By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
This afternoon the Dowagiac varsity baseball and softball teams will see what they are made of as they travel to St. Joseph for Big-16 Conference West Division doubleheaders.
The Bears and Lady Bears are key factors in the race for the division championships. Both doubleheaders are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
Dowagiac will take a 16-3 record into today's baseball games against the Bears, who are ranked No. 9 in the latest coaches poll with a 10-3 record as of April 30.
Dowagiac has shown the ability to be resilliant. The Chieftains have come from behind multiple times this season and never are out of any contest.
Pitching and a solid offense have been the keys to success for Dowagiac.
Kruger said that the Chieftains will need to put the ball in play against the Bears' pitchers.
Offensively the Chieftains are led by Matthew Carlson, who is hitting .475 with 15 stolen bases. Carlson has four triples, two doubles and has driven in eight runs.
Jonathon Bartee is hitting .357 with four doubles, two triples, a home run and a team-high 18 RBIs. Jeff Cooper is hitting .356 with three doubles and 16 RBIs.
Brandon Zachary, Davey Moran and Chris Singleton all have four victories on the mound for the Chieftains, while Jason McIntyre has three wins. Moran leads the team in strikeouts with 38. Zachary, who is undefeated on the year, has an ERA of 0.89.
Dowagiac is starting a 10-game stretch over the next week. It will be imperative that the Chieftains remain focused over that stretch.
The Dowagiac varsity softball team will take a 72 inning scoreless streak into today's doubleheader.
The Chieftains are 18-1 on the season and ranked No. 4 in the newest coaches poll.
Pitching and defense are the name of the game for the Chieftains, however, Dowagiac has shown plenty of pop at the plate this season.
Dowagiac is hitting .375 as a team with 38 doubles, five triples and seven home runs.
Three different players have two home runs.
The offense is led by Mandy Parish's .472 average. Parish has four doubles, two triples and two home runs already. She also has 17 RBIs.
Jenna Stuppy is hitting .469 with nine doubles, a triple, two home runs and 15 RBIs. Rachel Minikel is hitting .450 with eight doubles, two home runs and a team-high 23 RBIs.
In the center circle, Kelly Tomczak is perfect with a 10-0 record. She has been nearly perfect when it comes to giving up runs. Tomczak has allowed just three runs all season, of which, one was earned. Her ERA is a miniscule 0.11.
Tomczak has struck out 111 and walked just 11. She has given up only 15 hits.
Stuppy is 7-1 on the season with an ERA of 2.15. Stuppy has 67 strikeouts and just 19 walks. She has allowed 30 hits.
The Chieftains will host Niles on Thursday before hosting Lakeshore on Monday, May 12. The Big-16 Conference West Division doubleheaders are both scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.