Steven Abramo
Staff reporter
Baseball hits a small rough patch following a two-month-long win streak
The No. 11 ranked Cavaliers (38-7), saw its 22-game win streak snap against Fort Scott Community College on April 4. Since the setback, they’ve gone 8-4, and have experienced a drop-off at the dish and on the mound.
After averaging 13.7 runs per game in March, the Cavs are averaging 9.6 runs per game in their 16 April contests thus far. Further, the team’s batting average (AVG) has dropped .47 points (.417 to .370), on-base percentage (OBP) .46 points (.499 to .453), and on-base plus slugging (OPS) .121 points (1.140 to 1.019) from where it was a month ago. In addition, the team’s Earned-Run Average (ERA) (2.55 to 3.10), walk-rate (3 walks per 9 innings to 3.5), and hit-rate (5.5 H/9IP to 7.6/9IP), have all rose this month.
Despite the team’s decline in production on both sides of the ball, this hasn’t stopped first baseman Malik Williams and right-hander Will Heller lately. In his last 74 plate appearances, Williams is hitting .433 to go along with a 1.174 OPS, four home runs and 17 runs batted in (RBIs).
As for Heller, he’s yielded just one run and one hit while striking out eight across 7.2 innings during his last four appearances out of the bullpen.
Wins continue to pile up for softball as the regular season winds down
With only four games left in the regular season, Cavaliers softball are playing their best at the right time. Winners of nine of their last 12 games, the team is receiving stellar production from two position players: catcher Kerry Murphy and outfielder Kelsy Orender.
In April alone, Murphy posts a .455 AVG, .526 OBP, smashing four homers and driving in 13 runs through her last 39 plate appearances. Orender, meanwhile, has the highest OPS (1.452) on the team this month. She has also hit 2 HRs and 10 RBIs.
Lastly, following her complete game against Labette on April 2, right-hander Kerrigan Dixon has tossed 34.1 innings, allowing four earned runs with 31 punch-outs to just 10 walks in that span.
Golden Girls brings home several awards from Las Vegas trip
The college’s dance team won second place in the hip-hop division and fourth place in the open Jazz division during their DTU National Championship in Las Vegas earlier this month. The squad will also be holding auditions for the 2019-20 Golden Girls on April 27.