Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Softball prepares for 2006 season
01/20/2006 | 12:00:00 | Softball
Jan. 20, 2006
By Matt Crouch
www.siusalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Returning 14 letterwinners from last season's team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third-straight year, the Southern Illinois University softball team has its sights set high for the 2006 season.
And why shouldn't they be high?
The Salukis posted a SIU and Missouri Valley Conference-record 47 wins in 2005, up from 45 in 2004. SIU didn't come to that point very easily either as the team faced some of the top competition in the country, managing only 14 losses.
Southern Illinois also finished ranked in the top 25 for the third consecutive year, finishing #24 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. SIU also faced eight ranked opponents in 12 games, picking up wins in six of them.
Though some may look at the loss of four seniors that had a huge impact on the team and worry, Saluki head coach Kerri Blaylock isn't worried at all. "It's interesting, every year you come off of a good year and you hope that you can match that and last year it exceeded every expectation that I could have with that group of kids," said Blaylock.
From the 2005 squad, SIU loses pitcher Amy Harre, first-baseman Kelly Creek, and outfielders Maria Damico and Katie Jordan.
Harre re-wrote the SIU pitching record books in her tenure at SIU while Damico, Creek and Jordan have their names peppered all over SIU's hitting records.
Though those are some big shoes to fill, Blaylock believes that this year's roster of seasoned veterans and youth should be interesting to watch.
"We do have a lot of youth and a lot of young kids that we are going to have to infuse in the mix. But, I think we also have a lot of good veteran leadership," said Blaylock.
"I would like to say that our goal is to win a conference championship again and get to a NCAA regional. I think that we need to make that our goal where our program is at right now."
Of the 14 returning players, four of them make up a senior class that has been there and seen all of the success that the program has experienced through the past few seasons.
Christina Andrews, Samantha Carter, Katie Louis and Lauren Roney have been to three NCAA Tournaments and have been a part of teams that have recorded a combined record of 131-45 over the past three seasons.
That gives this senior class a winning percentage of .744, winning almost three out of every four games it has played.
"I think it is invaluable that those kids have made it to a postseason their first three years and we are hoping that they will be the first class in history to make it to a postseason in all four years," said Blaylock.
The standout of the group is Louis, who has established herself as one of SIU's most prolific hitters. She is currently second on the career home run list, sitting 10 behind Jordan.
Carter and Roney have also provided a strong presence in the infield at second base and catcher, respectively. Both earned second-team All-MVC honors last year.
"I think that Katie Louis is more of a vocal leader. She gets out there, she is very intense and she plays hard. Samantha Carter might not utter a word, but she is going to do everything. She flys around the infield and will dive and slide," said Blaylock.
"Then you've got Lauren Roney who is maybe 5-foot, 2-inches tall but plays tougher than any 6-2 person that you could every have. I think she could play on the football team - that is how tough she is."
Also back is Andrews who has mostly seen action as a pinch-runner. "Christina Andrews has been here through everything. She scored some big-time runs for us and just really goes out and does her job," said Blaylock.
"I think that those kids are invaluable because they really know what it takes to get where we need to be."
Along with Carter (2B), Louis (3B) and Roney (C/2B), the Salukis return starters Amanda Clifton (C), Becky Wegmann (SS), Krystal Stein (OF) and Tiffanie Dismore (OF) from last season. Lauren Haas (SS) also saw a good amount of time as a starter.
The Salukis also add five newcomers to this season's roster. Joining the team are Katherine Dieckmann from Lisle, Ill.; Katie McNamara from Putnam Valley, N.Y.; Katie Schmidt from Millstadt, Ill.; Katie Wagner from Mt. Vernon, Ill.; and Jayme Wamsley from Hermitage, Tenn.
PITCHING
"I think every year, starting three or four years ago, you lose a group and you start to think `how am I going to replace them?' because they are such a good group that you just try to recruit and hope that other people will step up and fill the void," said Blaylock.
Losing Amy Harre from the pitching staff is a tough blow to take, but Coach Blaylock already has her pitching arsenal stocked back up and ready to take the field in 2006.
Leading the way is junior Cassidy Scoggins, who managed to do in 2005 what no other pitcher has been able to do since Harre arrived - beat her out for the team's best ERA.
In 32 appearances, Scoggins struck out 191 batters and allowed only 21 earned runs for a 0.94 ERA. She finished the season with a 20-5 record after pitching 18 complete games with nine shutouts.
She earned MVC Pitcher of the Week honors once and was named national player of the week by two different associations.
Scoggins also went on to earn first-team All-MVC honors as well as the Great Lakes All-Region First Team.
"On the circle we have Cassidy Scoggins who had a really good sophomore campaign and we are hoping that she can stay at the level that she was at last year and win ball games," said Blaylock.
The other returning pitcher for the Salukis this season is junior Ashley Hamby. Though Hamby did not see action in many games, she made the most of her time posting a 4-0 record in her 10 appearances.
Hamby recorded a 1.02 ERA, giving up 27 hits and five earned runs while striking out 32 batters in her 34.1 innings in the circle.
"I'm really excited about Ashley Hamby and where she is at right now and where she is throwing," said Blaylock. "Ashley hasn't had too many opportunities and she is really anxious to get out there and share some of the load, which she will do. And, I'm really excited about the way she was throwing this fall, the leadership, the competitiveness that she showed."
Rounding out the Saluki pitching staff is the freshman McNamara.
"Katie McNamara is a very good freshman who has had a ton of top-level summer ball experience. Now we just need to get her some innings and get her some confidence and get her feeling comfortable at the Division I level," said Blaylock.
McNamara has already taken the first steps in gaining that confidence and she saw a considerable amount of action in the Salukis' three fall tournaments.
In 19.2 innings pitched, McNamara posted a 2-1 record and a 1.77 ERA. She gave up only 14 hits, while striking out 23 batters.
POSITION PLAYERS
Even though SIU lost two position players and a designated player from last season, the Salukis return a roster that has experience in each position on the field.
Roney and Clifton shared time at catcher while Hamby saw some time at first base, in place of Creek. Though Hamby will see more in the way of pitching duties this season, freshman Wagner is expected to step in and fill the first-base position.
Carter played most of the season at second base with Roney filling in when she was not catching. Louis provided consistency at third base, starting all but two games in the position.
"We are putting Lauren Roney everywhere. I would say that she is the best utility player in the conference by far. I could probably play her anywhere but pitcher," said Blaylock.
Wegmann and Hass split time at shortstop in 2005, with Haas seeing more playing time later in the season.
"We feel like we have two of the best shortstops in the Midwest, if not the country, in Becky Wegmann and Lauren Haas. It is my job to get them playing time and move Haas into some other positions. I think there is going to be a lot of versatility in the infield," said Blaylock.
In the outfield, Stein, Chelsea Petty and Dismore all saw a considerable amount of action in 2005. Dismore played primarily in right field while Petty was mostly in left field. Stein floated among all three outfield positions throughout the season.
"I think those position players look great. I think our outfield is built on speed. I'm anxious and excited about those kids because they fly around and are very aggressive," said Blaylock.
Blaylock also believes that the speed will come in useful on the offensive end.
"I feel like overall that is another great quality of our team, our team speed. We are going to steal a lot of bases this year, we are going to try to take some risks."
OFFENSE
Team offense is another area that the Salukis have some big shoes to fill. Jordan, Damico and Creek accounted for 132 of SIU's hits and 30 of the team's 67 home runs.
"I think that what we lost in Creek, Damico and Jordan was just offensive explosion. You are talking about the kids that batted in the heart of the lineup the majority of the year. So, again, you look for people to step up," said Blaylock.
Louis returns as the team's biggest hitter, knocking 12 out of the park in 2005 while hitting .229. The senior also batted in 37 runners.
Along with Louis, SIU will be looking to a trio of sophomores to lead the offensive charge after their superb campaigns as freshmen.
Stein, a first-team All-MVC and All-Great Lakes Region first team selection, led the team with a .359 average. Though she does not hit the long ball, Stein is reliable to get on base as she did it almost half the time in 2005 (.429 OB%).
Following Stein is Dismore, who was second on the team in hitting with a .343 average. Dismore also tallied a team-high four triples on the season, along with a team-high 58 hits.
Rounding out the sophomore trio is Haas. She hit .308, good enough for fourth on the team behind Stein, Dismore and Jordan.
Haas was also fourth on the team in home runs with seven and posted a team-best .662 slugging percentage.
Though she did not see as many at bats as several of the other players, Petty proved last season that she could be an offensive force for the Salukis.
In only 80 at bats, Petty hit six home runs and five doubles. She finished the season with a .288 batting average and a .575 slugging percentage. But, the team's offensive power is not limited to this short list of returning players. Following the fall tournaments, Blaylock is every optimistic about the team's offensive capability.
"We had a great fall, we feel like we kind of settled in to a lineup in the fall. Last year, kids like Petty, Hamby and Hass who had six or seven home runs in 70 at bats. So, they had fewer at bats than the other kids, but came up with the home runs," said Blaylock.
"I just hope that we have balance all up and down the lineup. In the fall, Wamsley did a great job, Wegmann did a great job, so I hope that we are really balanced 1 - 9 again.
"I think we are going to be built with Stein, Dismore and Schmidt and have a lot of speed. And then you put power into it, I think freshmen Wagner and Wamsley could help out with home run totals. I think, hopefully, we are going to be balanced all the way through."
SCHEDULE
Eight games into the 2005 season, the Salukis sported a 3-5 record - two games below .500. It was at this point that Coach Blaylock thought it may have been a mistake scheduling opponents that difficult.
Looking back, 44 wins later, Blaylock came back by scheduling teams that are just as, if not more, difficult than those the team faced in 2005.
The Salukis will take on seven non-conference teams that were either ranked or received votes in either the final USA Today/NFCA or ESPN.com/USA Softball polls
SIU starts off the season with tournaments in St. Augustine, Fla. and Starkville, Miss., before playing in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga.
In those first three weeks of the season, SIU will face the likes of Central Florida, Texas Tech, Mississippi State, Michigan State and Georgia.
Big 12 member Iowa will make the trip to play in the Southern Classic in Carbondale before the Salukis head out to California for the National Invitational.
In the National Invitational, SIU is pooled with Arizona State and UC Davis. Also competing in the National Invitational are 11 teams that finished in the top 25 in 2005, including national champion Michigan.
Also, as part of SIU's non-conference schedule, the Salukis will make the trip back to Columbia, Mo. to face the University of Missouri, the team that laid the final blow on the Salukis in the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
"I thought last year that I was going to have a heart attack at the beginning of the year because of what we were facing. When you start out 3-5 but then we went 43-5 at one stretch, I figured out that it really does you well to play some tough teams. So, we went out and tried to schedule again at a level that we thought we could compete at," said Blaylock.
"We are really excited about getting invited back to the Leadoff Classic, which will have some of the best teams in the country. And we wanted to go out to California and play in the National Invitational.
"So, I think our schedule is very, very competitive and will hopefully get us ready for conference, which is what you hope to do. And, also get your RPI up enough so that people will notice you because you've gone out and played some people."
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE
With all but four teams finishing above .500 last season, Blaylock sees the MVC becoming a more competitive league for softball, making it a challenge for the Salukis to make that return trip to the NCAA Tournament.
SIU was one of three Valley teams to make the tournament last season.
Creighton earned the league's automatic bid after winning the MVC Tournament while Wichita State earned it's way in by merit of it's 46-18 record.
"I really think that the favorite going out is Wichita State. They have a bulk of people back from their team that did so great. They have a great pitcher back," said Blaylock.
"Illinois State has all of their pitching back. They are young everywhere else. Creighton is always tough. I think Missouri State is going to surprise some people this year.
"I think what has started to happen is the bottom has come up to meet the middle and there is going to be a lot of tough teams. I think there are four of five that are going to compete for the conference title. We are very high on parity."
