KENOSHA, Wis. – Parkside softball returns home this weekend to open an eight-game homestand with a pair of GLIAC doubleheaders at Case Softball Complex, hosting Davenport on Friday before welcoming Ferris State on Saturday.
The weekend begins Friday, April 3, when the Rangers take on Davenport in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. CT. Parkside then turns around on Saturday, April 4, to face Ferris State in another conference twinbill beginning at noon CT.
ABOUT THE RANGERS:
Parkside enters the weekend 11-19 overall and 2-6 in GLIAC play, tied with Davenport for sixth in the conference standings. The Rangers are coming off a tough weekend on the road after being swept in doubleheaders by Wayne State on Saturday and Saginaw Valley State on Sunday, stretching their current skid to five games. Still, every loss during that streak has come by two runs or fewer, showing just how thin the margin has been in each of those contests.
Offensively, Parkside continues to lean on one of the most dangerous bats in the conference and the country in Mia Johnson. Through 30 games, Johnson is hitting .465 with 40 hits, 16 doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 26 RBI, 32 runs scored and 33 walks, while posting a .988 slugging percentage and .613 on-base percentage. She leads the GLIAC in batting average, doubles, runs scored, slugging percentage, total bases and on-base percentage, and also ranks among the national leaders in several of those categories. Johnson's 16 doubles are fourth in Division II, while her on-base percentage ranks fourth nationally and her 33 walks are second in the country.
Parkside has also gotten solid production throughout the lineup. Isabel Aranda is batting .345 with seven doubles, four home runs and 19 RBI. Ava Swain is hitting .291 with 25 hits, 18 walks, six hit-by-pitches, three home runs and 13 RBI, while Reese Valha has eight doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI. Cici Di Silvio has matched Valha with eight doubles and has driven in 16 runs, and Megan Medlin has added 14 RBI.
As a team, the Rangers are batting .266 with 54 doubles, 25 home runs and 133 RBI while ranking sixth in the GLIAC in batting average. Parkside has shown its power and patience all season, leading the league in doubles, while also consistently generating offense with extra-base hits and free passes.
In the circle, the Rangers own a 3.78 team ERA, good for fourth in the GLIAC. Holly Lowenberg has been the staff's workhorse, going 6-6 with a 2.87 ERA in 83 innings while tossing a league-best nine complete games. Casey Jo Vermett has been the top strikeout arm in the conference, piling up 86 punchouts in 66.2 innings while going 5-5 with a 3.99 ERA. Her average of roughly 9.0 strikeouts per seven innings continues to rank among the best marks in the league.
SCOUTING DAVENPORT:
Davenport comes to Kenosha 6-24 overall and 2-6 in GLIAC play, tied with Parkside in the conference standings. The Panthers enter the weekend on a six-game losing streak after getting swept in road doubleheaders by Grand Valley State and Purdue Northwest last weekend. Davenport was picked to finish tied for sixth in the GLIAC preseason poll and is led by first-year head coach Brad Koch.
The Panthers are batting .240 as a team, which places them seventh in the GLIAC, and they have scored 93 runs through 30 games. Chloe Bruman leads the club with a .349 batting average and 11 stolen bases, while Alaina Schwanke is hitting .319 with six doubles, a home run and 15 RBI. Chloe Parker has provided some of the pop in the lineup with four home runs and a .525 slugging percentage, and Ally Prasnjak has scored 17 runs while adding 10 RBI. Lexie McCarty has also chipped in 10 RBI.
Pitching has been Davenport's biggest challenge so far. The Panthers carry a 5.38 team ERA, the highest mark in the GLIAC, and opponents are batting .324 against them. Hannah Tahaney has been the most effective regular starter with a 4.01 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 64.2 innings, while Kayla Widner has logged 32 innings with a 4.38 ERA. As a staff, Davenport has allowed 269 hits and 182 runs in 194 innings.
These games will mark the 26th and 27th all-time meetings between the programs. Parkside is 11-14 all-time against Davenport, but the Rangers have won eight of the last 10 matchups overall and went 3-1 against the Panthers last season. In Kenosha, Parkside is 5-7 against Davenport, though the teams split their doubleheader at Case Softball Complex on April 26, 2025.
SCOUTING FERRIS STATE:
Ferris State enters the weekend 18-15 overall and 4-4 in GLIAC play, tied for third in the conference standings. The Bulldogs are coming off a split weekend on the road, sweeping Purdue Northwest before dropping both games the following day to Grand Valley State. Ferris State will also play Roosevelt on Friday before heading to Kenosha. Last season, head coach Jake Schumann guided the Bulldogs to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time since 2013 after a 28-win season, the program's highest total in a decade.
Ferris State is hitting .281 as a team, which ranks fifth in the GLIAC, and has scored 169 runs in 33 games. Ava Gardner has been one of the top power threats in the conference, batting .384 with seven doubles, two triples, six home runs and 24 RBI while scoring 23 runs. Alexis Kozlowski has been just as dangerous, hitting .343 with eight doubles, three home runs and a team-high 26 RBI. Emma Gillard has added five home runs and 23 RBI, while Emma Herremans owns a .318 average and a team-high 21 walks. Ella McDonald has also been a spark at the top of the lineup, scoring 22 runs and stealing eight bases.
In the circle, Ferris State owns a 4.04 team ERA, which ranks sixth in the GLIAC. Cecelia Bell has done the bulk of the work, going 7-7 with a 3.37 ERA across 83 innings. Katie Shuboy is 7-4 with a 3.69 ERA and two shutouts in 68.1 innings, giving the Bulldogs a solid one-two punch. Ferris pitchers have struck out 128 hitters in 213.1 innings.
Saturday's games will be the 47th and 48th all-time meetings between Parkside and Ferris State, with the Rangers holding a slim 23-22-1 edge in the series dating back to 1992. Last season, Ferris State went 3-2 against Parkside in five meetings, taking the first three before the Rangers split a regular-season doubleheader in Kenosha and then eliminated the Bulldogs from the GLIAC Tournament behind Ellie Curtis' no-hitter. In Kenosha, Parkside is 7-8 all-time against Ferris State, and the two teams are an even 5-5 over the last 10 matchups.
LOOKING AHEAD:
After this weekend, Parkside remains at home and continues its homestand on Saturday, April 11, when the Rangers host Saginaw Valley State for a doubleheader beginning at noon CT at Case Softball Complex.
To keep up with Ranger Athletics, visit parksiderangers.com/coverage.
