CLARION “GEARED UP AND READY TO GO” FOR 2004 SOFTBALL SEASON
GOLDEN EAGLES OPEN SEASON MARCH 8 IN TUCSON, ARZ.
The Clarion University softball team is “Geared up and Ready to Go” for the 2004 season which starts March 8 with a 10-game trip to Tucson, Ariz.
The Golden Eagles will face the University of St. Francis at Noon Monday and then square off against the College of St. Scholastics at 2 p.m. Clarion’s Western swing ends with a doubleheader March 13 with Eastern New Mexico.
Clarion returns east to face West Virginia Wesleyan on the road March 19, and then the Golden Eagles will travel to the West Liberty To. March 20-21. Clarion starts PSAC-West play March 26 when it travels to Slippery Rock before opening up its home schedule with Slippery Rock March 27 at 1 p.m.
“There is a level of excitement to play this season beyond the level I saw last year,” Clarion’s second-year head coach Natalie Martin said. “We are ready to play and want to play.”
GOLDEN EAGLES HOPING TO BUILD UPON LAST SEASON’S SUCCESS
The Golden Eagles are hoping to build on the success they had a year ago when they won the most games at Clarion, 16, since 1982. Clarion went 16-20-1 last year and 10-10 in the PSAC-West including the school’s first win over national powerhouse California since 1986. The 16 wins were the most 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 Clarion since the conference expanded to a 20-game schedule in 1995.
This year Clarion is aiming to take the next step in building its program by qualifying for the PSAC Playoffs. The top two teams in the PSAC-West will make the postseason.
“Our goal is to qualify for the PSAC Playoffs,” Martin said. “We believe that is the next step we need to take. But it isn’t going to be easy. As always, the PSAC-West is going to be a tough league. California is a perennial power, and IUP is always strong. I also think Lock Haven is going to be pretty good this year.”
PITCHING AND DEFENSE TO BE THE KEYS TO CLARION’S SEASON
In order for Clarion to get to the postseason, pitching and defense will have to be at the forefront.
“We need to continue to pitch well and play good defense,” Martin said. “Those were the foundations of last year’s success.”
ALL-REGION PITCHER APRIL SHANNON RETURNS TO ANCHOR STAFF
Pitching should be a strength for the Golden Eagles with sophomore April Shannon leading the way.
Shannon had a stellar freshman campaign and was rewarded with numerous accolades including second-team National Fast Pitch Coaches Association All-Region pitcher, first-team PSAC-West pitcher and PSAC-West Rookie of the Year.
Shannon was 8-9 with a 1.40 ERA in 20 games with 13 complete games and four shutouts. She threw a no-hitter against Edinboro. In 130 1/3 innings of work, she allowed 38 runs, 26 earned runs, 76 hits and 56 walks while striking out 165. Opponents hit .170 off her. In PSAC-West play, she was even better going 6-6 with a 1.32 ERA in 12 starts with nine complete games. She struck out 107 and opponents hit .185 off her.
“April throws all her pitches well,” Martin said. “She is consistently locating the ball where she wants to and making the hitters hit the pitches we want them to hit. She should be our workhorse this year.”
Clarion’s staff behind Shannon is talented yet inexperienced with neither junior Christian Allendorfer nor freshman Brittany Anderson having thrown a pitch in regular-season collegiate action.
“I am little concerned about depth,” Martin said. “Last year we had three experienced pitchers in addition to April. This year two of our three pitchers are new. April will have to become the teacher instead of the pupil especially with helping Brittany make the adjustment to collegian pitching. But she has handled it very well so far.”
CLARION LOOKING FOR IMPROVED OFFENSE
While the Golden Eagles pitching staff looks set, Clarion is looking for more production from an offensive that ranked 11th of 13 teams in the PSAC in batting average (.242) and 10th in runs scored (103).
“We need to consistently put the ball in play and cut down on our strike outs,” Martin said. “We also need to be able to do the little things like moving runners up and taking the extra base. I believe we have the players in place to do those things. For one thing, we have overall better speed, and we have also been working on plate discipline and putting the ball into play.”
One area Clarion is really looking to improve in is playing small ball: sacrificing runners, stealing bases and moving up an extra base when the opportunity presents itself.
“One of the big things we focused on in the fall was the execution of the short game,” Martin said. “We want to be able to advance runners into scoring position. It is huge in softball to be able to do that. We probably had more successful sacrifice bunts in the fall than we did all last year, and that gave us more opportunities to score.”
GOLDEN EAGLES RETURN FIVE OF TOP SIX HITTERS FROM 2003
The Golden Eagles return five of the team’s top six hitters from a year ago including four players who each batted .270 or higher.
Junior shortstop Kristen Klinger was the top hitter last season batting .342, which was good for 10th in the PSAC. She had three doubles, 10 RBI’s and 15 runs scored.
“It looks like Kristen will bat fourth,” Martin said. “If the top part of the lineup does its job, she should be placed in a lot of RBI situations. But maybe even more important than her offense is that she has showed significant defensive improvement this season.”
Other key offensive returnees for the Golden Eagles include catcher Heather Alterio, Allendorfer, who also plays first base, catcher/third baseman Ashley Walker and first baseman Jacquelyn Brower.
Alterio hit .313 last year with three doubles, a triple, 12 RBI’s and 10 run scored, while Allendorfer batted .273 with three doubles, four RBI’s and six runs scored. Walker hit .270 with a team-high 15 RBI’s, three doubles and six runs scores, while Brower hit .254 with seven RBI’s.
While Martin likes Alterio’s bat, she is even more excited about her catching ability.
“Heather provides both offense and defense for us,” Martin said. “Probably the greatest aspect of her game is her essence as a catcher. She calls a good game and has an understanding for the situations. She also has a very good rapport with each of our pitchers. She could catch all 41 games. She has the physical and mental makeup to handle that.”
Martin said Brower and Allendorfer could once again split time at first base as they did last year, while two freshman – Bethany Burns and Karla Kaczmarek – are battling to start at second base. Klinger is the returning starter at shortstop, although C.J. Gattens, who was the starting goalie on Clarion’s soccer team, could also see time at the spot.
Walker, Gattens and Brower will compete for time at third base, while the outfield could be any combination of eight players including senior Nicole Furnia, juniors Lauren Fortnoff and Jordyn Acklin, sophomores Katie Forsyth, Leah Naiditch and Maighan Tancrede and freshmen Chandra Kalika and Lindsay Dugovich.
“We are trying to get all the outfielders to play all three positions,” Martin said. “With so many of them in competition for spots, it is a good thing. They are pushing each other. In the end, with out current situation, defense may be the deciding factor. But we may start players based on what our game and lineup needs are against a certain team or pitcher.”
Furnia batted .100 last season, Fortnoff .137 and Tancrede .211. Naiditch saw action in nine games without an at-bat last year, while Acklin played in three games with no at-bats. Forsyth appeared in 11 contests and went 1-for-26.
GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES – The PSAC has changed its game schedules this year … All conference contest will remain doubleheaders but will be played on Fridays and Saturdays throughout April with teams playing the same teams they played on the Friday Saturday but switching locations. Sunday will be the rain day … Clarion closes out the season when it hosts Lock Haven April 24 … The Golden Eagles play host to California April 17.
###
by Chris Rossetti