2011 Stetson Fastpitch OVERVIEW
2011 Season Preview
Stetson Softball’s 2011 season gets underway Feb. 11 at Patricia Wilson Field as Boston College, Michigan State and nationally fourth-ranked Tennessee make up the visiting field in the Stetson Lead-Off Classic. The Hatters will play four games in the tournament to kick off a 30-game homestand. GoHatters.com goes around the diamond to preview Stetson, which went 34-21 overall and 14-6 in the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2010, good for second place and the program’s 10th winning season in the last 11 years. Head Coach Frank Griffin is in his 15th season with the Hatters as he and the team approach several major milestones. After passing the 700-win plateau for his career last year, Griffin needs just two wins to claim his 500th at Stetson; as a program the Hatters have won 791 games since their debut in 1985 and look forward to hitting the 800 mark as early as possible in 2011. For his part Griffin ranks 24th among active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories (723) entering his 22nd season overall. A veteran staff will assist Griffin every step of the way. Associate Head Coach Vanessa Bataille enters her 12th year with the Hatters while Stetson alumna Joanna “J.J.” Payette ‘06 returns for her fifth season on staff.
CATCHERS Katelyn Perna games, yet she appeared as a pinch hitter or runner in 34 others. Lowe, who has caught at Stetson before, having spent her first three years in the outfield or at designated player, possesses one of the top power bats on the team with seven home runs in the past two seasons. She hit .234 with four doubles, three homers and 14 RBI last year while even flashing some speed (two for two in stolen bases). Sophomore Tara Formisano (Ridgefield, Conn.) may also get playing time after being primarily used as a pinch runner and occasional defensive replacement in 2010.
PITCHING STAFF Much success in the 2011 season will hinge on a young pitching staff that features one returner and two newcomers being able to compensate for the production of Amanda Lindsey ‘10 and Nicole Peltz ‘10; they combined to pitch 322.2 of the team’s 380.1 innings which resulted in a nationally seventh-best 1.60 team earned run average. Lindsey graduated as Stetson’s all-time career leader in strikeouts (828) and third in wins (70). Sophomore Courtney Gunby (Bishop, Ga.) has looked strong in preseason practice; she gained valuable experience as the #3 starter last year while pitching to a 4-5 record, 3.66 ERA,
Courtney Gunby
4
one save and 48 strikeouts in 57.1 innings. Sophomore Camille Czarnecki (Edmonton, Alta.) and freshman Meredith Owen ( Jackson, Miss.) will be the other Hatter options in the circle; Czarnecki led Iowa Western Community College to a top 20 NJCAA ranking with 15 wins and a 1.60 ERA in 2010 while Owen won four state championships with Jackson Prep, dominating both in the circle (24 career shutouts) and at the plate (24 career home runs, .496 batting average). Czarnecki, Gunby and Owen will be given ample opportunity to swing the bat for the Hatters as well. A fourth pitcher on the roster is freshman Taylor Cochran (Auburndale, Fla.); however, she is expected to utilize a redshirt in 2011.
INFIELD
Jordan Cleghorn The starting job behind the plate is also vacant after the graduation of Second Team All-Atlantic Sun honoree Jessica Lokeinsky ‘10. Coach Griffin has several options to fill the backstop role, starting with sophomore Jordan Cleghorn (Ball Ground, Ga.). Primarily playing second base as a freshman, Cleghorn hit .202 with three home runs and 13 RBI. She showed a flair for the dramatic early in her career, hitting a game-winning three-run home run in the seventh inning to beat Boston College and connecting on a solo shot in an A-Sun tournament victory over Jacksonville. Seniors Katelyn Perna (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Rachel Lowe (Okeechobee, Fla.) are likely to see time at catcher as well. Perna has been Stetson’s “jack of all trades” throughout her career as she has caught, played every infield position, been the designated player and taken a significant pinch hitting role as well. She batted .226 with three doubles and a career-high 13 RBI last year despite starting just eight
Five different Hatters started at first base last season and although from that group only Perna and junior Carolyn Boyd (Germantown, Tenn.) return, the position may be filled by committee yet again in 2011. Although Perna may start the season at first base if and when Cleghorn catches, the coaching staff feels Boyd, who hit .184 with three doubles last year, has shown huge improvement in her offensive skills in preseason practice and thus may seize the job. Senior Jesse Tucker (DeFuniak Springs, Fla.), limited to 12 pinch-running appearances in 2010 due to illness, played first base capably in the fall exhibition games and will likely see action in the spring there too, as may Owen. Expectations are that sophomore Alyssa Oddo (Covina, Calif.), a switch-hitting transfer from Golden State junior college powerhouse Mount San Antonio College, will seize the second base starting job. Pronounced a-LEE-sa OADo, the West Coast product batted .328 with one home run, 10 doubles, four triples, 18 RBI and 13 stolen bases as Mount SAC won 38 games and took home a state runnerup finish in 2010. Tucker, who started 11 games at second base as a sophomore in 2009, is also a candidate to play the keystone sack. 2010 Second Team All-Atlantic Sun honoree and 2011 Preseason All-Atlantic Sun selection Chelsey Trotto (Lantana, Fla.) will in all likelihood provide the Hatters with steady offense, defense and speed from the shortstop
w w w .G o H at t e r s . c o m