WEEKLY PREVIEW – 2017 HY-VEE CLASSIC
Friday, March 17 | Spring Sports Complex | St. Joseph, Mo.
12 p.m. vs Northern State (13-5)
2 p.m. vs Sioux Falls (12-7)
Saturday, March 18 | Spring Sports Complex | St. Joseph, Mo.
12 p.m. vs Minnesota Duluth (11-7)
2 p.m. vs St. Cloud State (16-4)
Sunday, March 19 | Spring Sports Complex | St. Joseph, Mo.
11 a.m. vs Wayne State College (4-14)
1 p.m. vs Minnesota State (17-3)
 
LIVE STATS | MWSU WEEKLY NOTES | MIAA STANDINGS | NFCA TOP-25
 
ST. JOSEPH – After dipping their toes in MIAA play last week, the No. 18-ranked Missouri Western softball team (18-4, 2-0) will dive back into non-conference regional play this weekend as the team hosts the 2017 Hy-Vee Classic.
 
The Griffons are scheduled to play six games against competition from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), March 17-19. Overall, 20 teams from the MIAA and NSIC will converge on St. Joseph to play 60 games over three days. Four games a day will be played at the Spring Sports Complex on the campus of Missouri Western, including all six of the Griffons' games. Four fields at Heritage Park Softball Complex in St. Joseph will also be used. A $5 admission fee per day will be charged for both complexes. Children 6 and under will be admitted free of charge.
 
MOTHER NATURE STRIKES AGAIN
Missouri Weather has been wreaking havoc on Missouri Western's schedule of late. A doubleheader against Northwest Missouri State that was to be played this Tuesday was re-scheduled for April 4 after a twin bill with Lincoln last week was pushed back to April 17. The forecast for this weekend looks good, though after snow and cold temperatures forced the cancellation of some games at the 2016 Hy-Vee Classic.
 
HOST WITH THE MOST
The Griffons' 18 wins already this season are the most of any participant in the 2017 Hy-Vee Classic, as of Monday. Minnesota State, which was defeated by Missouri Western earlier this season, is just one win behind, and Winona State has claimed 16 victories coming into the week. No. 18-ranked Missouri Western and No. 9-ranked Central Oklahoma (11-3) are the only two teams in this weekend's field also inside the NFCA Top-25.

SLUMP CRUSHER
After MWSU split a doubleheader at Hawaii Pacific, Kailey Green was batting .216 with one home run and four RBIs. Now, after just two more games, Green is batting .281 with five home runs and 11 RBIs. Last Thursday night, Green had herself a day. The senior went 5-for-6 with four home runs and seven RBIs in a doubleheader sweep of Lindenwood. She was named NFCA National Player of the Week and MIAA Hitter of the Week for her efforts. It was an exclamation point on a slow trend upward that began during the team's six-game trip to Hawaii. Green moved into fourth place all-time on MWSU's career home run list (31), and now needs nine more to break Keri Lorbert's record.

BOTTOM OF THE ORDER, TOP OF THE CHARTS
Junior catcher Rebekah Mueller typically bats ninth for the Griffons, but her recent statistics look more like a top-three hitter's. Mueller's batted .486 with three doubles and two home runs in her team's last 12 games. Better than that, she's hit .545 in the last eight games. Over that stretch, she leads the team in batting average, ranks second in runs, hits and home runs. She has also led the team in on base percentage (.615) in that stretch, and her .864 slugging percentage in the last eight is second-best on the team. The surge has pushed Mueller's season average to .396, 10th best in the MIAA.
 
NOT SO POOR SYDNEY
Senior Sydney Washington is on pace to have a career-year, but so far it's gone largely unnoticed thanks to some even more incredible accomplishments by her teammates. Washington is batting .429 over the Griffons' last eight games with a team-high eight runs scored and 10 RBIs. Washington is second on the team over that stretch with 12 hits, has slugged .714 and drawn four walks while striking out just once in 28 at bats. The outfielder's also had been keeping pace with Kailey Green on the MWSU career home run chart with 26, before Green's ridiculous effort last weekend.
 
NO SLUMPS, NO STREAKS
While some of her teammates have experienced peaks and valleys already this season, Shelbie Atwell has been hot since the first pitch of the season. The junior shortstop ranks second in the MIAA with her .453 average. Her 11 doubles are also tops in the league, and her 34 hits are second most in the conference. Atwell has only been held hitless in four games this season, and she's had 10 multi-hit games with six three-hit games. As for slowing down, Atwell is seven for her last 13, so probably not any time soon.
 
COME ON AND TAKE A FREE RIDE
As good as Missouri Western's lineup appears to be, the Griffons aren't afraid to take a free base. MWSU's 79 walks this season are second in the MIAA and three Griffons (Mueller, Green and Morgan Rathmann) rank among the top-11 in the MIAA in individual walks.
 
MORE MILESTONES NEAR
Jen Bagley Trotter won her 500th game as MWSU head coach early last season, and now is on the clock for win No. 600. Entering this week, Trotter had 553 career wins. She ranks second all-time among MIAA head coaches in wins and needs 62 more to pass former MWSU and Central Missouri head coach Rhesa Sumrell for first all-time.