GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Cornerstone is set to play 12 games in the Sunshine State over spring break to kick off their season. The Golden Eagles return 16 letterwinners from last season while the program has added nine freshmen. Jim Farrell returns for his 16th season on the coaching staff, while former Cornerstone standout and All-American Heidi Walburg joins the coaching staff.

All of the games in Florida will have live stats available and can also be followed live on Twitter.
 

SCHEDULE

Saturday, March 3 -- Clermont, Fla. (Hancock Park)
Judson University - 8:30 a.m.
Mount Vernon Nazarene University - 10:30 a.m.

Monday, March 5 -- Leesburg, Fla. (Sleepy Hollow)
Trinity Christian College - 11:30 a.m.
Calumet College - 4:30 p.m.

Tuesday, March 6 -- Leesburg, Fla. (Sleepy Hollow)
Trinity International University - 10:00 a.m.
Bethel College (Ind.) - 12:00 p.m.

Thursday, March 8 -- Leesburg, Fla. (Sleepy Hollow)
Bellevue University - 11:00 a.m.
Spring Arbor University - 1:00 p.m.

Friday, March 9 -- Leesburg, Fla. (Sleepy Hollow)
Judson University - 4:30 p.m.
Midway University - 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 10 -- Clermont, Fla. (Hancock Park)
Hannibal LaGrange University - 3:30 p.m.
Indiana University at South Bend - 6:00 p.m.


SCOUTING REPORTS

Scouting Judson
• Judson finished 2017 with a 34-17 overall record.
• Skye Osborne led the Eagles in several categories as a freshman last season: Batting average (.400), hits (58), home runs (9), RBI (48), and slugging percentage (.731).
• In the circle, Lauren Herlihy finished with a 16-2 record last year. She boasted a 2.17 ERA and held the opposition to a .239 batting average over 135.1 innings pitched.
• Cornerstone defeated Judson 3-0 and 11-7 back in 2015.  

Scouting Mount Vernon Nazarene
• MVNU had a 20-30 overall record last year.
• Meghan May batted .325 with 31 RBI in 50 games last season. She also had a team-high 14 extra-base hits.
• Pitcher Anna Boue had an ERA of 1.98 and struck out 109 batters in 134.1 innings last season. She held opponents to a .238 average and pitched 14 complete games.
• Cornerstone defeated MVNU 4-3 last year.

Scouting Trinity Christian
• The Trolls had an overall record of 18-22 in 2017.
• Junior Jamie Budreau led the Trolls with a .388 batting average last year. She also led the team in hits (47), RBI (25), extra-base hits (12), and on-base percentage (.457).
• In the circle, Dara Megyesi struck out 98 batters in 133 innings while maintaining a 2.63 ERA last season.
• Cornerstone fell 13-0 and 5-3 to the Trolls in Florida last season.

Scouting Calumet
• Calumet finished with a 12-35 overall record in 2017.
• Senior Geena Locicero batted a solid .324 last season with 26 RBI's with a .475 slugging percentage.
• Senior Alyssa Sansone will return as the primary pitcher for the Crimson Wave. Last season she had an ERA of 3.98 with 17 complete games out of 20 games started.

Scouting Trinity International
• Trinity International had a 14-25 overall record in 2017.
• Payton Carli batted .390 in 39 games last season. She slugged .431 and compiled 48 hits and also stole a team-high 17 bases.
• At the plate, Taylor Carli batted .341 and slugged .424. In the circle, Taylor was the go-to pitcher for the Trojans as she had a team-best ERA of 3.34 over the course of 134.1 innings.

Scouting Bethel (Ind.)
• Bethel College had a 2-45 overall record in 2017.
• The Pilots were outscored 399-91 last season
• The Pilots and Golden Eagles split the two matchups in 2015, with Bethel winning 3-2 and CU winning 13-12.
• In 2017, Hunter Bremmett led the team with six homers and a .540 slugging percentage to go along with 17 RBI.

Scouting (RV) Bellevue
• Bellevue ended the 2017 season at No. 23 in the NAIA Top-25 Poll. They had the 7th most runs scored of any team in the NAIA.
• Erin Sharpe led the entire NAIA with 28 home runs last season, two of which came against Cornerstone in the Bruins' 7-0 victory. She also drove in 79 RBI and slugged .950.
• The Bruins had a combined batting average of an even .300 last season.
• Pitcher Kelli Fisher had the fifth-most wins in the NAIA with 30. In 248 innings, she struck out 207 batters and had a 1.15 ERA.

Scouting Spring Arbor
• Spring Arbor finished 19-37 overall last season.
• Last year, Kelsey Brown batted .355, had 21 RBI, hit five homers and stole ten bases. Brown was also the primary pitcher, with a team-best 4.09 ERA in 150.2 innings of work, holding the opposition to a .321 batting average.
• Sydney Taylor finished 2017 with a .339 batting average, 24 extra-base hits, and 40 RBI.
• The Golden Eagles defeated the Cougars 4-3 and 10-0 in Florida last season.

Scouting Midway
• After going 4-28 overall in 2015 and 8-34 overall in 2016, the Eagles turned around the program and finished 29-18 overall in 2017.
• In 2017, Kelsey Gravens had the sixth-best slugging percentage (.876) in the NAIA. Gravens had a .438 batting average, 49 RBI, 15 homers, and 36 extra-base hits.
• Midway's top three pitchers from last season will not return for the 2018 campaign so they will look to new arms to carry the team defensively.

Scouting Hannibal-LaGrange
• The Trojans finished 21-25 overall in 2017.
• Jordyn Alford led the team with 30 RBI last season while boasting a .517 slugging percentage.
• The Trojans have very little pitching experience returning to their 2018 squad as their top two arms from the 2017 campaign will not be returning.
• Midway's top three pitchers from last season will not return for the 2018 campaign so they will look to new arms to carry the team defensively.
• The Golden Eagles and Trojans have split the four games they have played since 2013, with the most recent being a 4-3 CU victory in 2016.

Scouting Indiana University at South Bend
• Head Coach Brittney Lightfoot will return to the helm of the program after leading the team to a 14-20 overall record in their inaugural season.
• The Titans combined for a respectable .282 batting average last season.
• Brooke Boss led the team with a .378 batting average with 22 RBI and a .577 slugging percentage last season.
• Of returning pitchers, Delaney Cole will have the biggest impact on the team. She pitched 80 innings with a 3.68 ERA as a freshman last year.
 

KEY RETURNING GOLDEN EAGLES (ROSTER)

• Lexi Lieske: In her freshman season, Lexi Lieske led the team with a .333 batting average and a .524 slugging percentage. Over 28 games she tallied 12 RBI's, with seven of them coming in a single game against Aquinas.

• Mackenzie Vallad: Vallad has started all 82 of her Golden Eagle career, putting up a batting average of .275 over the past two seasons. She has shown her power with the bat by tallying 24 extra base hits over that span, including four home runs. As a freshman in 2016, she led the team in hits with 45. The infielder will play a crucial role for the Golden Eagles both offensively and defensively.

• Rachel Younts: Younts will be a important piece to the team this season. She started all 42 games for the Golden Eagles last season as a pitcher/first baseman. She batted .248 with a team-high 31 hits in 2017. In the field, Younts led the team with 142 putouts and a .984 fielding percentage. Younts was the number two pitcher in the rotation last season, finishing with a 5.38 ERA over 95.1 innings.

• Brooke Leonard: Leonard will be the go-to pitcher for the Golden Eagles for the fourth season. Over the past three seasons, she has a career ERA of 3.35. She has a win-loss record of 20-28 in 52 total games started.

• Annie Fila: The senior outfielder has a career batting average of .264 and a slugging percentage of .324.In the field, Fila has a .951 career fielding percentage.

• Alicia Ontiveros: Ontiveros appeared in all 42 games last season as a freshman infielder. She batted .257, had an on-base percentage of .311, and had a team-high nine sacrifice hits.

• Jessica Wright: Wright has been the primary catcher for Cornerstone for the past few seasons--and she brings some presence to the plate as well. She has tallied 39 RBI and has hit seven home runs in her career, good for a slugging percentage of .351.
 

***FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CORNERSTONE SOFTBALL, THE SCHEDULE, COACHING STAFF, ROSTER, AND MORE, CLICK THE "SOFTBALL GAME NOTES" TAB LINKED ABOVE.***

Softball Contact: Seth Walters
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