The Clarion University softball team showed mark improvement in 2003 under first-year head coach Natalie Martin finishing with a 16-20-1 (.446) overall record and a 10-10 PSAC-West mark.

The 16 wins were the most for the program since the 1982 team went 19-9, while the .446 winning percentage was the best since 1984's .556 (10-8). The 10 PSAC-West wins were also the most for the Golden Eagles since the conference expanded to a 20-game schedule in 1995.

"This was definitely a positive step forward," Martin said. "It has set a level of expectation for this program to be competitive."

While Martin was happy with her team’s improvement in 2003, she is far from where she wants the team to get which is the PSAC Playoffs and then the NCAA Playoffs. This season, the Golden Eagles finished in third place in the PSAC-West behind first-place California (17-3 PSAC-West) and second place IUP (15-5).

"I think this was step one in a continuing process," Martin said. "We want to use this season to build upon for future success."

Clarion’s success against the top two teams should help the Golden Eagles gain the confidence needed to take the next step. The Golden Eagles beat IUP twice in four games and knocked off California April 8, the first win for the Golden Eagles over the Vulcans since April 12, 1986, nearly 17 years. The win broke a 49-game losing streak against California.

"Not only did we beat the top team in the conference, but we were also very competitive against a couple of the top teams in the nation when we went to Arizona for Spring Training," Martin said. "I think what we did in Arizona set a positive confidence level in the team, and then that just continued into the PSAC schedule.

"The team as well as the coaching staff believed we could win any game we got into, and I think beating California in the first game we played them and beating them in a 1-0 ball game was just another key to some of that confidence."

One of the reasons for Clarion’s improvement this season can be found on the pitcher’s mound, where freshman April Shannon had a standout rookie campaign.

Shannon was named the PSAC-West Rookie of the Year and a first-team PSAC-West pitcher while also garnering second-team All-Region honors from the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association. She finished the season with an 8-9 overall record and a 1.40 ERA, which ranked fifth in the PSAC and second in the PSAC-West. She pitched in 20 games with 17 starts, 13 complete games, four shutouts and one no-hitter against Edinboro. In 130 1/3 innings of work she allowed 76 hits, 56 walks, 38 runs, 26 earned runs and struck out 165. Opponents hit .170 against her (76-447), the third best mark in the PSAC and the second best in the PSAC-West.

"April stepped right in and handled herself very well not only from a performance outcome basis but from a mound presence and everything else that goes with being a pitcher," Martin said. "Unless you knew she was a freshman, you wouldn’t have known it from her performance.

"Pitching is a significant part of the game we play, and to have someone who you know you could hand the ball to and you would be in every game was a huge comfort."

Shannon was just one of a group of "young guns" who helped the Golden Eagles improve and who should continue helping them improve.

Of the top six hitters in 2003, five of them were freshman or sophomores.

"That is a big step in helping us build on this year," Martin said. "We start off pretty solid for next year with the players we have coming back. They all saw playing time, and a lot of them had success. For our freshman, this was also their only experience at the collegiate level, and it was a positive one. They want to win, and many of them have experienced winning through their high school programs. They are setting a level of expectation for themselves."

Sophomore shortstop Kristen Klinger was the top hitter hitting .342 with 15 runs scored and 10 RBI’s. Freshman catcher Heather Alterio hit .313 with three doubles, a triple and 12 RBI’s, while sophomore first baseman Christina Allendorfer hit .273 with 3 doubles and four RBI’s. Freshman third baseman Ashley Walker batted .270 with three doubles and a team-leading 15 RBI’s, while freshman first baseman Jacquelyn Brower hit .254 with seven RBI’s.

The lone upperclassmen in the top six in hitting was junior Jen Reis who hit .298 with four RBI’s in 15 games.

While the underclassmen were the top hitters, the senior class provided leadership for the Golden Eagles.

"They provided leadership both on and off the field," Martin said. "They knew what the conference was all about and were able to pass it on to the younger players. They also helped me as a new coach, as I relied on them from a certain perspective as a scouting source on the conference."

Position players playing their final games for Clarion were catcher Emily Sowers, outfielder Shintrika Hudson, second baseman Erin Gallagher, outfielder Jessica Waldman and infielder Leslie Mills.

Sowers hit .253 this season with four doubles, one home run and 10 RBI’s. In her career she hit .238 with 12 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs and 47 RBI’s.

Hudson batted .239 with five doubles and five RBI’s in 2003. In her four years at Clarion she batted .232 with 12 doubles, two triples, 15 RBI’s and 11 stolen bases.

Gallagher hit .222 this season in 13 games with three doubles and an RBI. In her career, she batted .201 with seven doubles, two triples, a home run and 23 RBI’s.

Waldman, who was the PSAC-West Rookie of the Year her freshman season after hitting .323, hit .207 in 21 games this season with three doubles, three RBI’s and three stolen bases. In her career, she had an average of .264 with 11 doubles, one home run, 11 RBI’s and 20 stolen bases in 25 attempts.

Mills hit .204 this season with five double, a triple and one RBI, and she was a .166 career hitter with 12 doubles, two triples and 15 RBI’s.

The Golden Eagles will also be losing 3/4 of their pitching staff from this season, as Reis has elected not to come back next year and Allison Stodart and Kim Overholt were both seniors.

"We are losing a lot on the staff not just from a tangible standpoint but also from an intangible standpoint they brought to the team," Martin said. "What they brought to the team dynamic was very good, and they really helped April develop as a pitcher as well. They set a work ethic from her, and they welcomed her as part of the staff."

Reis was Clarion’s No. 2 pitcher in 2003 going 6-5 with a 2.47 earned run average in 14 games with nine starts and eight complete games. In 62 1/3 innings of work she allowed 71 hits, 31 runs, 22 earned runs and 18 walks while striking out 21. In her career, she pitched in 42 games with 31 starts and 20 complete games. She was 12-20 with a 2.53 ERA in 202 1/3 innings of work. She walked 36 and struck out 74 in her career.

Stodart pitched in five games with four starts and three complete games this season while going 0-3 with one save and a 2.39 ERA. In 26 1/3 innings of work she allowed 25 hits, 12 runs, nine earned runs and nine walks while striking out 24. In her three-year career, she pitched in 27 games with 21 starts and 15 complete games. She was 4-18 with three saves and a 2.54 lifetime ERA. She walked 46 batters in 137 2/3 career innings while striking out 120.

Overholt worked in nine games this season with seven starts and two complete games. She was 2-3 with a 4.72 ERA in 40 innings of work. She allowed 59 hits, 40 runs, 27 earned runs and 18 walks while striking out 16. In her career, she pitched in 62 games with 41 starts, 25 complete games and three shutouts. She was 10-27 with a 3.66 ERA in 279 innings of work. She walked 99 and struck out 140.

While Clarion loses the seniors, it does have some valuable players back from 2003 who could battle for playing time in 2004 including freshman infielder Maighan Tancrede, sophomore outfielder Valerie Devin, sophomore outfielder Lauren Fortnoff, junior infielder Nicole Furnia, freshman outfielder/catcher Katie Forsyth, junior catcher Angie Allgeier, sophomore outfielder Jordyn Acklin and freshman infielder Lead Naiditch.

Tancrede started 23 games for Clarion and hit .211 with three RBI’s, while Devin played in 25 games with nine starts and hit .138. Used mainly as a pinch runner latter in the season, she tied for second on the team in runs scored with 11. Fortnoff played in 19 games with 18 starts and hit .137 with a triple and four RBI’s, while Forsyth played in 1 games and was 1-26 with two runs scored. Allgeier played in seven games with two starts and was 0-for-8 with three runs scored, while Both Acklin and Naiditch were used a few times as pinch runners. Acklin appeared in three games and Naiditch nine.

by Chris Rossetti