Softball finishes fall season 7-1
Staff Report,
photo: Casey Lowry
The Tulsa softball team wrapped up fall practice last week. The coaching staff appears to have a good handle on the abilities of the 2009-10 team, which will return six starters and two pitchers and welcome six freshmen to the mix.
Questions still remain, and several positions—on defense and in the batting order—will still have competition for positions once spring practice begins in January. The final lineups will likely not be hashed out until the season starts in February. Head coach John Bargfeldt and his staff will determine the best combination of players on the field and in the batting order.
“I think the thing that stood out most in the fall was that we are going to have a lot of competition at four positions,” Bargfeldt said. “The newcomers that have come in really showed some signs that they are really going to push for a position. That’s a good problem to have in that you have a lot of competition for each spot, so everybody is going to come to practice every day and realize that they need to give their best effort on a daily basis.”
The coaching staff gave the newcomers a lot of repititions during the fall games, trying to get a feel for what the young players could do on the field. While it may have appeared that the freshmen played more than the veterans, Bargfeldt said the purpose was evaluation.
“One of the things I wanted to do was see the freshmen a lot more,” Bargfeldt said. “Sometimes they got a lot more opportunities in games, but that doesn’t mean that it’s because they were better than the returners. Our returners seemed to have a little bit more sporadic at-bats since we wanted to look at some new players and see what they could do with us.”
Bargfeldt commended the two returning pitchers—senior Jackie Lawrence and junior Jordan Kinard—for their performances during the fall season. Overall, the pitching staff, including freshman Kalynn Schrock, finished with a 1.57 ERA, five shutouts and 59 strikeouts. The pitchers allowed 25 hits, 13 runs and 23 walks in eight games and 53.2 innings.
“They showed that they once again have the ability to be very difficult to hit,” Bargfeldt said of the returning pitchers. “They have the ability to keep us in ballgames if our offense tends to be taking a little time to get to (the opposition’s) pitcher. They had some dominating performances in the fall, and that was good to see.”
Senior Lauren Lindsay led Tulsa in hitting during the fall with a .600 batting average. She had five RBI, scored twice and hit a home run.
“Lauren just took off where she left off and hit the ball really well,” said Bargfeldt. “I thought Lauren Menke really showed that she might even take another step from what she did between her freshman and sophomore year, and she could take another step in terms of being a run producer for us this year. Vanessa Vice was another key hitter for us.”
The freshman class is talented and the players will make an immediate impact at several positions on the field. Caitlin Everett led the Golden Hurricane with 10 hits and hit .435 in eight games, scoring six runs and adding a double and two RBI. She also had a .458 on-base percentage and stole three bases in four attempts.
Cassidy Bowen led the team with four doubles, hit .350 and had six RBI. Samantha Cobb hit .292, with seven hits, two RBI and a double and played shortstop in every game.
“Everett stood out in her overall offensive game, and she did a great job in center field for us,” Bargfeldt said. “Samantha Cobb came in and really answered a question for us at shortstop, defensively, and also for most of the fall, swung the bat really well.”
“Everett’s ability to come in and do so well in center allowed us to put our former center fielder in left field, which was another big question mark for us. A third freshman, Cassidy Bowen, tied for the team lead in RBI. She is making a push for third base, and she came into the fall (season) and really swung the bat well for us.”
TU won seven of its eight fall games. On Oct. 10, the Golden Hurricane defeated Connors State and Missouri State. In its final game on Oct. 21, TU beat Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in a rain-shortened five-inning game.
The Golden Hurricane defeated Connors State on the strength of a two-hit shutout by Kinard.
She struck out 14 batters and walked just one in the game. Menke went 2-for-3 and drove in all three Hurricane runs on a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The Golden Hurricane used a five-run third inning to beat Missouri State 7-2. Lindsay got a pair of hits and drove in three runs. TU also scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
Lawrence struck out three batters, walked just one, and allowed six hits and one earned run in a complete-game effort. Everett and Timmons each hit a pair of singles, and Vice, Menke and Stoelke each had one hit and drove in one run for the Hurricane.
Lawrence and Kinard combined for a no-hit shutout of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.
The two pitchers struck out seven batters and walked three. TU scored one run in each of the second and third innings. Stoelke drove in a run, Everett got a hit, and Menke stole a base for the Golden Hurricane.
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