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News
Lady Cougars Ready to Start the 2012
Softball Season
written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (3-7-2012) - The Mount
Vernon Nazarene University women's fastpitch
softball team is ready to take the field for
the start of the 2012 season with a good mix
of experienced returning players and
talented newcomers set to lead the Lady
Cougars.
MVNU is looking to bounce back after
posting a 9-19 overall record and finishing
5-9 in the team's final year in the American
Mideast Conference. The Lady Cougars return
five starting position players and three
pitchers from a year ago and hope that the
experience they gained during that campaign
will be a solid foundation for success in
the new season.
"I am looking forward
to seeing what this team can do," said MVNU
coach Jeana Howald, who enters her 23rd
season at her alma mater with a 475-381
overall record. "Everyone has been working
hard and thanks to the nicer weather this
year we've actually been able to get outside
a few times, which is a big plus. We are
still working to determine our lineup, but
we have a lot of flexibility with the
players we have."
The pitching staff
features five players who have all been
working hard to earn innings on the mound.
Junior right-hander Jill Wildermuth will
look to anchor the staff as she has appeared
in 25 career games with 19 starts and a 10-8
career record. Sophomore right-hander Ashley
Riffell posted a 2-3 record with a 3.90 ERA
as a freshman last year, while senior
right-hander Meagan Stott has made 29 career
appearances with 18 starts while posting a
1-11 record on the mound. Freshman
right-hander Tessa Simmons and freshman
lefty Grace Basinger round out the rotation
and will also compete for innings.
Handling the catching duties for MVNU will
be freshman Morgan Wade and junior Kayleigh
Williams. Wade has impressed the coaching
staff with her play so far, and Williams
brings plenty of experience after starting
21 games behind the plate last year and
posting a .308 batting average.
Senior Jenn Gulley has earned the starting
nod at first base with Basinger slated as a
backup at the position. Gulley batted .333
as a junior and drove in 10 runs and adds a
strong left-handed bat in the lineup.
Junior Brittney Kuhn returns to start at
second base after splitting time there and
in the outfield a year ago. Kuhn led the
team with a .418 batting average last season
and proved to be one of the toughest outs in
the lineup. Freshman Kara Bauman will serve
as the primary backup at second base.
Sophomore Kara Morrison has earned the
starting nod at shortstop after starting 20
games a year ago primarily at shortstop.
Despite batting just .153, she gained
valuable experience and defensively made
just eight errors in 115 fielding chances on
the infield.
Junior Kelsey Berryman
and Stott are both competing for time at
third base where Stott made 12 starts a year
ago while batting .188. Berryman saw action
in 16 games last season and posted a .167
batting average that included one home run.
Senior MacKenzie Shaw returns to patrol
leftfield after being penciled into the
starting lineup for four years in that
position. The top candidate for the leadoff
spot in the batting order, Shaw posted a
.337 batting average a year ago and led the
team with 30 hits, 16 runs scored, six
sacrifice hits, and six stolen bases.
Sophomore Lindsey Minor has earned the
starting nod in centerfield. Minor batted
.150 in 21 games last year and made 18
starts.
The starting spot in
rightfield is still up for grabs with
freshmen Deanna Dill, Haley Lewis, and
Brooke Hensley all competing for playing
time there. Dill and Lewis are both
right-handed batters, while Hensley gives
the Lady Cougars the option of adding a
left-handed batter to the lineup.
MVNU has eight non-conference doubleheaders
on its schedule this year including a home
and away series with the University of Rio
Grande and single twinbills against Ursuline
College, Salem (W.Va.) University, Point
Park (Pa.) University, Urbana University,
Notre Dame College, and Malone University.
The Lady Cougars are also slated to play 10
games on the team's annual spring trip to
Florida starting with a pair against NAIA
preseason No. 3 Oklahoma City University.
MVNU will also begin play in the highly
competitive Mid-Central College Conference
this year with a doubleheader against each
of the nine other teams. No. 12 Bethel
(Ind.) College is the preseason favorite,
while Marian (Ind.) University and
Huntington (Ind.) University also each
received votes in the preseason poll.
Indiana Wesleyan University, Taylor (Ind.)
University, the University of Saint Francis
(Ind.), Spring Arbor (Mich.) University,
Goshen (Ind.) College, and Grace (Ind.)
College will also all be competing for the
title and a spot in the eight-team MCC
Tournament.
"We have a challenging
schedule ahead of us," said Howald. "Our
Florida trip and our non-conference schedule
will help prepare us for the competitive MCC
race. The players are all working hard with
the goal of making the MCC Tournament. We
have lots of work to do between now and
then, but I am confident that the players
will work hard and give their best."
2012 MVNU
Softball Schedule
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