May 29, 2001

Softball Completes Season as Three-Time Regional Runner-Up; Bredbenner Earns Second All-America Honor

The Truman softball team (43-11-1 and 13-4 in the MIAA) completed its season on May 12 after losing the North Central region title game to the eventual national champion, the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks.

It was the third-straight season the Bulldogs finished as the regional runnerup, but their first as a member of the North Central region. The 'Dogs competed in the South Central region prior to moving to the North Central this season.

The Bulldogs tallied the third-most wins in school history, just behind the 46 wins of 1999 and last season's 44 victories.

In the 2001 North Central Region tournament, Truman fell to the host and 2000 defending national champion, North Dakota State, in the first game, 5-2. However, the 'Dogs came back in the double-elimination tournament, knocking Missouri Southern out after scoring six runs in the 10th inning to win, 8-2.

The Bulldogs began the 10th-frame onslaught when freshman shortstop Elizabeth Economon (Affton, Mo./Notre Dame) banged out a double with one out. Freshman right fielder Stephanie Cepicky (St. Louis/ Lindbergh) drove Economon in with a single for what turned out to be the game-winning run. Senior all-America catcher Kristi Bredbenner (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) was intentionally walked, before the Lady Lions brought their ace to the mound. But senior second baseman Heather Mackie (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette) hit a double to score Cepicky, senior first baseman Leann Paul (Olathe, Kan./Olathe North) walked and junior pitcher Jennifer Hulsopple (Peculiar, Mo./Raymore-Peculiar) cracked a three-RBI double before the MSSC starting pitcher was brought back into the game.

The Bulldogs then flied out to left field before junior left fielder Angela Ligouri (Clive, Iowa/Dowling) reached on an error by the MSSC shortstop, advancing Hulsopple to third. Freshman center fielder Katy Mueller (Affton, Mo./Cor Jesu), who began the inning with a pop up to the shortstop, was back at the plate and singled to score Hulsopple for the 'Dogs' eighth run. Ligouri was caught stealing to end the inning, leaving a big job for Missouri Southern in the bottom of the 10th. Though MSSC gave it a stab with a one-out double, followed by a single, the Lady Lions ran out of steam and grounded out on their last two at bats.

It was the first victory over the Lady Lions in five games as MSSC took the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association regular season and tournament titles, beating Truman 4-0 and 2-0 in the regular season and by a pair of 2-1 scores in the MIAA tournament.

It was NDSU's turn next in the semi-final game of the regional tournament. The Bulldogs had lost to the regional host twice already (including a 2-0 defeat at the Nebraska-Omaha tournament on March 31), but the third time was the charm as Truman knocked out the Bison, 2-1.

The 'Dogs, aided by a couple of errors, scored first in the sixth inning, but NDSU led off the bottom of the frame with a pair of doubles, scoring a run on the second extra-base hit. Mueller, Economon and Bredbenner all mustered hits in the seventh, while Bredbenner's turned out to be the game-winner as Mueller raced to the plate, beating the throw to score.

In the championship game against Nebraska-Omaha, the Bulldogs drew first blood when Paul hit a lead-off double and later scored on an error by the pitcher. However, the Mavs answered with three runs in the bottom of the second, and added two insurance runs in the third to advance to the DII World Series.

North Central Region All-Tournament team selections for Truman included Hulsopple, Bredbenner, Mackie, Economon and Mueller.

All-America and All-Region Selections: Bredbenner, Hulsopple and Economon all earned first-team all-North Central region honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Their first-team selections made them eligible for all-America selection. However, only Bredbenner was named to the NFCA all-America contingent. She was a third-team pick this year after earning first-team all-America status a year ago.

All-MIAA: For the second-consecutive season two Bulldogs earned first-team all-MIAA honors from the conference coaches. Both Bredbenner and Hulsopple repeated as first-team all-MIAA choices.

Bredbenner hit for a .387 average for the year, while Hulsopple led the 'Dogs on the mound with a 23-7 record and 0.96 ERA. Also a DH, Hulsopple banged out a three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to beat Washburn 6-3 in game two of the MIAA tournament.

Economon, who led the squad with a .389 batting average for the season, was named the MIAA's freshman of the year.

Cepicky rounds out Truman's .300 hitters with an average of .306, and was Truman's only second-team all-MIAA pick.

Honorable mention all-MIAA honors went to senior third baseman Missy Kane (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette), and three freshmen: Economon, pitcher Breanna Wonderly (Conception, Mo./Jefferson C123) and Mueller.

Missouri Southern placed four on the all-MIAA first-team, including MIAA MVP Britany Hargis, a pitcher, and Ron Faubion of MSSC was named coach of the year.

On The Record: Truman was undefeated at home this season with a 15-0-1 mark. On the road, the Bulldogs went 28-11 and were 20-5 in neutral site games.

In NCAA postseason tournament games, the 'Dogs are 15-17 with appearances in the final four in 1982, '86 and '88.

Bredbenner Leaves Name in MIAA and Truman Record Books: Bredbenner broke the MIAA record for career home runs when she sent her 33rd over the fence in the North Central regional tournament victory over Missouri Southern. The round-tripper scored Economon and put the 'Dogs on the board in the top of the first inning. Bredbenner also added the MIAA career record for RBIs to her list this season and finished the year with a total of 166 since 1998.

Other Truman records she leaves her name on include those for:

Career games played (203), at bats (600), hits (243), doubles (55), total bases (401), walks (74), batting average (.405) and slugging percentage (.668).

Single season marks for games played (57 in 1999), hits (75 in 2000), home runs (16 in 2000), total bases (143 in 2000), RBIs (51 in 2000), batting average (.469 in 2000) and slugging percentage (.894 in 2000).

Bredbenner holds Truman single game standards for home runs (3 on 4-7-00) and RBIs (8 on 4-7-00).

She is tied for fourth all-time at Truman in runs scored (84).

Economon Puts Name on Three Truman Records: Economon left her mark on Bulldog softball in just her first season at bat. She set new school single season records for at bats (180), runs scored (47) and doubles (21).

Hulsopple Tosses Out Old Truman Records: Another record-breaking performance was turned in by Hulsopple this season who added several more school records to her collection. This past campaign, she set new career standards for wins (76), appearances (104), innings pitched (640.2), starts (82), complete games (79) and shutouts (31).

She posted her second collegiate no-hitter in a 2-0 win over St. Cloud (Minn.) on April 14, 2001.

Hulsopple also tied the school single game record for innings pitched when she went the distance in 16 for the 'Dogs in a 4-2 win at SIU-Edwardsville on March 19.

Freshmen Hit the Mark: Four freshman started for the Bulldogs this season and hit .307 as a group. They accounted for 46.1 percent of the team's hits this year and 40.4 percent of the squads RBI production. The group was led by Economon with a .389 batting average. She hit .400 or better until the MIAA postseason tournament.

Cepicky was third on the squad with a .306 batting average and led the Bulldogs with 10-of-15 stolen bases.

Paul had 46 hits for the season and tied for second on the team with 12 doubles, while Mueller led the team with a batting average of .386 in MIAA only games.

Economon and Paul also ended the year ranked among the University's most prolific hitters. Economon is now 24th in runs scored (47), eighth in doubles (21), tied for 14th in home runs (4) and tied for 26th in total bases. Paul is now tied for 20th in doubles (12) and tied for 19th in home runs.

Freshman hurler Breanna Wonderly is also made her mark on Bulldog softball in her first season. She completed the year ranked tied for 14th in wins (14), tied for 12th in strikeouts (75) and tied for fifth in shutouts (9).

Bulldogs in the MIAA and NCAA: Truman set a new MIAA single season record after ending the 2001 campaign with a .969 fielding percentage. The Bulldogs also finished the year ranked second in batting (.283), pitching (1.06 ERA) and scoring (4.27 ppg). In the second-to-last NCAA rankings, the 'Dogs were ninth among NCAA Division II leaders in pitching, seventh in fielding and 15th in won-loss percentage (.791).

Bredbenner ended the year as the conference leader in on base percentage (.485) and RBIs (.85 pg). She was also second in home runs (.145 pg), fifth in batting average (.387) and fourth in slugging percentage (.607).

Economon led the league with a .639 slugging percentage, .382 doubles per game and .85 runs scored per game. She was also second in on base percentage (.442), third in triples (.109 pg), fourth in batting average (.389), fifth in RBIs (.65 pg) and 10th in home runs (.073 pg). Economon was ranked tied for 13th in the nation in doubles in the next-to-last report.

Hulsopple led the conference in victories with 23, was fifth with an 0.96 ERA and was ninth with a walks per seven innings average of 1.45. She was ranked 28th in DII ERA and tied for 16th in wins.

Wonderly was fifth with 14 wins and sixth with a 1.32 ERA. She was also ninth with 3.81 strikeouts per seven innings and 10th with 1.58 walks per seven innings.

Despite a season-ending injury (broken thumb) after seeing playing time in just 10 games, sophomore hurler Britni Buford (Kahoka, Mo./Clark County) led the MIAA with a 0.75 ERA, and finished fourth with 0.88 walks per seven innings (0.88).

Head Coach Kristy Schroeder: Kristy Schroeder is the winningest coach by percentage at Truman after going 133-34-1 (.795) overall and 45-10 (.818) in MIAA games over the last three seasons. She tallied the 100th win of her career in a 5-0 shutout of Division I Drake University on March 13. Schroeder led the 'Dogs' to their third consecutive appearance in the final game of the NCAA regional tournament this season, and last year coached the team to its first MIAA title since 1986. She is a 1994 graduate of UCLA where she was an all-Pac 10 decade team shortstop and part of two national championship and two runnerup teams.

Farewell to The Seniors

Kristi Bredbenner became Truman's eighth first-team all-America last season, and the first for the 'Dogs since 1988. She owns nearly every Truman hitting record, including single game records for home runs (3) and RBIs (8), and she tied the single game mark for walks (4). Last year, Bredbenner set new single season standards for hits (75), doubles (20), home runs (16), total bases (143), RBIs (51), batting average (.469) and slugging percentage (.894). She tied the Truman single season record for games played with 57 in 1999.

Bredbenner owns Bulldog career records for batting average (.405), at-bats (600), hits (243), doubles (55), home runs (33), total bases (401), RBIs (166), walks (74) and games played (203).

Her single game marks for home runs and RBIs, along with her single season and career records for homers, are also MIAA records.

A first-team all-MIAA selection the last two years, as well as the MIAA MVP in 2000, Bredbenner also earned second-team all-conference status as a freshman and sophomore. She was named MIAA hitter of the week four times.

Bredbenner was the league's batting champion a year ago, and also led the MIAA in on base percentage (.550) and slugging percentage (.894).

She has ranked among NCAA Division II batting leaders the last three seasons.

Bredbenner was named to the all-South Central Region tournament team the past two seasons, and earned first-team all-South Central region honors en route to her first-team all-America selection last year. She was one of three captains for the team this past season.

Missy Kane began her career with the Bulldogs in 1988 and played in 197 total games. She was an honorable mention all-MIAA pick at third base the last two years. Kane was also a pitcher her first two seasons, making 32 appearances and posting a 13-10 record with a 2.55 ERA.

Among all-time Bulldog batting leaders, Kane is ranked seventh in hits (133) and runs (78), tied for 15th in total bases (145), 13th in RBIs (54) and third with 28 stolen bases. Among career pitching leaders, Kane is 15th in wins, 14th in innings pitched (156.3), 13th in shutouts (4), and tied for 15th with 15 complete games on the mound.

She shares the school record for games played in a season with five others after seeing action in 57 contests in 1999.

Kane was chosen to the South Central Region all-tournament team the last two years, and was named the co-most inspirational player by her teammates.

She is a three-time member of the MIAA commissioner's academic honor roll.

Kane also served as a team captain for the Bulldogs this year.

Heather Mackie is a two-time honorable mention all-conference choice at second base, and was also named honorable mention all-league as a pitcher her freshman campaign. She has played in 200 career games and also ranks among the school's most prolific hitters.

Mackie is second all-time at Truman with 587 at bats, and is third with 179 hits and 105 RBIs, while also ranking seventh in batting average (.305), eighth in runs scored (73), tied for sixth in doubles (23), tied for eighth in home runs (5) and is fourth in total bases (219). Among career pitching leaders, she is 19th in innings pitched (114.1), tied for 14th in shutouts (3), tied for 18th in appearances (22), 19th in starts (19) and 16th in wins (11).

Mackie also shares the school record for games played in a season (57 in 1999).

She earned MIAA hitter and pitcher of the week honors once each, and is a three-time MIAA presidential scholar after maintaining a 4.0 GPA.

A 2001 team captain, Mackie was recently named First-Team Verizon Academic All-District, and will advance to the academic all-America ballot. She was named to the Verizon Academic All-America second-team last year after earning second-team all-district honors as a sophomore. She is a two-time academic all-MIAA pick and a three-time member of the MIAA commissioner's academic honor roll.

This semester, Mackie was named the University's outstanding student in business administration-finance, and received the Dean's Recognition of Academic Excellence.

Erin Schwada transferred from Culver-Stockton College in 1999 and has seen action in 128 games for the Bulldogs. Utilized for her speed as a pinch runner, Schwada is sixth among Truman career stolen base leaders with 23 and has scored 56 runs for the 'Dogs to rank tied for 18th all-time at Truman.

For her career, she had 23 putouts to her credit in the outfield and 11 assists, along with 87 at bats, 20 hits, three RBIs and 20 total bases.

Vicki Viefhaus served as another valuable pinch runner for the Bulldogs the last four seasons. She is currently 14th among Truman career leaders with 17 stolen bases. Viefhaus has played in 106 total games at Truman and has scored 36 runs during that time.

At the plate, she has had 11 at bats, three hits, one RBI and three total bases. In the outfield, Viefhaus has two putouts. She was three-time member of the MIAA commissioner's academic honor roll.

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