The Tigers hope for more celebrations in 2008.
Coming off the program's most successful season since 2000, the Wittenberg softball team is looking for more in 2008. A total of 11 letterwinners are back in the fold, including six starters, and expectations are high for Head Coach Becky Hall, far and away the coach with the most wins in school history.
After finishing fourth in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) in 2006, the Tigers moved up two places and finished second a year ago. The team's overall record was 27-13, including an 11-3 mark in NCAC games. The 27 wins were the most for the program since the 2000 team recorded 31 victories.
Leading the charge in 2008 is senior shortstop Sarah Fetters (Woodhaven, Mich./Maumee (Ohio)), who had one of the best statistical seasons in Tiger history last year. Fetters posted a team-best .448 batting average, which put her second in the NCAC and in the top 100 nationally, and she topped Wittenberg with three home runs, 22 doubles, 65 hits and 98 total bases. Her 22 doubles put Fetters third in the nation and first in the NCAC in doubles per game. Defensively, Fetters recorded 102 assists, the most by a non-pitcher in Tiger history.
Fetters will not be alone leading the team, however. After finishing 2007 with a .296 batting average, including a .400 average in NCAC games, senior Amy Myser (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) returns to the lineup as the most experienced outfielder on the roster. She led the team with 15 sacrifice bunts and nine stolen bases and also knocked in 17 runs last season, and Myser capped her finest collegiate season with first-team All-NCAC honors, the first postseason award of her career.
Also roaming the outfield at Betty Dillahunt Field will be sophomore Cameron Catalfu (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland). During a freshman campaign in which she was named first-team All-NCAC and conference Newcomer of the Year, Catalfu finished fifth on the team with a .342 batting average and knocked in 27 runs. She also led the team with 25 walks and 29 runs scored.
A softball team's success usually starts with the player in the pitcher's circle, where the Tigers will be led once again by junior Rachael Hatcher (West Carrollton, Ohio/West Carrollton). Last season, Hatcher topped the Tigers with 15 victories and 114 strikeouts, contrasted against just 28 walks. Hatcher's earned run average was a solid 2.53 while opponents were limited to a .236 batting average. After the season, Hatcher picked up second-team All-NCAC honors for the second consecutive year.
Helping Hatcher out on the rubber is sophomore Brooke Boswell (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield), who earned first-team All-NCAC as a utility player a year ago. For the season, Boswell recorded six pitching wins while contributing 18 hits, including five doubles, to the offense. Boswell committed just three errors while registering extended time in left field and at pitcher.
Three other returning letterwinners figure prominently in the team's 2008 plans, led by junior Julie Ziegler (Sandusky, Ohio/Perkins), the Tigers' everyday first baseman a year ago. She batted .344 on the season with 31 hits, including her first career home run, seven doubles and a team-best two triples. Senior Nicole Ottavi (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone) also figures to be a key contributor for the Tigers in 2008 after collecting 25 hits and 11 RBI as the Tigers' primary designated hitter. Finally, sophomore Emily Rudman (West Lafayette, Ind./West Lafayette), the team's primary catcher last year, returns as well. Rudman allowed just eight passed balls and made two errors in her inaugural collegiate campaign.
Sophomores Haley Gerken (Logan, Ohio/Logan) and Liz Roby (London, Ohio/London) also return to help Rudman with the catching duties, while Jade Chivington (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) is the frontrunner for the third base position vacated by Stephanie Zorn, who graduated in 2007 after a spectacular career.
A quality recruiting class is the last piece to what the Tigers' hope is a contending puzzle in 2008. Freshman Jessi Allen (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) looks to find her place either on the infield at second base or behind the plate. Amanda Henderson (West Carrollton, Ohio/West Carrollton) and Emily Adams (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) are promising outfielders. Rounding out this year's freshman class are Kim Mowrey (Delaware, Ohio/Olentangy), who will provide depth in the pitching staff, and Amber Burton (Manchester, Ohio/Manchester), a utility player. In addition, transfer students Meghan O'Neill (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central) and Melisa Shock (Bellbrook, Ohio/Bellbrook), both sophomores, hope to see time in the pitcher's circle, and Maranda Moore (Willard, Ohio/Willard), a freshman, is contending for playing time on the infield.