2008 Dominican College Softball Preview
After a successful fall ball season (9-2-3), Interim Head Coach Joe Burbridge enters his first year at the helm of the Dominican College softball team with many reasons to believe that this season will be a very special one. There weren't any major injuries, the hitting was just as potent as it was during the 2007 season, defense was solid, and the most important factor in thinking that things might be different this season is that the pitching staff showed a great deal of improvement.
Last year's group of freshman has a year of experience behind them that should definitely help, and adding four very talented freshmen to an already strong group of upper classmen is expected to add a lot of depth, speed and excitement to the roster.
Infield:
Senior Kristine Knuth will again be the starter at first base. Knuth had another solid season as the team's leadoff hitter, and will undoubtedly end her career as one of the team's all time leaders in hits, runs scored, batting average and on base percentage. She has also been Co-Captain for the past two seasons and is hoping to end her stellar career with a championship.
Junior Melanie Hestermann and sophomore Jess Martinieri are expected to share the second base job. Both Hestermann and Martinieri were solid defenders last season, and if either one of them work hard on their offensive games it will add another solid bat to the best offensive team in the conference.
Coach Burbridge is expecting a lot from sophomore Shortstop Cara Piasecki. Piasecki ended her 2007 season as a much stronger and more confident player than she was when she first got here, and will be expected to raise her all around game to the next level. "Cara was probably one of our hottest hitters down the playoff stretch last season, and if she continues getting better she should develop into one of the best shortstops in the conference."
Senior Jackie Terpstra will again hold down the fort at the hot corner for theLady Chargers as one of the best defensive third baseman in the Northeast Region as well as one of the most consistent bats on the team. Terpstra is just one of the most solid softball players around, as she adds so many things to the team including power, speed and defense. She is also able to fill in at other positions just as ably as she plays third base.
Outfield:
In the past, one of the team's weaknesses has been offensive production from the outfield, but it has become one of the team's strengths over the past couple of seasons with junior Jamie Ollari coming off an unbelievable 2007 season where she roamed centerfield, led the team in Runs Batted In (38) and tied for the team lead with 8-home runs. Ollari had one of those magic seasons that you can only dream about and with hard work and dedication is expected to repeat that performance. Ollari also hit .340 which was third on the team.
Senior Co-Captain Christine Stathes had another solid season manning right field for the team and has turned herself into a solid defensive outfielder. For the second year in a row she led the team in home runs with 8, but injuries cut down her playing time starting only 26 of 38 games.
Sophomore Nikki Philpot became a starter in the outfield with hard work, solid defense in all three outfield positions, as well as a complimentary #2 hitter in the lineup. "If Nikki is able to build on her strong freshman year she should develop into one of the best setup hitters in the conference scoring a lot of important runs for us. We're expecting a lot of good things from Nikki as well as more team leadership."
One of the newest outfielders on the team will not be a freshman but one of the strongest hitters in the entire Northeast Region in junior Sarah Beck. Beck has been the team's #1 catcher the past two seasons and is being asked to turn herself into a solid outfielder this year. Based on what we saw during the fall ball season, Beck should have no problem whatsoever turning into a good defensive outfielder, and will again be the team's #3 hitter as she followed up her amazing freshman campaign with another amazing offensive season hitting .362, with 7-home runs, 28-runs batted in and 28-runs scored, all ranked 2nd on the team.
Other outfielders vying for playing time will be sophomore Lauren Galladay who put together a strong freshman year hitting .333 with 2-home runs and 14-important runs batted in. Galladay will also act as the team's backup third baseman.
Freshman Kristi Dillon is expected to see time in the outfield as well, as she showed a great deal of speed and an exciting aggressive running style that the staff thinks adds another dimension to this year's team. Dillon will also open up the season as the team's backup catcher showing a very strong arm in the Fall.
Other outfielders who will fill in at times are senior slapper Chrystina Tirado and sophomore Kelli Rehm, who showed a great deal of patience and bat control during the fall ball season. Junior Gina Pollitt and freshman Shayla Esgro are also expected to help out with their outfield play as well as adding a great deal of speed to the lineup.
Catching:
Freshman Nicole Scarillo will open up the season as the team's starting catcher and is being asked to show a great deal of leadership usually reserved for upper classmen. Scarillo not only showed a solid receiving style behind the plate but also a strong arm that allowed very few stolen bases and another power packed clutch bat that should produce a lot of important runs as she was 2nd on the team in runs batted in during the Fall.
Designated Player:
One of the most dangerous bats and runs producers on the 2008 softball team will be sophomore Danielle Garrison, who has followed up her strong freshman All-Conference season with an unbelievable fall ball season leading the team in home runs and runs batted in. "I wouldn't be surprised if at the end of the 2008 season we saw Garrison's name at the top of the conference home run and runs batted in leaders. Everything just seems to come off her bat hard." Garrison can also fill in at first base, third base and will see time on the pitching mound as well as she finished her freshman season with a 5-3 winning record.
Pitchers:
The key to a successful season will be the right arms of the Lady Charger pitching staff.
Coach Burbridge is hoping that Stathes will return to the form that made her the 2006 CACC Pitcher of the Year when she went 13-6 with a 2.13 ERA as the team's workhorse with 138 innings pitched.
Sophomore Laurie Edwards won some very big games last year and will see even more time on the pitching mound this season as the teams #3 starter. With one year of very valuable year of experience behind her, Edwards has shown that she is ready to turn into a big time pitcher for DC.
Garrison will also see some time on the mound after going 5-3 last season, but she will probably see most of her time as a reliever. Rehm will also work out of the pen, as she was team's off-speed specialist, with the lowest Earned Run Average in limited time on the mound in 2007.
The 2008 Dominican College Softball team will open up their season at the Rebel Spring Games at the Osceola Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Florida from March 15th - March 20th.