2007 Softball Prospectus
Jan. 26, 2007
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A familiar team sits atop the Horizon League's preseason softball poll this year as the University of Illinois at Chicago claimed the top spot after winning at least a share of nine of the last 11 regular-season titles.
The Flames earned 48 points and six first place votes in the polling of the League's head coaches. Co-head coaches Sarah O'Malley-Fisher and Tom Gray head into the 2007 season attempting to make the prediction come true.
UIC has eight letterwinners returning from a team that went 14-6 in conference action last season. Sophomore Sarah Clynes headlines the squad after placing on the Second-Team All-League and earning Newcomer of the Year honors. The right-handed pitcher threw a team-best 169.1 innings, finishing with a 16-6 record and 2.44 ERA. She also had success at the plate and returns to the team with the top batting average (.304) and home run total (five) from a year ago.
Other key returnees include senior Liz Jacoby and junior Nicole Robinson. Jacoby batted .302 in 44 appearances for the Flames, while Robinson finished with a team-high 38 RBI.
Placing second in the poll is Yvette Healy and the Loyola University Chicago Ramblers. The team brings back its top two offensive threats from a year ago in seniors Tara Miller and Nora Schober. Miller led the Horizon League and set Rambler records with 50 runs scored and 34 stolen bases in 2006. Schober was a beneficiary of Miller being on the base paths as she led the team with 43 RBI.
Junior shortstop Katerina Krause also figures to be a main contributor to this season's squad, coming off of a season in which she set a Loyola record with 11 long balls. The pitching duties on this season's team will fall on sophomore Krista Crosson and junior Katie Schupbach. Crosson worked a team-high 157 innings a year ago and struck out a Rambler-best 87 batters, while Schubach went 1-3 in 70 innings in the circle.
Last year's tournament champion, Youngstown State University, sits in third place in the preseason forecast. Head coach Christy Cameron looks to carry forward the momentum of last season's strong finish.
Senior Karlie Burnell is expected to lead the pitching staff after posting a 16-10 record and 3.30 ERA in 35 appearances last year. The Brampton, Ontario, native earned the victory in each of the Penguins' four tournament games in 2006, earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Sophomore Kristen McDonnell will be looked upon to carry some of the YSU offensive load after the graduation of Tiffany Patteson. McDonnell had a school-best 10 home runs a year ago, while also notching team-best marks in RBI (31) and slugging percentage (.586).
Bob Wilkerson, the longest-tenured coach in the League, enters his 11th season at the University of Detroit Mercy and is projected as the fourth-place team in the conference. Reigning player of the year Kaleigh Rafter returns to the squad after setting a Titan-record with 12 deep flies in 2006. She led the League in home runs, RBI (35), slugging percentage (.725) and total bases (95).
Another All-League First-Team member returns to UDM in senior Sarah Dickey. Expected to anchor the infield at shortstop and bat leadoff in 2007, Dickey hit .420 in 20 League contests a year ago. The biggest question mark for the Titans comes in the circle as only one of four pitchers (Adrienne Baran) from last year's squad returns (81.2 of 292.0 innings pitched).
Cleveland State University, a year after making it to the final day of the Horizon League Championship, ranks fifth in the 2007 preseason poll. The Vikings ended the 2006 campaign with a 38-15 record (14-7 League) and will welcome in new head coach Angie Nicholson, a 2000 CSU graduate.
The Vikings return their top four batting averages from 2006 with junior Whitney Willard's .353 clip leading the pack. Senior Michele Penney and sophomore Christa Coppus expect to provide the power numbers on the club after knocking in 38 and 37 runs, respectively, a season ago.
CSU will have to replace 356.2 of 365 innings pitched last season with the departure of two key pitchers in Grace Luginbuhl (226 IP, 2.17 ERA, 224 SO) and Kortney Spidell (121 IP, 1.85 ERA, 43 SO). Christina Swierz returns as the only player to pitch last season, going 1-0 in three appearances (8.1 IP).
There will be a lot of new faces anticipated to produce for the sixth-slated University of Wisconsin-Green Bay as just four starters return. Of the team's four players to hit above .300 in 2006 only junior Jenna Woepse comes back. A First-Team All-League recipient for her performance last year, Woepse hit .356 with 20 runs scored in 32 games.
In the circle, the Phoenix needs to replace Lisa Meissner, the school's all-time career leader in strikeouts. Junior Vanessa Lefan and sophomore Amanda Margelofsky both saw limited action in the circle last year, pitching a combined 64.2 innings. Margelofsky posted a 3-6 record and 26 strikeouts, while Lefan had no decisions in five appearances.
Similar to several teams in the League this year, seventh-predicted Wright State University and head coach Mike Larabee need to replace most of the pitching staff from last season. Offensively, the Raiders look solid with four of their top five hitters from 2006 returning.
Junior Michelle Logan tops the group with a .301 average a year ago, while sophomore Melanie McInally leads all returnees in home runs (seven) and RBI (30). Senior Ashley Clapsaddle is the only pitcher to return to the club with just 21 innings pitched and nine strikeouts.
Butler University will be led by first-year head coach Jeanne Rayman in 2007. Rayman, a former player and assistant coach for the Bulldogs takes the reins and will look to improve upon a 17-30 overall record and a last-place finish in the Horizon League standings at 4-16.
Butler welcomes back junior first baseman Amy Hyerczyk, who was a First-Team All-League pick last spring after posting a .601 slugging percentage, good for second-best in the League. Junior outfielder Jenny Jacobs is also returning for the Bulldogs after being named to the All-League Second Team. Jacobs finished with a team-high 26 RBI last year and tied for top team honors in home runs (5).
Valparaiso University enters its final season in the Mid-Continent Conference and will officially join the Horizon League on July 1, 2007. The Crusaders finished fifth in the Mid-Con last season with a conference record of 9-15 (22-30 overall).
Senior Megan Carroll and junior Shannon Robinson figure to be two of Valpo's top offensive producers in the 2007 season. Carroll hit .410 with nine extra-base hits in just 24 contests a year ago. Robinson garnered Second-Team All-Mid-Con honors after finishing third in doubles (13) and 14th in batting averaged (.321). She also led VU in RBI with 24 on the season.
Valpo's entire pitching staff from 2006 returns with junior Andrea Zappia holding the best ERA (2.41), win total (10), and strikeout total (100) among the group. Sophomore Stephanie Kelly will attempt to follow up her solid freshman campaign in which she threw 103.1 innings, going 4-7 with a 3.45 ERA.
