Softball Season Outlook
2002 Softball Season Outlook
For the first time in seven years, the University of Southern Indiana softball team enters a season
under new leadership. The Screaming Eagles will be under the direction of first-year head coach
Sue Kunkle (Bethel, Pennsylvania).
Kunkle, who takes over for USI's all-time winningest head coach Beth Watson, comes to USI from the University of Akron. During her time at Akron, Kunkle helped develop some of the school's all-time best hurlers.
Kunkle will need to bring that same ability to an Eagle squad that must replace its all-time winningnest pitcher,
Katie (Roberts) Wilson (Lafayette, Indiana). Wilson, who graduated from USI last May, joins Kunkle as an assistant coach this season.
USI will have firm ground to stand on in 2002. The Eagles return 13 of 16 players from a squad that posted a 36-17 overall record and finished third in the Great Lakes Valley Conference with a record of 16-6.
Senior pitcher Danielle Garnett (Griffith, Indiana) and junior utility player
Rachel Bowling (Middletown, Indiana) lead the list of returnees in 2002. Garnett earned second-team All-GLVC in 2001 after posting a 16-7 record and a 2.01 earned run average.
Bowling, who saw significant time in leftfield, was named first-team All-GLVC and first-team All-Region after finishing second in the conference with 49 runs batted in and a school-record 12 home runs. Bowling, who led the Eagles with a .365 batting average, is the school's all-time leader in career home runs (17) and is fourth at USI in career RBI (76).
Defensively, the Eagles were solid in 2001. USI led the GLVC and was tied for third in the nation with a .971 fielding percentage.
In the infield, the Eagles should be even stronger in 2002 as they return all of their everyday starters.
Returning for the Eagles at third base is senior Molly Blackford (Newburgh, Indiana). Blackford, who has started every game USI has played (158) since joining the squad as a freshman, hit .258 a season ago and recorded a .916 fielding percentage. One of two seniors on the 2002 squad, Blackford was second on the squad with four homeruns while her 20 RBI was fourth on the team last season.
Junior shortstop Jenny Duell (Lafayette, Indiana) joins Blackford on the left side of the infield. Duell committed just five errors in 184 chances.
USI's top offensive infielder is sophomore first baseman Monica Tepe (Granger, Indiana). Tepe was tied for second in the GLVC with a team-high 16 doubles and was second on the squad with 35 RBI and a .329 batting average. Defensively, Tepe recorded a .990 fielding percentage in 296 attempts.
Brooke Biggs (Osceola, Indiana) returns to second base, where she recorded a .951 fielding percentage in 206 chances and drove in 12 runs as a freshman in 2001, while sophomore
Kristen Houseworth (Martinsville, Indiana) returns for catching duties. Houseworth was behind the plate during Katie (Roberts) Wilson's perfect game against Lake Superior State last March.
Rounding out the returnees in the infield are juniors Stacey Beedie (Bedford, Indiana) and
Dusty Onyett (Petersburg, Indiana). Beedie played in 13 games as a sophomore, compiling a .375 batting average, while Onyett played in 23 games as a sophomore and is expected to challenge Houseworth for playing time in 2002.
Freshman Regina Gauger (Evansville, Indiana) is USI's lone newcomer in the infield. Gauger, a graduate of Reitz High School, will join Houseworth and Onyett behind the plate.
In the outfield, the Eagles will have the challenge of finding a replacement for All-GLVC and All-Region centerfielder Nicole Vine. Vine was second on the squad with 57 hits and a .329 batting average while posting a .973 fielding percentage in the field. The Eagles were 28-10 last season with Vine in the leadoff position.
The Eagles will benefit from the return of junior Ginnie Roberts (Lafayette, Indiana). Roberts was limited to 18 games due to a shoulder injury last season.
Joining Roberts and Bowling in the outfield is sophomore Lacey Haynes (Boonville, Indiana). Haynes, who saw action mainly in leftfield, hit .306 as a freshman and tied the school record for hits in a game (5).
Rounding out the returnees in USI's outfield is junior Christi Arzola (Valparaiso, Indiana) and sophomore
Jessica Brown (Evansville, Indiana). Arzola played in 18 games as a sophomore while Brown played in 31 games, starting 11 and recording a .242 batting average.
New to the USI outfield in 2002 is freshman Sunny Oelling (Valparaiso, Indiana). Oelling finished her senior season at Valparaiso High School with a .404 batting average, a .463 on-base percentage, and 26 runs scored.
She helped lead VHS to the 2001 Duneland Athletic Conference and the sectional championships this spring with a record of 25-5. In doing so, Oelling was named DAC's Most Valuable Player and first-team All-State.
On the mound, the Eagles will look to Garnett for senior leadership, but must deal with the loss of Katie (Roberts) Wilson. The Eagles brought in freshmen hurlers
Brandy Bates (Boonville, Indiana) and Missy Grover (Mishawaka, Indiana).
Bates was selected first-team All-State and All-District in 2001 and was a two-time All-Big "8" Conference selection. Bates posted a .407 batting average and drove in 27 runs while posting a 17-2 record and a 0.40 earned run average on the mound in 2001.
Although she did not play softball this spring due to injury, Grover still has an impressive resume, being named first team All-State and second team All-Conference in 2000 when she had a PHS single-season record with a 0.85 ERA.
The Eagles start the season in Kennesaw, Georgia as they take part in the Kennesaw State Tournament February 22-23. USI will start play against Texas Women's University, Wayne State University, and NCAA Division II World Series representative Kennesaw State University the first day and finish the second day with a double-elimination tournament.
The Eagles will play Texas A&M-Kingsville, at Kennesaw State, on February 24 before traveling to Osceola, Florida to take part in the Division II Rebel Spring Games Sunday, March 3 through Saturday, March 9.
While in Florida, USI will play 10 games, including one against conference foe and NCAA Division II finalist Lewis University.
USI will start its home schedule Thursday, March 21, when it takes on Brescia University in a 4 p.m. doubleheader.
The Eagles will start conference play two days later as they host Bellarmine University.
Other key dates on USI's schedule include trips to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (Friday, March 29), Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (Wednesday, April 3), and a regular-season Great Lakes Regional Tournament in South Bend, Indiana (Friday, April 19-Saturday, April 22).
The post season starts with the GLVC Tournament in Romeoville, Illinois (May 3-5). USI is looking to return to the NCAA Regional Tournament for the first time since 1998.
