MSU set for postseason

By Randall Jett

After rolling to the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title and a berth in the Region 12 tournament, Mountain State University has set its sights on claiming the KIAC tournament this week.

Coach Tim Berry likes his team’s chances of running the table in the conference tournament, which begins Thursday at Indiana University Southeast.

“It’s like any other tournament,” he said. “It just depends on how rested you are and what your mindset is. They’re hitting the ball real well right now, running the bases and the defense is solid. Our injuries are real minimal. We’re going into the tournament healthy. I think we have a good chance of winning the conference and even to go forward and win the region. I don’t want to look ahead right now. Just looking at the conference tournament, I think we have a better than average chance of winning it and going forward.”

MSU will begin play at 2 p.m. Friday.

The Cougars (26-16, 16-4 KIAC) enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed but will not find out who they face until today.

“We’re waiting on Berea College to play Midway College in a doubleheader,” Berry said. “If Midway sweeps them, then Midway will go No. 3. That would put Berea at No. 5 and Brescia at No. 4. We play the winner of four versus five.”

Mountain State had a rough start to the season but finished its annual Florida trip with two straight wins.

“We came out of Florida 3-9,” Berry said. “We made some defensive changes and that stabilized our infield.”

The Cougars had to replace most of the pitching staff from last season and that contributed to the shaky start.

“Pitching was a concern,” Berry said. “When you graduate three seniors off your pitching rotation, it’s certainly going to leave a void. Sarah Rapp stepped up. Being a fifth-year senior, she has the experience and maturity on the rubber to lead the way. She’s going to be our workhorse (in the tournament).”

Along with Rapp, freshmen Whitley Hayhurst and Brianna Hammond make up the MSU pitching staff.

After splitting a twinbill with Pikeville College, the Cougars went on an 11-game winning streak and finished the season strong.

A lot of that success came off the Cougars’ bats. MSU is ranked No. 1 in the NAIA in hits (11.45 per game) and doubles (106 in 42 games) and No. 2 in batting with a .411 team average.

The Cougars’ lineup has settled with Jennifer Sloan (.522) at catcher, Anna Kincaid (.452) at third base, Lauren Howell (.457, 21 doubles) at second base, Amber Lilly at shortstop and Sam Daniels at first base. Alex Albright (.409, 20 doubles) anchors the outfield in centerfield. She is flanked by Jen Baker in left and Brittany Lantz in right. Kaylie Layman (.402) is the designated hitter.

The speed at the top of the order has helped MSU manufacture runs.

“That’s where we were a little bit short last year,” Berry said. “We had the maturity last year but we didn’t have the speed on the basepaths. When you lead off with a speedster like Amber Lilly, who’s an excellent slapper from the left side, and then behind her, senior Jennifer Sloan. You get those two on the basepaths mixing it up, it’s something to see. They’re hard to throw out and they’re smart base runners.”

Win or lose, MSU will advance to the Region 12 Tournament in New Albany, Ind., which begins Thursday, May 8.

— E-mail:

rjett@register-herald.com