At A Glance | Horizon League softball tournament

A look at the teams in the Horizon League softball tournament, in order of seeding:
NO. 1 ILLINOIS-CHICAGO
Co-coaches: Tom Gray and Sarah O'Malley-Fisher (4th season)Record: 24-31 (14-6 Horizon League)Outlook: The Flames captured the top seed for the tournament on the final weekend of the regular season, sweeping Wright State to finish a half-game ahead of Cleveland State. It was the Flames' third straight league title and ninth in the last 11 years. UIC is led by senior shortstop Joyce Cathey who carries a .344 batting average with six home runs and 24 RBIs. Sophomore Nicole Robinson leads the team in RBIs (35) and has nine doubles, a triple and two home runs. Freshman Sarah Clynes leads the team with 10 doubles. The Flames' top pitcher is Clynes, who is 13-6 with a 2.83 ERA. She struck out 116 and walked 50 in 141 innings. Senior Brittan McIntyre has a 7-13 record in 109 innings. The Flames are third in the league in team batting with a .262 average.
NO. 2 CLEVELAND STATE
Coach: Julie Jones (10th season)Record: 35-13 (14-7 Horizon League)Outlook: The Vikings are the only team in the Horizon League with an overall winning record. They lost two of three games to Detroit in the final weekend of regular season play to fall out of first place and into the No. 2 seed. The Vikings lead the Horizon League in team batting (.288), team pitching (2.03 ERA) and team fielding. Their top hitter is sophomore Whitney Willard with a .350 average, while junior Michelle Penney has a .342 mark with 12 doubles and 32 RBIs. Freshman Christa Coppus leads the team with six home runs and 31 RBIs to go along with a .324 average. Junior Sarah Milosek (.323) and senior Grace Luginbuhl (.313) also are over .300 on the year. Luginbuhl is the league's top pitcher with a 22-9 record and a 2.19 ERA with 218 strikeouts and 72 walks in 211 innings. Senior Kortney Spidell has an 11-3 record in 102 innings and a 1.84 ERA.
NO. 3 DETROIT
Coach: Bob Wilkerson (10th season)Record: 24-31 (13-7 Horizon League)Outlook: The Titans have the league's top home run hitter in sophomore Kaleigh Rafter, who has hit 12 round trippers and 32 RBIs this year. She also leads the team in batting with a .345 average and has 10 doubles and a .731 slugging percentage. Junior Sarah Dickey has a .312 average and junior Michelle Baggio has a .311 mark with six home runs. The Titans' top pitcher is senior Lindsay Roy with a 7-5 record, a 2.30 ERA with 42 strikeouts and 14 walks. Freshman Brittany Hire finished with a 4-12 record.
NO. 4 WISCONSIN-GREEN BAY
Coach: Jean Rivett (2nd season)Record: 13-19 (10-10 Horizon League)Outlook: The Phoenix swept Butler in the final series of the season to wrap up the No. 4 seed in the tournament. Green Bay has the league's top hitter in senior Kate Sullivan, who batted .415 for the year and .450 against Horizon League opponents. She also had two homers and 27 RBIs. The Phoenix finished fourth in the team batting in the league with a .259 average. Sophomore Jenna Woeopse and senior Rebekah Oestreich each hit .362 for the year. Senior Lisa Meissner finished 10-13 with a 2.64 ERA in 151 innings with 211 strikeouts and 54 walks. Freshman Amanda Margelofsky was 3-6 in 52 innings.
NO. 5 LOYOLA
Coach: Yvette Healy (2nd season)Record: 18-39 (10-10 Horizon League)Outlook: The Ramblers took two of three games from Youngstown State in the final weekend of the season to finish in fifth place. Junior Tara Miller leads the Ramblers with a .344 average, seven home runs and 23 RBIs. Junior Nora Schober has a .313 average with six homers and 33 RBIs, while sophomore Katrina Krause leads the team with 10 home runs along with 26 RBIs. Freshman Laura DeLeon is the Ramblers' top pitcher with a 10-12 record in 135 innings and a 3.21 ERA. She struck out 66 and walked 56. Freshman Krista Crosson has an 8-24 mark in 152 innings with 82 strikouts.
NO. 6 YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Coach: Christy Cameron (7th season)Record: 18-25 (10-10 Horizon League)Outlook: The Penguins come into the tournament with the second-best team batting average of .274 and the third-best pitching ERA of 3.55. Senior shortstop Tiffany Patteson leads the Penguins with a .345 average that includes a league-high 12 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 19 RBIs. Sophomore Jamie Fornal is batting .325 with three homers and freshman Kristen McDonnell is tied for second in the league with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs. Senior Lacy Bronson is hitting .310, while freshman Allyse Ledford leads the team in RBIs with 37 and also has nine home runs. Junior Karlie Burnell has a 12-8 record in 143 innings with a 3.13 ERA. She had 94 strikeouts and 59 walks. Junior Tricia Hilbush is 6-10 in 102 innings with a 3.71 ERA.
NO. 7 WRIGHT STATE
Coach: Mike Larabee (2nd season)Record: 6-39 (6-15 Horizon League)Outlook: Wright State is probably the youngest team in the Horizon League, without a senior on the roster. The Raiders are led by junior Amanda Cody, who batted .318 with seven home runs and 20 RBIs along with eight doubles. Freshman Melanie McInally added six home runs and 28 RBIs. Freshman pitcher Jessie Granger finished 5-25 with a 5.13 ERA in 185 innings. She struck out 115 and walked 75. Cody was 1-13 with a 5.01 ERA in 80 innings with 54 strikeouts.
NO. 8 BUTLER
Coach: Angie Nicholson (1st season)Record: 17-28-1 (4-16 Horizon League)Outlook: The Bulldogs have only one senior on the roster. Leading the team is sophomore Amy Hyerczyk with a .343 batting average. She has 14 doubles, five home runs and 24 RBIs. Sophomore Jenny Jacobs carries a .285 average with five homers and 26 RBIs. Senior Meghan Howard posted a 7-8 record in 86 innings with a 3.42 ERA. Junior Jamie Wonderly finished 6-14 with a 3.52 ERA in 149 innings with 57 strikeouts and 50 walks.
SCHEDULETHURSDAY
Game 1 -- Cleveland St. vs. Wright St., 9 a.m.Game 2 -- Detroit vs. Youngstown State, 11 a.m.Game 3 -- UW-Green Bay vs. Loyola, 1 p.m.Game 4 -- UIC vs. Butler, 4 p.m.Game 5 -- Loser game 1 vs. loser game 2, 6 p.m.Game 6 -- Loser game 3 vs. loser game 4, 8 p.m.
FRIDAY
Game 7 -- Winner game 1 vs. winner game 2, 9 a.m.Game 8 -- Winner game 3 vs. winner game 4, 11 a.m.Game 9 -- Loser game 8 vs. winner game 5, 4 p.m.Game 10 -- Loser game 7 vs. winner game 6, 1 p.m.
Game 11 -- Winner game 7 vs. winner game 8, 6 p.m.Game 12 -- Winner game 9 vs. winner game 10, 8 p.m.
SATURDAY
Game 13 -- Winner game 12 vs. loser game 11, 9 a.m.Game 14 -- Winner game 11 vs. winner game 13, 12 p.m.Game 15 -- Winner game 14 vs. loser game 14, 2 p.m., if necessary
Pete Mollica