jumbos look to achieve back-to

COLLEGE SOFTBALL NEWS
8 SOFTBALL
MAGAZINE’S DIII TOP TEN FOR 2014
JUMBOS LOOK TO ACHIEVE BACK-TO-BACK
NATIONAL TITLES IN DIII
by Bill Ballew
Many of the top teams at the Division
III level last year dominated their conferences while losing five or fewer contests
over the course of the campaign. Tufts
suffered only three setbacks on its way to
winning the national championship, while
Montclair State, Salisbury and Trine lost
five games or fewer. With most of last
year’s teams that reached Eau Claire,
Wisconsin, for the NCAA Division III
World Series welcoming back the majority
of their players, the competition should be
intense as the campaign unfolds.
1. Tufts Jumbos—The Jumbos finished
the 2013 campaign with 19 consecutive
triumphs, including an undefeated run
through post-season play. Head coach
Cheryl Milligan lost only one starter from
last year’s team to graduation while
welcoming back nine players that started
at least 30 games as well as her top two
Photo: Alonso Nichols
pitchers. The Jumbos are led in the circle
by junior Allyson Fournier, who put together a near-perfect spring
last year by going 25-1 with an 0.59 ERA and was named the
Most Outstanding Player in the national championships. Sophomore Erica County (3-0, 2.12) is also back and could see a larger
role this season. Tufts also has its top two hitters from last year in
senior catcher Jo Clair (.417-13-51)
and senior outfielder Sara Hedtler
(.414). Junior Michelle Cooprider
(.382-6-28) also is back in the
garden. The infield features junior
corner defender Kris Parr (.297-420), sophomore second baseman
Bree Fuller
Photo: Dean A. Orewiler
Page 98 • www.batwars.com • www.softballmag.com
Jo Clair
Abby Curran (.278-2-15) and junior shortstop Gracie Marshall (.3161-19), while senior Kayla Holland (.318-4-28) and junior Bri Kennan
(.348-4-28) have had success at utility.
2. Montclair State Red Hawks—Aside from Tufts, no team was
more dominant last season than the Red Hawks. Head coach Anita
Kubicka’s team posted a 46-5 record, thanks in part to winning its
first 31 games, and advanced to Eau Claire
Carly Searles
for the second consecutive year. MSU
has several veterans returning this spring,
including senior Alex Hill, who was a firstteam NFCA All-America selection in 2013
after going 38-5 with an 0.68 ERA with an
NCAA All-Divisions-leading 431 strikeouts.
She also drove in 20 runs, including all four
against Central. Hill is joined by senior third
baseman Dana Amato, a first-team NFCA
All-Region pick who led the team with a
.368 batting average, seven home runs and
32 RBIs last year. Senior Alisha Cumberton
(.300-2-28) returns behind the plate after
garnering All-New Jersey Athletic Conference recognition a year ago. Junior first
baseman Tara Petrucelli (.291-3-28) was
Photo: Dean A. Orewiler
a second-team All-NJAC selection. Other
Red Hawks with extensive starting experience include a trio of infielders in senior Katie Muglia (.259-2-16),
junior Melany Zeller (.238-1-14) and sophomore Jaclyn Allegretta
(.222-1-16).
3. Trine Thunder—Trine has earned seven straight invitations to
the NCAA Tournament and won the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular-season or tournament championship in each
of those campaigns. After finishing last year with a 38-5 record while
leading the DIII ranks in scoring, home runs per game and slugging
percentage, head coach Donnie Danklefsen returns a plethora of
award-winners who could create some significant noise once again
on the national front. The Thunder is led by NFCA All-American
outfielder Carly Searles, a junior who hit a team-best .464 with three
home runs, 36 RBIs and 40 stolen bases. Junior pitcher Bree Fuller
(15-1, 1.48) struck out 136 batters in 104 innings and tossed a no-
hitter against Beloit. Trine also has
Diane Cork
NFCA All-Central Region designated player Amy Newell (.348-8-44)
and third baseman Rachel Harris
(.368-9-36) back in the fold. The
Thunder also will be strong up the
middle once again with secondteam All-MIAA performers Haleigh
Daniels (.320-2-20) at shortstop
and Kaitlyn Clark (.356-5-44)
returning to second base.
4. SUNY Cortland Red Dragons—Head coach Julie Lenhart’s
team is coming off the program’s
best campaign that included finishing as the national runners-up. The
Red Dragons began the season
with an 8-10 record but proceeded
to win 27 of their final 34 games to
finish with a 35-17 mark. In the process Cortland placed second in the
SUNYAC regular season prior to
winning the league’s post-season
Darl Zehr Photography
tournament and the Ithaca ReShelby Parker
gional and going 3-2 in Eau Claire.
The Red Dragons return six starters and their entire pitching staff.
Sophomore outfielder Diane Cork
was the Eastern College Conference Upstate New York Rookie of
the Year in 2013, when she batted
.360 and led Cortland with 11 home
runs and 47 runs and tied for second with 36 RBIs. She joins junior
designated player/first baseman
Alicia Hibbard, who hit at a .333 clip
with six homers and a team-best
39 RBIs. Other returning starters
include junior shortstop Erin Wolstenholme (.325-7-36), junior third
baseman Courtney Kadish (.2582-21), sophomore outfielder Jamie
Bucci and senior catcher Briana
Barca. The Red Dragons are led in
the circle by senior Amber Corrigan
(20-7, 2.39). Other pitchers include
junior Sarah Salamone (7-8, 2.75)
and seniors Tiffany Sampere (4-1)
and Krista Oakes (4-1).
5. East Texas Baptist Tigers—The Tigers narrowly missed earning their
second trip to the DIII World Series last year after falling in the regional.
Nevertheless, head coach Janae Shirley’s team won 37 games and went 4-0
in the American Southwest Conference tournament by defeating 20th-ranked
Texas Lutheran and top-ranked Texas-Tyler twice. ETBU has 10 returning
starters, including four pitchers, which should give the Tigers a solid shot at
advancing to Eau Claire and challenging for the national championship once
again. The Tigers return their entire starting outfield, led by senior Alyssa
Romero (.349-7-42) and juniors Kayla Garcia (.366-1-28, 15 steals) and Sara
Clements (.342-4-42). Senior Lacy Liles is back on the dirt after pacing ETBU
in the Triple Crown categories last year with a .417 batting average, eight
home runs and 47 RBIs. Junior Maranda Westbrook hit .322 and topped the
team with 20 steals, while designated player Tawny Hank hit .356-5-37. The
Tigers are strong in the circle as well with senior Shelby Parker (16-4, 1.87),
senior Shelby Phillips (4-2, 3.50) and sophomore Kelly Jo McLendon (8-2,
1.99).
6. Luther Norse—The Norse has been one of the division’s most consistent
teams. Since February 2009, Luther entered this season having been ranked
in 61 of the 64 top 25 polls. That streak should continue this spring with head
coach Renae Hartl returning nine letterwinners from last season’s team that
posted a 33-11 record and made its fourth consecutive appearance in the
Lacy Liles
Miranda McCay
Katie Wieland
Softball Magazine
Issue 1 • 2014
Page 99
COLLEGE SOFTBALL NEWS
8 SOFTBALL
World Series, finishing fifth. The Norse has its
entire infield back, led by junior shortstop Katie
Wieland (.304-4-24) and sophomore Miranda
McCay (.404-2-27), who was Luther’s co-Rookie
of the Year in 2013 and earned first-team All-Iowa
Conference honors. Other starting infielders
include sophomore Carli Radil (.327-7-34), who
shared co-Rookie of the Year honors with McCay,
and junior Alise Miller (.261-4-25), while senior
Kayla Hatting (.303) returns behind the plate after
having a break-out showing last year. Senior
Becca Girvan (23-7, 2.80) leads the pitching staff
after tossing 24 complete games and six shutouts
a year ago. Girvan is joined by juniors Erica Manske (8-2, 4.60) and Kelsey Rose (2-2, 6.76).
7. Salisbury Sea Gulls—The Sea Gulls were
one of the final three teams left standing in Eau
Claire last May and finished the campaign with
an impressive 42-4 record. Head coach Margie Knight should be strong in the circle with
the return of junior Rachel Johnson and senior
Kathryn Larson but will have to replace two of
Salisbury’s top hitters as well as another vacancy
or so created by graduation. Johnson garnered
first-team NFCA All-America recognition last year
while posting a 29-3 record with an 0.82 ERA and
340 strikeouts in 204 innings. Larson is an ideal
complement to Johnson after she was named
first-team All-Capital Athletic Conference with a
13-1, 1.73 mark. The Sea Gulls’ top returning
hitter is all-conference sophomore utility Paige
Knussman (.381-1-22). Senior infielder Harly Hill
(.379-1-37) is the top run producer among the
returnees and is coming off a season in which she
received second-team NFCA All-Region honors.
Senior outfielder Angelia McDowell (.318) and
sophomore infielder Katie Sebbane (.308-1-21), a
second-team All-CAC selection, also are back in
the Gulls’ starting lineup.
8. Texas-Tyler Patriots—After finishing tied for
third in the nation last spring while posting a 47-6
record, the Patriots are projected to be the class
of the American Southwest Conference once
again despite having to replace several key play-
Lauren Robenalt
MAGAZINE’S DIII TOP TEN FOR 2014
ers from their 2013 lineup. Head coach Mike Reed has a solid returning core, headed
by All-American pitcher Kelsie Batten, a sophomore who went 25-3 with a 1.44 ERA
in her collegiate debut. Two of Batten’s classmates also put together strong freshman
campaigns, with infielder Raven Rodriguez (.345-6-40) and utility Vanessa Carrizales
(.321-1-20) earning All-ASC honors last year. Leadership for the young Patriots is expected to come from senior outfielder and all-conference recipient Lauren Robenalt,
who returns for her fourth campaign after ranking second on the team last spring with
a .410 batting average and topping UT-Tyler with 10 stolen bases. While Robenalt is
the lone senior on the squad, Reed has a strong recruiting class of seven freshmen,
all of whom hail from the state of Texas.
9. Virginia Wesleyan Marlins—Head coach Brandon Elliott’s team established new
high-water marks last year when the Marlins won a program-best 41 games en route
to taking the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship for the second time in
the last three seasons. The 2014 squad returns two-time All-American and two-time
defending ODAC Player of the Year Tori Higginbotham (.470-13-39), who established
multiple team records, including the single-season stolen base mark with 46 swipes
in 50 attempts. Senior pitcher Mackenzie Creech was the 2013 ODAC Pitcher of the
Year as well as an All-Atlantic Region selection, while junior pitcher Kristina Karagiorgis (13-3, 1.90) earned third-team All-ODAC recognition last season after being
named conference Pitcher of the Year in 2012. Sophomore Mary Shipp (2-1, 0.59)
and senior Lindsey Inzana (3-0, 2.80) also return as hurlers, with Inzana doubling her
duties by contributing at the plate, hitting .341-8-50 last year. Other starters back with
the Marlins include sophomore catcher Taylor Galvin (.260), senior shortstop Andrea
Shannon (.294-1-17), senior first
baseman Season Dailey (.353-3Brittney Head
30), sophomore outfielder Courtney
Bogan (.398-1-18, 28 steals) and
sophomore utility Kayla Dost (.2482-29).
10. Piedmont Lions—The Lady Lions made an early impression during
their first season in the USA South
Athletic Conference by going 34-10
overall and tying for first place in
the regular season standings. Head
coach Terry Martin’s team should be
even stronger in 2014 with the return
of 13 players, including a pair of allregion performers in pitcher Brittney
Head and hard-hitting Olivia Duncan.
Head displayed excellent control
while going 14-6, 2.29 in the circle.
Duncan led the conference in batting
average (.431) and on-base percentage (.530) while ranking second
with 41 RBIs. Head joins sophomore
Jordin Ellingson (18-4, 2.42, .344-115) in the rotation to give Piedmont a Photo: Jasper Lee
strong pitching staff. The
Lauren Head
Lady Lions also welcome
back catcher Lauren
Head (.281, 14 RBIs),
who joins her sister as
the only two seniors on
the team. Junior infielder
Abby Atkinson returns after batting .373 last year
and ranking second on
the team with 12 stolen
bases. Martin will also
have to call upon some
unproven players, including seven freshmen, to
mesh with the veterans
in order to challenge for
a national championship.
Photo: Jasper Lee
Page 100 • www.batwars.com • www.softballmag.com