The 2009 Mid-American Conference Tournament begins today at Firestone Stadium in Akron. The top eight teams in the conference will battle it out for the MAC Championship. The first game will start at 11 a.m. today.
Ohio plays in Game 4, which begins at 7:30 p.m. today. The Championship game will be played Saturday.
No.1 Ball State (28-22, 18-3 MAC)
Coach: Craig Nicholson (third season, 86-88)
Player to Watch: Jen Reifschneider- The Adam Dunn of softball, Reifschneider hit 11 of the Cardinals 16 home runs on the year and led the team with 37 RBIs but only hit .219.
2008 MAC Tournament Finish: (2-2) As the No. 7 seed, lost to No. 1 Kent State, 6-3, in the semifinals of the tournament.
vs.
No.8 Bowling Green
(13-31, 7-15 MAC)
Coach: Shannon Salsburg (third season, 65-67)
Player to Watch: Hayley Wiemer- She led the Falcons with a .330 avg., nine home runs and 28 RBIs.
2008 MAC Tournament Finish: (2-2) As the No. 3 seed, lost to No. 6 seed Ohio in the semifinals and was eliminated
No.2 Kent State (24-24, 15-6 MAC)
Coach: Karen Linder (13th season, 374-295)
Player to Watch: Kylie Reynolds- She dominated in the circle for the Golden Flashes. She went 19-15 with a 2.24 ERA and 314 strikeouts in just 216 innings pitched.
2008 MAC Tournament Finish: (4-0) Won the MAC Tournament by defeating Ohio 5-0.
Vs.
No.7 Akron (32-22, 11-10 MAC)
Coach: Julie Jones (third season, 69-85)
Player to Watch: Heather Bauer- She led the Zips with a 1.85 ERA and posted a record of 16-6 in 151 innings.
2008 MAC Tournament Finish: (1-2) As the No. 8 seed, lost to Ball State, 5-4, in the quarterfinals.
No.3 Western Michigan
(22-20, 16-6 MAC)
Coach: Kathy Leitke (ninth season, 215-210-1)
Player to Watch: Meredith Whitney- The dual threat led Broncos pitchers with a 14-9 record and 2.44 ERA with 175 strikeouts in the circle. At the plate, she finished second on the team in average (.289), home runs (six) and RBIs (28).
2008 MAC Tournament Finish: (1-2) As the No. 5 seed, lost to Ohio in the quarterfinals and was eliminated.
Vs.
No. 6 Ohio (22-23, 12-10 MAC)
Coach: Jodi Hermanek (first season, 22-23)
Player to Watch: Melissa Bonner- She led the Bobcats with a .378 average and 30 RBIs. She also led Ohio pitchers with a 4.10 ERA in 121 1/3 innings.
2008 MAC Tournament Finish: (4-2) As the No. 6 seed, lost to Kent State in the MAC Championship.
No. 4 Miami (28-22, 13-9 MAC)
Coach: Kelly Kovach Schoenly (third season, 77-84-1)
Player to Watch: Jessica Simpson- She led the RedHawk pitching staff with a 19-11 record, a 2.12 ERA and 155 strikeouts in 182 innings pitched.
2008 MAC Tournament Finish: (0-2) As the No. 4 seed, lost to Akron in the quarterfinals.
Vs.
No.5 Northern Illinois
(18-35, 12-10 MAC)
Coach: Lindsay Chouinard (second season,, 31-65)
Player to Watch: Bailey Ouellette- She tied for the team lead in home runs with five and led the team in RBIs with 23 while hitting .257.
2008 MAC Tournament Finish: The Huskies did not qualify for the tournament in 2008.
2 Sports
Michael Lewis
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