The Rowan University softball team is looking to rebound from last year’s disappointing season in which they finished with a 19-15 overall record and a 10-8 conference mark.
The Profs failed to qualify for the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship Tournament last year due in large part to their inability to win tight ball games.The team lost seven games by only one run.
The Profs will be led by head coach Kim Wilson for the eighth straight season.Wilson boasts a 225-79 overall record, and a .740 winning percentage. She has guided the Profs to three NJAC championships and five NCAA Championship Tournament appearances.
The Profs will rely on a very young team this year to get them back into the NJAC Tournament.This year’s roster includes only five upperclassmen, 13 out of the 18 players are freshmen or sophomores.
“Making the NJAC Tournament is definitely our first goal this season,” said coach Wilson. “I don’t think the team’s youth is a cause for any concern; in fact, having a young team can be a positive thing, there is almost no pressure on them.”
The Rowan pitching staff this season will consist of sophomore Colleen Oswald, junior Sara Dickey and sophomore Jenn Berenato.In her rookie season Oswald went 5-1 with a 2.52 ERA, compiling 59 strikeouts.Dickey posted a 7-8 record and finished with an impressive ERA of 2.50.This will be Berenato’s first season on the mound as last year she was the team’s designated hitter and finished the season with a .311 batting average to go along with 17 RBIs.She was also selected to the East All-Region second team.
Coach Wilson expected the team’s pitching staff to step up this season. She said that the team does not have an ace but will instead use a steady combination of all three pitchers.Wilson said that they all have different pitching styles and feels that they can be an extremely successful staff.
Senior captain Lisa Schmied will return for her final season at catcher.She had an errorless year last year and finished with a .222 batting average, eight RBIs and 15 runs scored.
Three-year senior starter Crystal Barbour returns as the team’s starting first baseman.Barbour is solid with the glove and batted .239 last season, driving in seven runs and finishing second on the team with 12 walks.
The Profs will surely miss Melissa Geoghan at second base.The job to replace Geoghan is up for grabs.Sophomore Jen Williscroft and freshman Jamie Assini will battle for the position.
The team will also greatly miss shortstop Erin Byrne.Sophomore Casey Bartolf will replace Byrne at short.In limited action last year, Bartolf drove in one run but has progressed throughout the offseason and is expected to make contributions for the Profs.
Sophomore Danielle Schweers returns as the team’s third baseman.In her freshman year, she hit .262 with one home run and 13 RBIs.Coach Wilson expects that Schweers will make significant offensive contributions this upcoming season.
The outfield will consist of junior Nicole Panikiewsky in center, freshman Jen Blair in left and junior Laura Doyle in right. Panikiewsky batted .282 last season with 15 RBIs and 22 runs scored.She was named to the NJAC All-Conference first team last season.Doyle, in limited action, batted .220 and drove in five runs last year. Blair was named to the All-State, All-South Jersey, All-Colonial Conference and All-Group I teams her senior year in high school.
The Profs are currently ranked fourth behind Montclair State, Ramapo and Rutgers-Camden in the 2004 NJAC Softball Preseason Coaches Poll. They opened the 2004 season this past weekend when they traveled to Virginia Beach, Va., to compete in the Virginia Wesleyan Tournament. Last Friday, the Profs shut out both Mary Washington College and Virginia Wesleyan College with 8-0 and 1-0 wins respectively.
Against Mary Washington, Oswald scattered three hits over four innings to pick up the win.Barbour went two for three with two RBIs and two runs scored.Williscroft had a pinch-hit RBI double.
Against Virginia Wesleyan, the game was scoreless until the bottom of the eighth inning when Dickey drove in the winning run.Williscroft started on second base because of the tie-breaker rule and Dickey ended the game with a double to left field scoring Williscroft.Dickey had two hits in four at bats. She also pitched seven innings, allowing three hits and recording seven strikeouts. Oswald pitched the top of the eighth and struck out two to pick up the win and improve to 2-0 on the season.
Last Saturday, the Profs dropped games to both Roanoke College and Wilkes University by the respective scores of 6-2 and 8-0.The Profs will take their 2-2 record down to Osceola, Fla., next week and will play 10 games in the Rebel Spring Games.