2004 Orangewomen Softball Begins This Week
2/9/2004 7:47:42 AM | Softball
The 2004 Orangewomen will have a much different look in their fifth season of action. All but one player from the first recruiting class in 2000 has graduated and eight newcomers dot the roster. The new talent infused with a solid nucleus will try to help the Orangewomen get back to the BIG EAST Tournament.
Syracuse returns two of the three players who hit at least .300 last season. Senior Rachel Park, a second-team all-region selection last season, led the squad at .382, while junior Tanya Rose, a two-time all-conference player, hit .316 to become the first Orangewoman to bat at least .300 in her first two seasons. Also back in the lineup is SU's top power producer, sophomore Alexis Switenko. Switenko led the team with 24 runs batted in and tied the school record with nine home runs as a rookie. That experienced trio, along with returning starters Cassie Morales and Katie Kaempfer, give the Orangewomen a solid foundation on which to build.
"Losing the first recruiting class to graduation has given us a different look this year," said fifth-year head coach Mary Jo Firnbach. "They were the building blocks of the program and part of the team that took us to our first conference tournament. Our younger players have stepped up to the challenge and the entire team seems excited and determined to improve on last year's performance. We have enough veterans in the program to help develop our high energy new talent so we can build a winning season."
Park will anchor an infield that could have new starters at each corner. Park led SU last season with 52 hits and 10 doubles. She also belted a career-best four home runs. Freshman Jennifer Elderbroom, a local product from Cicero-North Syracuse High School, could also see time at second base. Elderbroom will play a variety of roles, including other infield positions, the outfield and pinch hitting. Elderbroom was the Central New York Player of the Year in 2003 and a second-team all-state pick twice as a pitcher.
"Our veteran, Rachel Park, will once again fill the starting role at second base," Firnbach said. "It is a good feeling knowing that Rachel has been in that position every year here. Itwill help our young infield work together. Jen will see time in a variety of roles, playing infield, outfield and pinch hitting. She is a versatile athlete who puts out her best effort no matter what she is asked to do and does it with confidence."
The Orangewomen will be particularly strong up the middle with Switenko back at shortstop. A 2003 BIG EAST All-Rookie pick, she hit .236 last season with a .457 slugging percentage.
"Alexis has been working hard on her fielding skills and has the potential to be one of the best all-around shortstops in the conference," Firnbach said. "I think she is adapting well to the changes around her in the infield which will make the chemistry much more natural."
For the third straight season, the Orangewomen will have a newcomer at first base. Junior college transfer Melissa Kelly and freshman Courtney Mosch are both in the mix. Kelly hit .371 with 30 RBI and a team-best 14 doubles at West Valley Community College in 2003. While at WVCC, the squad went 92-16. Mosch, who will also pitch for the Orangewomen, hit .440 with four home runs and 27 driven in as a senior at Nazareth Area High School.
"Once again we will have a new face playing first base," Firnbach said. "Melissa did a nice job in the fall and has been working extremely hard in the off season to improve her footwork."
A seasoned veteran and a rookie will handle the third-base duties. Senior Nikki Lincoln is back for her fourth season on the squad. Last season, she started three times, knocking in two runs. As a sophomore, she started 42 times, recording a .957 fielding percentage in the final 28 games. Freshman Erin Gray is also an option at the hot corner. Gray Hit .489 her senior year at Katy (Texas) High School with two home runs and 19 steals. She had a career average of .429, picking up 170 hits with 5 home runs and 56 steals. She was named first-team all-district four times.
"We will have solid defense in the hot corner," Firnbach said. "Nikki has been a regular starter there in the past and I look for her to continue striving for that position. Erin played a consistent third base in the fall and I feel confident with either player we put there."
The Orangewomen lost two starters in the outfield, but the returning player is no stranger to success in the BIG EAST. Rose started all 42 games in left field last season. She was named second-team All-BIG EAST after hitting .316 with seven homers and 20 runs batted in. She also stole a team-best 10 bases without getting caught. Rose was the league's rookie of the year in 2001.
Syracuse returns two other outfielders from last year's team. Morales saw the majority of her playing time last season as the designated player. She hit .234 with two homers and 12 RBI in 37 games. Sophomore Lindsay Van Gorden came off the bench 15 times last season, scoring five runs. She walked in her only plate appearance.
A slew of newcomers are also in the mix in the outfield. Junior Tiffany Robinson, a transfer from Briarcliffe Junior College is the oldest of the group. Robinson helped the Seahawks to a pair of NJCAA World Series Appearances and a fourth-place finish in 2003. She hit .418 with seven home runs and 61 runs scored for her career, while stealing 38 bases in two seasons.
The freshmen who could play in the outfield include Dani Delgado, Caitlin Grattan and Elderbroom. Delgado, an all-state player from Las Vegas, hit .429 with 36 runs scored 13 stolen bases as a senior. She compiled a career batting average of .386 and scored 119 runs in her scholastic career. Grattan, a rookie from Pittsburgh, was named to the all-section team as a junior and senior. She hit .375 her senior year with two home runs, 13 extra base-hits, and eight stolen bases, and had a career batting average of .350 with 49 extra-base hits and 36 steals.
"The outfield positions, for the first time in the history of the program, offer many options," Firnbach said. “Tanya Rose is our sole returning starter on defense. During the fall, we moved all the players around so no definite picks have been made. I think each lineup that we choose will have different strengths based on our needs for that particular game."
The Orangewomen have a pair of veteran catchers they can rely on to produce behind the plate. Junior Jaime Grillo is in her fourth year with the team. She has missed most of the last two seasons with a wrist injury suffered in a car accident prior to the 2002 season. Grillo, a team captain, played in 11 games last season, starting 10 times. In 2001, Grillo set a school record, throwing out 17 would-be base stealers. She amassed a .994 fielding percentage while catching all but 18 innings of that season.
The starter for most of the past two seasons has been Kaempfer. Kaempfer started 32 times last season, driving in seven runs. A BIG EAST All-Rookie Team pick in 2002, Kaempfer owns the school record for doubles in a season with 13 as a freshman.
Firnbach made a late addition to the catching corps with the arrival of freshman Ashley Ryan at the semester break. Ryan attended Palomar Junior College in the fall. She played four years at University of San Diego High School and was named all-league as a senior.
"Behind the plate we have two veterans in Katie and Jaime,” Firnbach said. “Both have had battles with injuries and hopefully, this will be the first season that both will be 100 percent. Ashley will help right away by giving us some depth that we haven't had at this position."
The Orangewomen pitching staff is probably the least experienced position on the roster. The Orangewomen return two players who pitched last season and will add a freshman to the rotation. Senior Haley Larsen, a junior college transfer, is in her second season with the squad. Larsen pitched 69.1 innings last season, going 2-6 with a 4.85 earned run average. She was the winning pitcher in SU's first-ever victory against a ranked team, tossing a complete game versus 24th-ranked Massachusetts. The other returning pitcher is Switenko. In four appearances last season, Switenko went 1-0 with a 1.91 ERA. She struck out eight and walked five in 14.2 innings of work.
The newcomer to the staff is Mosch. Mosch had a 0.77 ERA, striking out 114 batters as a senior. She threw the first no-hitter in district history to lead the Blue Eagles to the 2002 District XI championship.
"Our pitching staff is young in experience, but they are hungry to prove themselves,” Firnbach said. “We will have a different look without Tara DiMaggio on the mound, and because of this, I think some teams will overlook the talents of our staff."
This season's schedule may be the toughest in the history of the program. The Orangewomen will face eight teams that advanced to the NCAA regionals, including two College World Series participants and defending national champion UCLA.
The 2004 campaign starts on February 13 at the Fiesta Bowl Tournament in Tempe, Ariz. versus Nevada. SU will play six games at the three-day tournament, four of them against regional qualifiers, including 2003 CWS participant Washington. The Orangewomen will earn plenty of frequent flyer miles during February and March, playing in tournaments in Thibodeaux, La. (Nicholls State), San Diego, San Jose and Dover, Del.
Following the March 21st conclusion of the Delaware State Capital Classic, SU will have 13 days before its first conference game, a home doubleheader with Boston College on April 2. The home slate this season features non-conference twin bills with Binghamton, Niagara, Canisius and Penn State. The BIG EAST home schedule also includes Connecticut, Providence, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech. The Orangewomen will play road doubleheaders at Notre Dame, Cornell, Rutgers, Villanova, St. John's and Seton Hall.
As an added incentive this season, Syracuse will play for the right to participate in the BIG EAST Tournament at its home field. The conference postseason tournament will be played at the SU Softball Stadium after two years in Salem, Va. The four-team tournament begins on May 13.
"It is an exciting privilege to host The BIG EAST Conference Tournament this year after only being in the league for three years,” Firnbach said. “We always aspire to get to the tournament and stretch our goals even further into the postseason. We will continue to play a strong schedule prior to challenge and help us prepare."
