Complete game notes in .pdf format

Storyline
The Lindenwood softball team returns home to friendly confines this week for the start of a 20 game homestand. The Lady Lions will play four doubleheaders in the coming days, including a matchup with the No. 17 team in the country. 

After starting the season 4-4, the squad is looking to build momentum with conference play looming. Lindenwood has posted a 34-14 home record in the last three years, but is just 2-2 at home in 2010. 

The Lady Lions will first play Columbia College on Tuesday, and then have games against No. 17 St. Xavier on Saturday and Blackburn on Sunday. Lindenwood will wrap up this stretch against Rogers State next Monday.

Last Week's Results
The Lady Lions went 2-2 at the Belhaven Elite Tournament this past weekend in Ridgeland, Miss. 

Lindenwood opened play with a 6-3 win over LSU-Alexandria. Cassondra VanDyke earned the win in her first collegiate start. She tossed a complete game, striking out seven. Jodi Urhahn posted a pair of RBI in the win. 

The Lady Lions then fell to Belhaven 6-2. Rebecca Peddicord took the loss and Sophie Berman stole a base and scored once. 

Despite jumping out to an early 3-0 lead, Lindenwood could not hold on against Christian Brothers, losing 8-3. Jessica Long collected two hits and two RBI in the win. 

The team rebounded by shutting out LSU-Alexandria 6-0 to wrap up tournament play. Heidi Schertzer notched her second win of the year, pitching a complete-game, four hitter. She struck out nine in the process. 

Long drove in pair of runs and Jacqueline Riordan went 3-3 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base. Jodi Urhahn added a two hits and two RBI as well.

Emerging Ace
Pegged as the No. 3 starter in the Lindenwood rotation at the beginning of the season, Heidi Schertzer has performed like a No. 1 so far. She has appeared in three games, compiling a team-leading ERA of 1.31 with 19 strikeouts and four free passes. Schertzer is 2-0 in games she starts and has gone the distance in both contests.

Heating Up
Jessica Long started the season 2-9 at the plate, but heated up over the weekend. She posted four hits in three games at the Belhaven Elite Tournament and drove in four runs. Her four RBI are tied for first on the team.

Immediate Impact
Freshman Jacqueline Riordan currently leads the team with a .545 batting average. She has demonstrated the ability to work the count, drawing three walks, boosting her team-leading .643 on-base percentage.

Making It Count
Lindenwood hitters are batting .305 with runners in scoring position and have 10 RBI with two outs in an inning.

Running Wild
Lindenwood base runners have swiped 17 bags so far in 2010. Its mark of 2.13 stolen bases per game ranks 17th in the country. The Lady Lions logged a season-high five swipes in a 6-0 win over LSU-Alexandria. Jacqueline Riordan and Sophie Berman lead the team with five each.

Avoiding The Big Inning
The middle innings have doomed the Lady Lions in 2010. Opposing teams have scored a total of nine runs through the first two and last two innings of play. It's in the third, fourth and fifth inning where Lady Lion starters are running into trouble. In those innings, opponents have scored a total of 17 runs.

Power Outage
The Lady Lions have yet to hit a homerun in 2010. Through eight games in 2009, Lindenwood had five long balls. Jessica Long belted one in the season opener and Danielle Merli had two-homerun games against Union.

Home Cooking
Lindenwood is 34-14 at home over the last three seasons.

Scouting Columbia
Columbia is 6-2 on the young season with wins in five of its last six contests. 

The Cougars top player is Valerie Teter, who leads the team in hits, (11), RBIs (7), and is tied for first on team in homeruns with one. She is also the top pitcher for Columbia posting a record of 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA. 

Columbia is coached by Wendy Spratt who is in her 16th season at the school. 

Scouting St. Xavier
After starting the season 1-4, the 17th ranked St. Xavier Cougars have won six of its last seven games. 

St. Xavier ranked 22nd in the nation in earned run average in 2009, and 2010 has been much of the same. On the season, Cougar pitchers have posted a team ERA of 1.94. Co-aces Jalyn Shearer and Amie Brown both had sub-two ERA's last season and are a combined 5-2 to start the year. 

Myra Minuskin enters her tenth season at St. Xavier and led the Cougars to the National Tournament in 2009.

Scouting Blackburn
Blackburn, a NCAA Division III school, is currently 1-7 on the year. The Beavers, who play LeMoyne-Owen on Wednesday and Rhodes on Thursday, is led by first-year head coach Ryan Sackett.

Scouting Rogers State
The Hillcats are one of the hottest teams in the NAIA at the moment. Rogers State is 16-4 on the season, and has won 12 of its last 13 contests coming into this week. 

The Hillcats feature one of the top slugging offenses in the NAIA. They rank fourth in the country in homeruns per game with 1.8. Linsey Curtis leads the squad in that category with 11 bombs. The team also ranks in the top ten in total runs scored, slugging percentage, total hits, and total doubles. 

Rogers State is led by second year head coach Mark Dicus.

Up Next
Lindenwood remains at home for a quartet of double-headers.