Feb. 9, 2012
NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State softball team will begin its quest for a third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance when it opens the 2012 campaign Friday at the USF Tournament in Tampa, Fla. The Redbirds will play five games at the three-day event, including a contest with 2011 NCAA Tournament runner-up No. 2/4 Florida Saturday evening.
ISU, the defending Missouri Valley Conference regular-season champion, is slated to play Maine and Long Island Friday at 8:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., tournament host South Florida and the Gators Saturday at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and will wrap up the weekend with a matchup with Florida Gulf Coast Sunday at 10:15 a.m.
"We are certainly ready to get back outside and onto the field," head coach Melinda Fischer said. "Our team has been doing some great things in practice and we have had some scrimmages with umpires. Those scrimmages have been very valuable because we are able to see how some new rules and new interpretations this year will affect the play of the game. I think we have gotten a lot accomplished, but we need to get out of the field and see what we are like in the real world."
Illinois State returns seven starters and 14 letterwinners from last year's squad that finished 36-19 overall and 21-5 in Valley play. Senior Lizzie Andrews and juniors Jhavon Hamilton and Elizabeth Kay earned All-MVC First Team and Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Mideast Region recognition last season. Hamilton led the conference with a .462 batting average in league games and hit .359 with eight home runs and 31 RBI on the season. Kay led the team and finished second in the Valley with 43 RBI and blasted 14 homers to go along with her .559 slugging percentage. Andrews, a transfer from Heartland Community College, hit .333 with eight home runs and 30 RBI in her first season as a Redbird and led all MVC outfielders with seven defensive assists.
In the circle, the senior tandem of Jordan Birch and Megan Warner return after both were selected to the All-MVC Second Team in 2011. Birch led the staff with a 17-7 record, four shutouts and 163 strikeouts in 149.0 innings of work. Warner posted a team-best 2.93 ERA on her way to a 15-7 record and 100 strikeouts. Warner limited opponents to a .231 averaged and recorded a pair of saves in 145.2 innings.
"This could be an entirely different team this year than from last season," Fischer said. "Not very often is it your outfield that has the most experience returning, but that is the way we are this season. There are six players vying for staring spots right now and we have a lot of depth at the position. Offensively, we have three all-region players returning in Jhavon, Lizzie and Elizabeth and they are going to be a big part of our lineup. Our pitching depth, with Jordan and Megan, along with Taylor [Baxter] and Sophia [Perez], will give us the ability to mix up a lot of teams."
Maine is coming off of an 18-31 season in 2011 and returns five starters and 11 winners from last season's team. The Black Bears finished fifth in the America East a year ago and will be led by shortstop Jennifer Eberhardt, who hit .329 with six homers and 24 RBI as a junior. In the circle, Maine returns all three of its starting pitchers that posted a 3.48 ERA last season.
Long Island finished 18-35 overall and 8-12 in Northeast Conference play for an eighth place finish in the league. The Blackbirds return 13 letterwinners and six starters from last year's squad. Emily Kakuska, who hit .321 with five home runs and 25 RBI last season, is LIU's top returning offensive player and pitcher Sarah Reynolds returns after leading the Blackbird's staff with an 8-19 record and 102 strikeouts as a junior.
South Florida posted a 33-21 overall record last season and finished fourth in the BIG EAST with a 13-5 conference mark. The Bulls hit .284 as a team a year ago and return their top eight offensive players, including All-BIG EAST Third Team honoree Gina Kafalas. Sara Nevins, an All-BIG EAST First Team selection in 2011, returns after leading USF with a 1.71 ERA, a 15-8 record, a .197 opposing batting average and 193 strikeouts during her freshman campaign.
Florida, who led the nation last year by hitting 124 home runs, returns 10 letterwinners and four starters from a squad that went 56-13 and finished second in the NCAA Tournament. The Gators return three All-Americans, including Michelle Moultrie, Hanna Rogers and Brittany Schutte. Moultrie led the team with a .443 average in 2011 and Schutte hit a team-high 22 homers and drove in 69 runs. Rogers had a stellar freshman season inside the circle, going 36-8 with a 1.92 ERA and 10 shutouts in 265.2 innings.
Florida Gulf Coast finished third in the Atlantic Sun Conference last season, going 31-25 overall and 14-6 in conference matchups. The Eagles return eight starters and 11 letterwinners from last year's squad and Tori Williams is their top returning offensive player, after hitting .275 with a pair of triples and 12 stolen bases as a freshman. Stephanie Sullvian, FGCU's top returning pitcher, posted a 7-6 record with a 1.95 ERA in her first season as an Eagle.
"Our coaching philosophy is that we have to go up against the best in order to be the best team that you can be," Fischer said. "We are going to be tested early on and that will allow us to see where are strengths and weaknesses are so we can have meaningful practices. Saturday will be very challenging with two great teams in South Florida and Florida."
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