Having won four of their last five games, including a two game sweep of Bowling Green State University last weekend, the Miami University softball team is set for their final four road games of the year.
The Red and White hit the road Friday in a doubleheader against the Western Michigan University (WMU) Broncos followed by a two game set at the Northern Illinois University (NIU) Huskies on Saturday and Sunday.
Miami enters the weekend with a 23-20 record overall and an 8-6 record in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). While the RedHawks are an outstanding 11-5 at home this year, they are only 12-15 on the road, and they will be looking to improve that mark this weekend against the third- (NIU) and fourth- (WMU) place teams in the MAC West Division.
"We are just focusing on our own team and what we can do," sophomore third baseman Daniela Torres said. "We can't control what other teams do; all we can do is control our own destiny and focus on playing good softball."
Torres is coming off a monster road trip where she went 7-12 at the plate with two runs batted in (RBI) and smacked her fourth home run of the year. Meanwhile, junior second baseman Meghan Mawn has also been a dominant offensive force for the RedHawks this year, and she continued her success over the weekend also going 7-12 with three RBIs of her own.
"Torres and Mawn have been setting the pace for our team," Head Coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly said. "It is great to have Torres at the top of the lineup because she has speed and power and is our best instinctive base runner, (while) Mawn is just clutch for us."
Defensively, senior starting pitcher Meredith Linch and sophomore starter Jessica Simpson have carried the load for Miami this year. Linch pitched 12.1 innings last weekend, only giving up four earned runs and picking up two wins, while Simpson went 1-1 over the weekend throwing 13.2 innings.
"The defense starts on the pitching mound," Torres said. "Our defense is our strong point, but at this point in the season we are trying to win games any way that we can. We need to stay aggressive offensively and just take everything one game at a time."
After fighting through rain last weekend, Miami should be prepared for this weekend as some rainfall is predicted. Miami has played well against NIU and WMU in the past, defeating both teams in the MAC tournament last year on their way to the conference title.
NIU is a team with offensive weapons, and Miami will be counting on strong performances from Simpson and Linch this weekend. The Huskies have lost four of their last five games and will face off against second place Ball State in a doubleheader on Friday before hosting Miami on Saturday and Sunday.
On the other hand, WMU has been playing very well lately and has won three of their last four games, including splitting their two game series with NIU last weekend, after getting off to a slow start this year. With the MAC tournament less than two weeks away, the RedHawks will be looking to win as many games as possible down the stretch to lock up a good seed in the tournament.
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"This is the time of year when certain players start getting hot," Schoenly said. "So as we prepare, it is more about confidence. We talk about how your preparation gives you confidence and I see that daily at practice."
The first pitch against WMU is set for 1 p.m. Friday.
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