2008 SOFTBALL PREVIEW
UTD Plans To Build On Experience
Comets Believe Lessons Learned Last Year Will Translate Into Success
The UTD softball team is hoping that a disappointing 2007 season was just a hiccup on the continuing development of a winning program; and they have plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
“Last year was a rebuilding year for us,” says third-year head coach Kim Sotomayor (pictured, right), whose team finished 16-23 in 2007. “With graduation and injuries, we had to play a lot of young and inexperienced players in some key positions. There was a learning process there, and it cost us at times. But on the other side of the coin, these players all gained a lot of valuable experience, learning what it takes to be competitive at the college level. This year, we’re expecting that experience to start paying off.”
The 2008 Comets, in fact, will have experienced players in all but a couple of positions entering the season. There are seniors who have started just about every game of their four-year career; and there are talented sophomores and juniors who all have made significant contributions in the last season or two.
The experience starts with senior Amber Griffin (pictured, near right) who has held down the important shortstop and leadoff hitter position for the Comets since 2005. Griffin has hit around .400 in each of her previous three seasons and been a sparkplug for the UTD offense every year. Senior centerfielder Lyndsi Ayers (pictured, far right) has won all-conference honors at her position as well and has been a steady defensive presence in centerfield for three years as well.
Last season saw a power surge with the Comets unlike anything the program had seen in its short six-year history. UTD’s hitters knocked 27 home runs, blowing away the previous team mark; and 56 other extra-base hits.
One of the best at the offensive game was junior Carter Ryan (pictured, right), who hit .371 with nine doubles, nine homeruns and 35 RBI while mostly working as a designated player during her sophomore season. Ryan is competing for the starting spot at third base with sophomore Courtney Wright, who played 25 games as a freshman. Either way, Ryan will be in the batting order somewhere.
Sophomore Dawn Wiedeman (.322 with four HR and six doubles) has the offensive punch to find a way in the lineup either at first base (where she competes with senior Kristen Turner) or as a DP. Fellow sophomore Tawni Ichimura (.314 as a freshman) will bring good athleticism and speed to the outfield picture once the women’s basketball season is over.
Fourth-year player Karah Brazell started last season at second base; but will be challenged by Natalie Duran, a freshman with impressive skills from Mesquite Horn HS.
The open positions at catcher and in the outfield will also provide an opportunity for some of the newcomers. Returning junior Amanda Gatewood got in 10 games last year behind the plate, but is in a battle with junior transfer Trish Robinson from Alvin College for the starting spot. A pair of freshmen – Staci Sours from Spring, TX and Natalie Grinnell from Plano, TX – are in a battle for a starting spot in the outfield along with JC transfer Monique Corralez.
Offensively, Sotomayor is expecting her team to be a little more balanced this season. “We’ve still got the extra-base power we had last year, but we’ve also got more overall team speed and some good contact hitters. I think we should be able to manufacture runs when we need to without having to wait for the big hit,” she says.
Probably the most pressure this season will be on the pitching combo of senior Jana Cain and sophomore Heather Harydzak. Cain was the workhorse of the staff in 2007, pitching in 23 games while compiling a 4.84 ERA and walking just 19 batters in 94.0 innings of work. Harydzak only got in six games, but threw well toward the end of the season, posting a team-best 1.62 ERA as a freshman.
“I have confidence in our pitching staff,” Coach Sotomayor says. “It is the job of the rest of the team to play better defense behind them. The pitchers just need to be around the plate and let our defense do the job. Defense has been our biggest emphasis this year. We can’t afford to give up extra outs. If we’re going to be successful, we have got to play better defense than we did last year (77 errors, 58 unearned runs).”
UTD opens its 2008 season this weekend at the UT-Tyler Easton Classic, where the Comets will play four games in two days. UTD will play its first local games on March 7-8 at the American Southwest Conference First-Pitch Tournament at Oran Good Park in nearby Farmers Branch.