Lawrence won the North Division title and earned a berth in the four-team, double-elimination tournament with a doubleheader sweep of Beloit College on Monday. The Vikings head into the tournament as the No. 1 seed from the North with an 18-13 overall record and a 9-4 conference mark. Lawrence opens play at 10:00 a.m. Friday against Monmouth College. Lake Forest takes on St. Norbert College in the other opening game.
This is Lawrence's first trip to the conference tournament since 1999, when the Vikings won their third consecutive MWC championship. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships, and Lawrence made back-to-back national tournament appearances in 1998 and '99.
The Vikings won their spot in the conference tournament with solid pitching, good defense, and an offense sparked by lead-off hitter Jenny Burris (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township).
The Lawrence pitching staff is headed by junior Amy Varda (Mackinaw, Ill./University) and freshman Lauren Kost (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North). Kost, who was the MWC North Division Player of the Week after beating Ripon College and Beloit in the past week, has a 10-3 record with a 1.84 earned run average. Varda, who saw limited action in her first two seasons, has stepped to the forefront this year and leads the Vikings with 120 innings pitched. She has a 7-8 record with a 2.70 ERA.
The other half of the battery is catcher Erica White (San Andreas, Calif./Calaveras). The senior has played nearly every position on the field since coming to Lawrence, but this is her first year behind the plate. She has been a solid backstop, posting a .969 fielding percentage and throwing out 11 of 21 runners attempting to steal (52.4 percent). White is fourth on the team in hitting at .308, and she leads the squad with 22 runs batted in.
The offense gets off and running, literally, on the legs of Burris, an All-Midwest Conference and All-Great Lakes Region selection last season. The sophomore shortstop is among the nation's leaders in stolen bases and has swiped 35 bases in 38 attempts this season. She also leads the team in batting average (.366), runs (28), hits (41), and doubles (9).
Burris' double-play partner is sophomore second baseman Shannon Arendt (Hortonville/Hortonville). An all-region pick as a freshman, Arendt is batting .278 from the No. 2 spot in the lineup, but she has proven to be a clutch hitter. Arendt is hitting .391 (18-for-46) with runners on base and .390 (16-for-41) with runners in scoring position.
Sophomore Ashley Stanton (Beloit/Memorial) has started every game at first base and sophomore Melissa Batog (Greenfield/Greenfield) has started all but three games at third base. Both players check in with .247 batting averages.
The outfield is led by senior center fielder Kiana Neal (Eugene, Ore./South), who is third on the team in hitting at .315 with eight doubles and 13 RBIs. Junior Sara Sager (Bowie, Ariz./San Simon) is second in hitting at .348 and mans left field. Sophomore Jodie Primus (Madison/La Follette) has started all but one game in right field and has a .229 batting average.
The Vikings have faced the other three teams in the tourney and have a 2-2 record against them. Lawrence swept a doubleheader from St. Norbert by the scores of 2-1 and 3-1 but dropped a 3-0 decision to Lake Forest and lost 5-2 to Monmouth at the MWC Classic.
The host Foresters (23-10, 10-3 MWC), ranked 11th in the latest USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III poll, are led by pitching aces Nancy Findeisen and Leigh Anne Furgerson. Findeisen is 11-5 with a 0.80 ERA and has struck out 114 batters while walking just nine in 105 innings. Furgerson is 10-4 with a 1.44 ERA in 87.2 innings.
Monmouth (17-13, 9-4) also has two standout pitchers in Shanda Symonds (9-3, 1.80 ERA) and Shelly Orwig (8-10, 2.06 ERA). The Scots' top player in the field is senior outfielder Jen Witmer, who leads the squad with a .352 batting average and 21 RBIs.
St. Norbert (16-13, 9-4) relies on ace Andrea Leystra, a sophomore from Mayville. Leystra is 11-3 with a 0.98 ERA in 100 innings. Junior outfielder Lisa Immel provides the punch for the Green Knights with a .388 batting average.
MWC Tournament schedule
Friday
Game 1
10:00 a.m. Lawrence vs. Monmouth
Game 2
Noon Lake Forest vs. St. Norbert
Game 3
2:00 p.m. Loser of game one vs. loser of game two
Game 4
4:00 p.m. Winner of game one vs. winner of game two
Saturday
Game 5
10:00 a.m. Winner of game three vs. loser of game four
Game 6
Noon Championship Game
Game 7 (if necessary)
2:00 p.m. Second Championship Game