Softball Looking to Get the Most Out of First-Year Talent

The 2008 Columbia softball team looks to improve on last year’s 22-26 record with an infusion of first-year talent as well as solid contributions from returning players.

In the previous two seasons, the Lions have finished with almost identical records, notching 22 wins in each of the previous two seasons. They also have an identical finish in Ivy League play with an 8-12 record in 2007.

Offensively, the team will loose the talents of four seniors including the Krisman sisters, Kim and Lacey. The twins combined to score 40 runs and knock in 21 RBIs in last year’s campaign. The departure of catcher Valerie Smith and her 44 hits, 16 runs, and 23 RBIs will hurt a team that scored just 145 runs last year. The veteran leadership of outfielders Amy Cass and Lacie Nelson will also be missed on a team that now represents one of the youngest, least-experienced rosters in the conference.

However, there are six new additions from the class of 2011 to help make up for those losses, including four position players and two pitchers. Catchers Anne Marie Skylis and Karen Tulig, utility infielder Stephanie Yagi, and outfielder Jackie Ecker along with pitchers Erica Clauss and Maggie Johnson will have to make an immediate impact to compensate for all the losses the team accrued last season.

They will join Alex Rodriguez, Minuto Deanna, Leanne Penna, Ryanne Perio, and Dani
Pineda, five returning sophomores who served primarily as utility players last year and will now be asked to step into more prominent roles.

Junior infielders Chantee Dempsey and Keli Leong look to improve upon a defense that committed 66 errors in 2006, along with senior outfielders Rachael Gargano and Ciji Rich, who need to provide veteran leadership to the younger players on their roster.

Although the team lacked consistent offensive production, the pitching staff represented one of the bright spots for last year’s team. The Lions posted a respectable 2.73 earned run average, fourth-best in the league thanks in large part to sophomores Amanda Snyder and Aimee Kemp.

As first years, both players took on the responsibility of leading the team’s pitching staff, combining to pitch in over 282 innings last season. They fit perfectly into their starting roles, as Snyder led the staff with a 2.32 ERA in 16 appearances before injuries cut her season short. Kemp won a team-high 16 games in 34 appearances along with a 2.78 ERA.

The Lions kick off their season this weekend in Birmingham, Alabama at the Magic City Classic, hosted by Samford and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. They will also participate in two other tournaments, the Terrapin Invitational at the University of Maryland and the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Florida, before beginning their Ivy League schedule against Brown at Baker Field on March 29.