2007 Softball Outlook
Eagles have championship
expectations
The University of Southern Indiana softball team enters the 2007 season
with its sight set on a GLVC title and the NCAA II National Championship.
After coming up an out shy of advancing to the championship of the NCAA II
Great Lakes Regional Tournament a year ago, the Screaming Eagles have reason
to believe 2007 will be special.
Sixth-year Head Coach Sue Kunkle brings back a
wealth of talent after leading the Eagles to a 39-18 overall record and a 17-5
mark in the GLVC. Kunkle was named the 2006 GLVC Coach of the Year after her
Eagles finished second in the GLVC regular-season standings.
USI’s NCAA II Great Lakes Region Tournament berth in 2006 was the first for
the Eagles since 1998. The Eagles won their first two games, defeating Wayne
State University, 7-0, and West Virginia Wesleyan College, 1-0, before falling
to Northern Kentucky University, 11-8, and Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville, 9-0.
The Eagles run in the post season saw them earn a final national ranking of
22nd.
Leading the Eagles into 2007 are four seniors that include second baseman
Audra Lindenschmidt,
first baseman/third baseman
Jenn Mullikin, and outfielder
Nikki Nichols, and catcher Lisa
Anderson.
Lindenschmidt, who started all 57 games for the Eagles in 2006, became a major
factor in the middle of USI’s line-up as a junior. She finished with a
career-best .330 batting average and 37 runs batted in.
Mullikin stepped in at first base a year ago after injuries forced Kunkle to
change up her defensive line-up. She proved to be a solid defensive asset for
the Eagles as she recorded a .977 fielding percentage. Mullikin also had
career-highs in batting average (.167), runs batted in (10), and home runs
(3).
Nichols saw action in the outfield, as a pitcher, and as a catcher as a junior
in 2006. She played in 45 games, making 34 starts, and hit .257 with a
career-high 11 RBIs.
Anderson, who sat out 2006 after a knee injury ended her year prior to the
season-opener, is a two-time All-GLVC and All-Region performer that
enters 2007 with a .343 career batting average, 54 career RBIs, and nine
career home runs.
Third baseman Kristin Eickholt
and outfielder/pitcher Kathy Wood
lead a talented class of six juniors.
Eickholt was one of the top players in the GLVC a year ago, earning
second-team All-Conference honors after leading USI and ranking fifth in the
league with 45 RBIs. Eickholt, who hit .343 as a sophomore, also led the GLVC
with a single-season school-record 21 doubles to go along with four home runs.
Her defensive play at the hot corner also was solid as she posted a .949
fielding percentage en route to earning second-team All-Great Lakes Region
honors.
Wood is coming off a break-out season that saw her earn second-team All-Great
Lakes Region and second-team All-GLVC honors as a sophomore in 2006. She led
USI and ranked sixth in the GLVC with a .392 batting average and ranked
second on the team and fifth in the league with 45 runs scored.
Batting second in the line-up in 2006, Wood was third in the conference with a
team-high 16 sacrifice bunts. She also led the team with 14 stolen bases.
Kunkle is counting on three junior college transfers and one NCAA Division I
transfer to fill the voids left by four departing seniors.
New to the Eagles are junior pitchers
Amy Harrison and
Stephanie Schneider,
junior catcher/utility player
Courtney Bates, and junior infielder/outfielder
Kirsten Morgan.
Harrison transferred to USI after spending her first two collegiate seasons at
Florida State University where she was a member of the 2004 ACC and regional
championship team that placed fifth at the NCAA I Women’s College World
Series. She was the Florida Class 2A Area Player of the Year as a senior at
Chipley High School after posting a 24-2 record with a 0.09 ERA. Harrison also
was the Florida Class 5A Area Player of the Year as a junior at Southside High
School.
Schneider had a stellar career at Parkland College where she posted a 30-5
overall record with a 0.88 ERA in two seasons. She was the 2006 NJCAA II
Region XXIV Player of the Year after posting a 16-3 record with a 0.54 ERA to
go with a .424 batting average, five home runs, and 29 RBIs.
Bates and Morgan helped Wabash Valley Junior College to a 97-11 record and
back-to-back Great Rivers Athletic Conference championships. Bates hit .304
with 12 RBIs and a home run in two seasons at WVJC to earn second-team NJCAA I
All-Region XXIV honors as a freshman.
Morgan was a two-time All-Region XXIV and All-GRAC performer at WVJC after
hitting .375 with 46 RBIs, 104 runs, and 24 stolen bases in two seasons. She
hit .382 as a freshman to help Wabash to 42 consecutive victories and the
NJCAA I Region XXIV title in 2005.
Sophomore outfielder Lacey
Ligmanowski and sophomore shortstop
Ally McKinley were key factors
for the Eagles during their freshmen campaigns. Ligmanowski hit .347 with 23
RBIs, 10 doubles, two triples, and five home runs as a freshman in 2006. USI’s
lead-off hitter led the team and was tied for second in the GLVC with 48 runs
scored.
McKinley, who is making the transition from centerfield to shortstop this
season, showed flashes of brilliance during her freshman campaign. She hit
.219 with 20 RBIs, 11 doubles, a triple, and three home runs. McKinley also
displayed a cannon for an arm as she recorded eight assists from the outfield.
Kunkle is expecting big things from her freshman class. Making their
collegiate debuts in 2007 is pitcher/utility player
Kambria Current,
catcher/utility player Tara
McConnell, utility player
Brooke Pennington, and
outfielder/utility player
Lindsay Raikes.
Current graduated from Scecina Memorial High School where she was 13-0 with a
0.43 ERA and a .398 batting average as a senior, while McConnell graduated from Henderson County
High School where she was a member of three district championship squads as
well as the 2005 and 2006 regional championship teams.
Pennington came to USI from Harrison High School where she was a two-time
All-State and three-time All-SIAC performer, while Rakes earned All-County and
All-Conference honors as a junior and senior in both softball and basketball.
The Eagles begin one of their toughest schedules
in recent memory February 16-17 at the University of West Georgia
Invitational. The Eagles also compete in the University of Alabama-Huntsville
Charger Chillout February 23-25, the Division II Rebel Spring Games March
4-10, the Great Lakes Regional Showdown March 17-18, and the X-Trem Graphics
Classic April 13-15.
USI starts GLVC play with home doubleheaders against the University of
Missouri-St. Louis March 24 and Quincy University March 25. The Eagles also
host Kentucky Wesleyan College (non-conference), Northern Kentucky University,
Bellarmine University, Saint Joseph’s College, and the University of
Indianapolis.
In addition to non-conference road games at Oakland City University and NCAA
Division I foe Morehead State University, the Eagles travel to Lewis
University, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville, the University of Missouri-Rolla, Rockhurst University, and
Kentucky Wesleyan.
The GLVC Tournament is May 5-7 at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria,
Illinois, while the NCAA II Great Lakes Regional Tournament is May 10-13 at
the region’s top seed. The NCAA II National Championship is May 17-21 in
Akron, Ohio.
