Crowder, NEO collide in first round of NJCAA softball tournament

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May 16, 2012

Crowder, NEO collide in first round of NJCAA softball tournament

By Monty Franks Special to The Globe The Joplin Globe Wed May 16, 2012, 11:56 PM CDT

ST. GEORGE, Utah — Crowder College and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M are familiar foes today in the first round of the National Junior College Athletic Association softball championships.

No. 6-seeded NEO and Crowder, rivals some 35 miles apart, are opening opponents in a 2 p.m. game at the St. George Canyons Complex.

Crowder and NEO split four games during the season.

“There will be no surprises in this game,” Lady Norse head coach Eric Iverson said. “After all, we play each other a couple of times during the fall and four times during the regular season, so both teams know what the other one is like.”

Iverson’s Lady Norse, 42-13, are making their second consecutive trip to the national tournament after winning both the Region II Tournament and the District B playoff.

“If we have any advantage at all, it’s the fact that our entire infield and two of our outfielders along with two of our pitchers played here last year,” Iverson said. “That wealth of experience should allow us to be more relaxed than Crowder.”

Coach Lori Videmschek’s Lady ’Riders represent District K with a 44-16 season record. The Lady ’Riders defeated Iowa Western 4-3 and 8-5 in nine innings on May 5 in Neosho. Crowder won the Region 16 crown on April 29 in Neosho.

One thing Crowder has achieved that NEO has not is a national championship. Under the direction of Miami High School graduate Millie (George) Gilion, the Lady ’Riders won the 1986 national title while the Lady Norse finished second in 1995 under Woody Morrow.

The Lady Norse feature sophomore shortstop Megan Sullivan in the leadoff spot. Sullivan leads the team in most offensive categories.

She is batting .466 with 26 doubles, one triple and 16 home runs. She also leads with 60 runs batted in and 49 runs scored.

“Our lineup has been very consistent down the stretch and we expect them to continue to produce,” Iverson said. “They use a variety of weapons from bunts and stolen bases to manufacture runs or they can put runs on the board with the long ball. We are that versatile from top to bottom.”

Veteran third baseman/catcher Lyndi Fluman from Cleveland, Okla., bats second. FLuman has a .327 average with eight doubles, three triples and five home runs. She has scored 39 runs with 25 RBI.

Freshman pitcher/designated player Nicole Workman from Tuttle hits third. She has a .354 average with 15 doubles, 13 homers and 45 RBI.

Sophomore center fielder Candice Monigold from Broken Arrow bats fourth. Monigold has a .367 average with 13 doubles, three triples and five homers, plus 35 RBI.

Sophomore left fielder Jamie King has a .402 average with 16 doubles, three triples and five home runs. She has 31 RBI.

Veteran Alicia Eger, first baseman from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, has a .315 average with three doubles and seven home runs.

Sophomore Brittany Watson from Shawnee starts at second base and hits .354 with 15 doubles and two homers. She has recorded 45 RBI.

The catcher is freshman Emily Walters from Bixby. Walters has a .244 average with three doubles and two homers.

Sophomores Megan Robison and Miranda Kiser split time in right field. Robison, from Catoosa, is hitting .259. Kiser, from Tulsa Union, is a late inning defensive replacement after missing two-thirds of the season with injuries.

“Our pitching staff is ready for this challenge,” Iverson said. “We’ve got to be able to get a lot of innings our of our starters in these first three games because we don’t want to tax our staff by having to fight back in late innings.”

Sophomore Shelbie Wagnon, from Beggs, will start against Crowder. Wagnon has appeared in seven post-season games thus far and is 10-3 on the season. She has a 2.41 earned run average in 103.2 inning with 109 strikeouts and 53 walks.

Freshman Alex Gilley, from Broken Arrow, has a 15-6 record with a 2.56 ERA in 147.2 innings. She leads the team with 126 strikeouts.

Workman has a 13-1 record with a 1.66 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 88.1 innings.

During the regular season, Crowder and NEO split their series. NEO won 5-4 and 13-11 on Feb. 22 in Neosho. Crowder won 4-2 and 6-5 on April 24 in Miami.

The NEO-Crowder winner will face either No. 3 seed Blinn, Texas (48-9) or No. 14 Gordon, Ga. (37-17) at 8 p.m. Thursday. The losers play at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Live audio for games one through 26 and live video of games 27 through 31 will be available on NJCAA TV at www.njcaatv.ihigh.com.