Feb. 7, 2005
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INDIANAPOLIS - Coming off its unprecendented sixth Horizon League Championship in 2004, UIC is the favorite in 2005 as the League's head coaches have the Flames once again picked to win the title.
UIC received 49 points, including seven first-place votes, as the coaches' selection to finish in the top spot. Cleveland State, the 1997 League champion, followed in second place with 41 points (one first place, four second place and two third place), beating out Youngstown State (33 points) which was picked to finish in third.
Loyola (32), last season's tournament runner-up, sits in the fourth spot, while 2002 runner-up Butler (27) was picked to finish in fifth place. Rounding out the poll, 2003 champion Wright State (16) edged out Detroit (14) for the sixth spot, while UW-Green Bay (12) was chosen to finish in the eighth place.
After capturing the 2004 Horizon League title, UIC made an impressive showing in the NCAA Tournament as the seventh-seeded Flames finished the regional with a 3-2 record, including wins over nationally ranked Notre Dame and Tennessee, and concluded the 2004 campaign with a 42-23 mark. Behind the leadership of last season's Horizon League Coaches of the Year Sarah O'Malley-Fisher and Tom Gray, UIC will attempt to capture its seventh conference title since joining the League in 1996. The Flames return only two seniors this season, 2003 First-Team All-League selection Sara Hernandez (3B) and 2004 First-Team honoree Cameron Astiazaran (OF). Astiazaran led the Flames last season with a .381 batting average and a team-high 82 hits (25 doubles, two triples, nine homeruns), while Hernandez hit .285 from the plate while scoring 39 runs along with a .951 fielding percentage from her third-base position. On the mound, UIC will rely on junior right-hander Brittany McIntyre, who led the Flames last season with an 11-6 record and a team-best ERA of 2.08. She struck-out 65 batters and gave up only 35 earned runs all season. Also returning are 2004 First-Team All-League selection junior shortstop Joyce Cathey and sophomore catcher Elizabeth Jacoby. Along with Hernandez, Cathey started and played in all 65 contests last season, accumulating a .289 average from the plate and was second on the team with seven stolen bases on eight attempts. Jacoby, the 2004 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year, compiled a .296 batting average with two home runs and 17 RBI in her rookie campaign.
Cleveland State enters the 2005 softball season after going 26-27 overall (13-6 Horizon League) last year. After defeating No. 7 Detroit in its first match-up of last season's League tournament, the second-seeded Vikings were upset by third-seeded Loyola in their second game and then eliminated by No. 8 Wright State on day two. This season Cleveland State returns two 2004 Second-Team All-Horizon League selections in junior Grace Luginbuhl and sophomore catcher/outfielder Michele Penney. From the mound, Luginbuhl went 15-11 with a team-best 1.77 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 42 appearances. In 26 starts, she recorded 17 complete games, four of which were shutouts. From the plate, Luginbuhl went .203 with nine RBI, while going a perfect 11 for 11 on stolen bases last season. Penney, a member of the 2004 All-Newcomer Team, tallied 20 hits and 13 RBI with a .253 batting average. Head Coach Julie Jones is also returning a pair of experienced seniors in catcher Jackie Cornelius and outfielder Michelle Nicholas. Nicholas, who started and played in all 53 contests last season, was second on the team with a .280 batting average and 49 hits. Cornelius was third on the squad with a .270 average and 40 hits, but was more valuable in the field where she recorded a team-high 271 put-outs and only two errors from her catcher position.
Youngstown State, who went 29-22 overall (8-7 Horizon League) a year ago, returns two-time First-Team All-Horizon League honoree junior infielder Tiffany Patteson. Behind 2003 Horizon League Player of the Year Amanda Berry, Patteson was second on the Penguins with a .352 batting average, while tallying 56 hits (19 doubles) and knocking in 18 runs last season. She also led the team in runs scored with 37. From the circle, head coach Christy Cameron will once again look toward Kelly Murphy to lead the Penguin pitching attack. Murphy, the 2003 Horizon League Pitcher of the Year, went 14-12 last season while recording a team-high 1.46 ERA and 131 strikeouts. As a freshman, she set Youngstown State records in single-season victories (22) and strikeouts (179). She also tossed only the fourth no-hitter in Horizon League Tournament history in an 8-0 victory over Detroit in 2003. The Penguins also return senior infielders Char Kudlock and Kiisha Warfield. Kudlock went .255 from the plate a year ago with 38 hits and 24 RBI, while recording a .957 fielding percentage with 125 put-outs. Warfield recorded 35 hits with 10 RBI and a .227 batting average last season.
