Limited Roster Faces Western Kentucky on Saturday

Saturday, April 8

Bowling Green, Ky.

1:00 PM

Middle Tennessee

Western Kentucky

Photo by: MT

4/7/2006 1:41:00 PM | Softball

By: MT Media Relations

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - When Middle Tennessee softball opens Sun Belt Conference play on Saturday, against Western Kentucky, the club will do so with a very slim roster. The Blue Raiders' limited roster can be attributed to injuries and player hardships. Four players have been sidelined due to an injury and one player had to leave the team due to an illness in the family. Middle Tennessee has just 10 active players on the roster with just two pitchers. In an almost mirror image of last year, most of the pitching duties will fall on the shoulders of sophomore Ashley Katinas. The St. Louis, Missouri native has been trying to find her rhythm this season after sitting out the remainder of last season due to an injury. In 2006, Katinas has had 16 appearances with a 5.56 ERA and a record of 2-5. She has recorded 14 strikeouts and given up 24 walks. Junior Trish White will also see action on the mound for the Blue Raiders but she is limited to the amount of innings she can play. White has appeared in 23 games with a record of 2-10 and has recorded 23 strikeouts. The Blue Raiders top pitcher, freshman Laura Moore, has been sidelined for the rest of the season with an injury. Moore leads the pitching tandem with the most wins, five, and also recorded a team-leading 47 strikeouts. Fellow freshman Samantha Floyd, who has pitched for the Blue Raiders this season, will also be sidelined due to an injury. However, Floyd will possibly be back in the line-up by the end of the month. Senior Michelle Wilkes is recovering from an illness and will hopefully return to the lineup in the coming weeks. Before being sidelined, Wilkes had a .268 batting average with 22 hits and seven runs scored. At the plate, Middle Tennessee is led by sophomore Katie Mielke who is carrying a .333 batting average with 26 hits, five doubles, two homeruns, nine RBI and 15 runs scored. Redshirt junior Muriel Ledbetter ranks second in batting average, .316, and leads the team in the power categories. Ledbetter tops the squad with 10 doubles, six homeruns, 16 RBI and 18 runs scored. Junior Shelby Stiner rounds out the Blue Raider players with a .300 plus batting average with .308. Stiner leads the team in triples with two and is also second on the team in RBI with 10. In the last 10 games, Stiner is hitting .448 with 13 hits, one double, two triples, one homerun, six RBI and five runs scored. The Blue Raiders will face a Western Kentucky team, on Saturday, who is coming off a pair of losses to the University of Kentucky. The Hilltoppers are 19-17 overall and 5-5 at home. WKU is led, on the mound, by Adrienne Lathrop who is 12-7 on the year with an ERA of 2.53. At the plate, Western Kentucky is led by Bailey Rolfs who is hitting .302 and also has 23 RBI. Rolfs is the only player on the Hilltopper club who is hitting above .300. Middle Tennessee is currently 9-27-1 and is 1-11-1 in away games.