Cedarville University Yellow Jackets

May 7, 2013

Hello from the Lady Jacket softball team!! Unfortunately, this is my last blog of the season. Some important accomplishments that I forgot to mention in last week’s blog are that Kelsey Chapman hit her third home run of the season and Katie Woodard hit her first collegiate home run against Urbana!! Congrats to both of these girls!

On another note, this past week was a busy one for the softball team. To start off the week, we won both games against Wheeling Jesuit. Both times, we run-ruled them in the 5^th inning! These were exciting games that boosted our confidence, as well as our record. Also, in the Wheeling Jesuit games, Rachel Bull broke Ginger Keithley’s stolen base record of 43 in a season with 46. We are very proud of Rachel and this noteworthy achievement.

After these games on Tuesday, we embarked on our journey to Nashville, Tennessee to play in the G-MAC Tournament. Wednesday was a day of finals and hours of traveling. The bus ride was a blast and the team was able to bond one last time during the last road trip of the year. We had a nice meal at Logan’s Roadhouse and checked into the hotel for a good night of sleep. On Thursday morning, we came out ready to take on Urbana. We started the tournament off strong and beat Urbana 9-6. In this game, Jessica Palm hammered a two-run homer in the second inning which helped us to tie Urbana. We later tacked on two runs to take the lead and, after Urbana tied the score, we put the game out of reach with five runs in the sixth inning. This put us in the winner’s bracket and later on that day, we played Trevecca Nazarene.

We ended up losing 4-0 and then dropped into the loser’s bracket. Friday morning, we again played Urbana, who beat Ursuline on Thursday afternoon. We beat Urbana again, 5-2! This was a great win and this put us in the CHAMPIONSHIP! Unfortunately, we came up short against Trevecca and we were run-ruled 8-0 in the sixth inning. This made us the runner-up in the G-MAC Tournament. This tournament was a fun time and gave the team one last time to hang out before summer.

This was a really fun season and we all really got along and enjoyed each other’s company! We finished the year with a 26-21 record. This was not a bad season; however, we wish we could have played more games. The numerous cancellations of games arising from the weather early this season seemed to impact our ability to get our rhythm going at the bat and in the field. Unfortunately, we can’t control the weather, but as the weather improved, so did we!

I have really enjoyed writing the blog this year. Thank you to everybody who came out and supported us this season! We really appreciate the love and support. We hope everybody has a fun and safe summer. See you guys next year!

Love,

The Lady Jacket Softball Team


April 30, 2013

Hello from the Lady Yellow Jackets softball team! This past week we only had two games against Urbana. We split with them and played until it was dark. The first game, we beat them 9-8 in 11 innings! Unfortunately, we lost the second game 5-4. The second game ended up being called in the seventh inning due to darkness setting in. This was upsetting because I believe we could have come back and won.

Coming up this week, besides studying non-stop for finals and running around trying to get last minute assignments in, we have two games against Wheeling Jesuit on Tuesday (4/29 - 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.) and our G-MAC Tournament begins on Thursday.

The Wheeling Jesuit game is at home, so come out and show your support for our LAST home game!!!! Then on Wednesday, we will be traveling to Nashville, Tennessee to play in our G-MAC Tournament. This will be a fun trip with the girls and we are hoping to make the most of it! We will play Urbana on Thursday and when we win, we will play either Trevecca Nazarene or Ursuline on Friday.

This will be a fun week of games and hanging out with the team. We are hoping to take both games on Tuesday and we are hoping to WIN the G-MAC Tournament!!! Keep it here for more Lady Yellow Jacket softball news!!


April 22, 2013

Hello from the Lady Yellow Jacket softball team! We are now 21-18 due to an eventful week.

First, on Wednesday we played the #1 ranked Division II team, University of Indianapolis. Unfortunately, we lost both games, by scores of 5-0 and 6-1. We fought a good fight; however, we had trouble offensively that day. If we were to play them again, I believe that we would win.

On Friday, we were supposed to play Davis & Elkins, but were unable due to the chance of rain and the distance that their team needed to travel. This gave us the day to rest up for Saturday’s games against Ursuline.

On Saturday, we swept Ursuline! In the first game, we mercy-ruled them 9-1 in five innings and in the second game we came out a little slow, but beat them 12-5 in seven seven innings. These games were awesome hitting games for us. We ended up getting 33 hits combined in both games including eight stolen bases! On a personal note, I’m happy to report that I had a very productive day at the plate against Ursuline, including two home runs - my first two career homers at our field. After these fantastic wins, most of the team traveled over to Courtnie Spain’s home for a cookout. This was a great time to fellowship with one another and some of the parents. We barbequed, roasted marshmallows, and made s’mores.
This was a good time had by all.

Also, I would like to give a shout out to Kelsey Wilson for receiving the Female 2012-13 Yellow Jacket Club Athlete of the Year Award! We love you and are so proud of you!

Coming up this week, there are only two games against Urbana on Thursday (4/25 - 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.). These games are at Urbana and if you can make it out, we would really appreciate it! Urbana isn’t too far away from Cedarville, so come and support! If you can’t make it to the games, there should be game coverage online via text messages and Twitter!

Keep it here for more Lady Yellow Jacket softball news!!


April 16, 2013

Hello from the Lady Yellow Jacket softball team! This past week had its’ highs and lows, but it was mostly a great week!

On Wednesday, we beat the NFCA Division II #25 West Virginia State twice!! These were super exciting wins! Everybody was pumped after these HUGE wins! On Thursday, no softball took place due to the bad weather in Cedarville. Our games with Kentucky Wesleyan were cancelled. Instead, some of the team went over to Coach Kim’s house for a pancake dinner. We also discussed ways to get more fans to come out to our games. Be expecting baked goods and a video in the near future :)

After our fun on Thursday night, Friday’s games rolled around. It was an extremely cold day and we started off a little lethargic against Salem International. We ended up beating them in both games! Carlyn Hanzel hit a solo homer and Rachel Bull hit a two-run inside-the-park home run!

Then on Saturday, our four-game win streak came to a close. Trevecca Nazarene beat us 1-0 and then 2-0. These games were tight to the very end. Defense was solid all around; our offense just didn’t come through. It’s alright though, it happens. We will just come out strong in this week’s games! The past is the past and we can’t change it.

On Wednesday, we play the University of Indianapolis, who is the #1 ranked team in Division II (4/17 - 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm)! On Friday, we play Davis & Elkins (4/19 - 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm). Lastly, on Saturday, we play Ursuline at 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm (4/20).

All of this week’s games are HOME!!! So, we are expecting a bunch of fans to come out and support us this week! Hoping for six wins this week! Keep it here for more Lady Yellow Jacket softball news!


April 9, 2013

Hello from the Lady Yellow Jacket softball team! This past week was a good one! We came out a little slow on Monday against Urbana losing both games. But, on Wednesday we picked it up and split with Ohio Valley! Then, on Saturday we won both games against Ursuline!! We are now 15-14 and are hoping that this is the push we need to start winning more games.

In other news, Jessica Palm hit her first collegiate HOME RUN against Ursuline!!! Kelsey Chapman hit her second home run of the season against Ursuline as well. The team is excited to come out and play hard this week against West Virginia State (Tuesday-4/9), Kentucky Wesleyan (Thursday-4/11), Salem International (Friday-4/12), and Trevecca Nazarene (Saturday-4/13). These games are ALL home games!!

We are hoping that you guys come out and support us as we take on these four competitors. Also, we have been having a team competition of who can gather the most fans this season and as of now, Courtnie Spain is leading with 27 fans and Cece DeBartolo is trailing with 25 fans. So, if you want to come to the games…Just say you came for Shannon Muldowney! Help me gain more fans! Haha…Anywho, keep it here for more Lady Yellow Jacket softball news!!


April 2, 2013

Happy Easter from the Lady Yellow Jacket softball team!

This Easter break was a busy one. First, we played on Saturday against Salem International in West Virginia. We split with them, winning the first game 9-6 and losing the second game 9-3. Saturday was a really long day of driving, eight hours in the athletic bus. Even though we did not win both games, the team enjoyed spending time together. We were very crammed in the athletic bus and we got to spend quality time with one another. We played games on the bus and talked a lot!

When we got back on Saturday night, many of the girls went home or to friends’ houses for a nice and relaxing Easter. Then on Monday, we played Urbana at home. We lost both games, but we played very hard and made some significant comebacks. Even though we lost to Urbana, we fought hard and kept Urbana on their toes.

We have four more games coming up this week against Ohio Valley (Wednesday at Cedarville - 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.) and against Ursuline (Saturday at Ursuline - 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.).

We are hoping to take them all! Keep it here for more Lady Yellow Jacket softball news!!


March 25, 2013        

Hello from the Lady Yellow Jackets’ softball team!

This past week was a rough one for us. First, our games on Tuesday against Ohio Valley were cancelled due to weather. Then on Saturday, we travelled 5 hours and 45 minutes to Nashville, Tennessee and lost both of our games to Trevecca Nazarene. We did not play to the best of our abilities and had too many mental and physical errors. Fielding, hitting, and pitching were not at the level it should be.

However, we will come out this next week ready to play hard and hopefully win. Even though we did not win these games this past week, the team was able to bond on the long bus ride to Nashville and back. We were able to spend some quality time with each other.

This week we will be playing Davis & Elkins*, Urbana, and Salem International. We are hoping to take all six games! Although, the weather forecast is not looking promising for the beginning of this week. Hopefully, we will get ALL of our games in this week!!

Keep it here for more Lady Jackets’ softball news!

(* Ed. Note: cancelled)

March 18, 2013

Hello from the Lady Jackets’ softball team! This past week was not a very busy week due to two rainouts. We were unable to play Wheeling Jesuit and Kentucky Wesleyan, but these games are being rescheduled. This helped the girls to catch up on a lot of homework!

However, we were able to play Minnesota, Crookston on Friday afternoon. This team came down to play us on their spring break. Their head coach is also a CU alumni! We ended up run-ruling the team in both games in five innings. In the first game, we beat Minnesota, Crookston 18-1! In the first inning, we jumped on their pitchers and scored 16 runs! This was a great accomplishment except, the Cedarville record for most runs scored in an inning is 17 (April 23, 1991). We were so close to tying this record!

In the second game, we beat Minnesota, Crookston 9-1 in five innings. These games were fun to play and many of the girls came out with their A game. For example, Kelsey Wilson hit a three run homer! Also, Jessica Palm’s bat was on fire and she went 5-for-6 for the day! All of the girls performed well and contributed to these two wins. Our record is now 11-8 and we are hoping to keep this winning record alive!!

This week we play Ohio Valley in Vienna, West Virginia on Wednesday and Trevecca Nazarene in Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday. These are going to be tough games, especially since Trevecca is in our conference. But, we are planning to win all four games this week!

Keep it here for more Lady Jackets’ softball news!


March 12, 2013

Hello from the Lady Jackets’ softball team! Spring break in Florida was a blast and we are now back at the ‘Ville. After playing 17 games in Florida our record is 9-8. This is the first time in Cedarville history that the Lady Jackets’ softball team has come back from Florida with a winning record.

Many exciting things happened in Florida this past week! I want to give a shout out to the freshmen who came out working extremely hard and showing off their skills. Carlyn Hanzel, Katie Woodard, Hayley Kitchen, Tanya Busby, Monica Arslain, Katelyn Thut, and Katie Daniels all came to Florida with good spirits and a hard-working attitude.

Another shout out goes to Courtney Teague who hit her first collegiate home run against Saint Rose!! Also, another shout out this week goes to Kelsey Chapman on hitting her first home run of the season! She also holds the Lady Jackets’ career softball home run record. This is a huge achievement in her career. We expect many more homers to come!

This past week was an awesome experience and the team bonded SO much. There were some pranks pulled by the players and the coaching staff as well. The trip was a fun time had by all and we are looking forward to the rest of the busy season!

Keep it here for more Lady Jackets’ softball news!


March 5, 2013

It’s been an exciting week in Florida so far! We are 4-3 and are planning to take many more wins in the 10 games we have left! We have had some tough losses, but have played very hard in our first seven games.

We played three games on Monday including a hard-fought contest against Palm Beach Atlantic who went 30-21 last year and are ranked #10 in the South in NCAA DII. We only lost to them 3-2 and in this game Kelsey Chapman hit a two-run homer. So, this showed that we are a competitor in NCAA DII softball!

On a more relaxing note, the girls have been having a blast and are soaking up the Florida sunshine. Although, the weather has been quite chilly here! Many of the girls have gotten to experience the beach, Disney, and many other fun activities here in the Sunshine State.

We are enjoying the time with our families and are having a great Spring Break full of softball.

Keep it here for upcoming Lady Jackets’ softball news! 


February 26, 2013

Hello from the Lady Jacket softball team! We are really excited to get the 2013 season underway. We have been working hard throughout the fall and winter in order to prepare for the tough season ahead. We have worked on defense and offense. We have had late night scrimmages and early morning conditioning.

This is our first year officially as NCAA Division II members and we are ready for the challenge! We have a bunch of new talent and are blessed to have many more girls on the team this year. There are many great relationships on the team and there is good team morale.

Spring break is coming up and we leave Thursday morning to head down to Orlando, Florida for our annual spring break tournament where we will play 17 GAMES!

We start the tournament at 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning by playing West Virginia Wesleyan who is ranked #23 in NCAA Division II. After that intense game, we will play Felician College at 11:00 a.m. We are anticipating two victories!

This year is going to be great and full of intensity! Keep it here for Lady Jacket softball news! 


Shannon Muldowney is a sophomore infielder from Orlando, Fla. She is in her second season with the Lady Jackets and is majoring in criminal justice.