymen said. "Lori Pankratz was also missing because of a death in the family, but Colleen and Courtney will be fine and come right back. I think they will be good this weekend. It's kind of tough when you don't have your entire pitching staff here to work with."
Although the pitchers experienced a rainy day, the sun shined on the offensive side of the plate. Western was able to put up eight runs in the loss. Senior first baseman Samantha Valentine continued to stay hot, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
Freshman designated player Nikki Marinec also contributed to the offense, hitting her first home run of the season while knocking in two runs. Beibel pulled double duty for the 'Winds with two hits and four stolen bases. She was able to get into scoring position several times, and that helped Western notch so many runs.
"I didn't know too much about the catcher, but that's just how we are if we can use something to our advantage," Van Vlymen said. "I think it is going to help us in the future, and I think it helped us today. If we didn't steal that many bases, I don't think we would've scored as many runs as we did."
Western heads to Fargo, N.D., to take on North Dakota State, Saturday for a noon doubleheader. The third game of the series is also set to begin at noon Sunday.
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