BETHANY, W.Va. – Bolstered by eight returning position players and two pitchers, as well as a strong incoming class, the Bethany College softball team brings aspirations of capturing its 13th PAC championship into the 2010 season.
The Bison will get the new year underway March 14 when they play Manhattanville to kick off their spring break trip to the National Training Center in Clermont, Fla. BC’s home opener will come March30 against Muskingum.
Last season saw BC go 24-21, finish second in the PAC Tournament and earn an ECAC Tournament bid for their second consecutive trip to the postseason. Although the snowy winter weather hampered the team’s preseason training, long-time head coach Jan Forsty, who has 571 career victories in her overall tenure, says the team’s experience has helped them stay on task in preparing for the new year.
“The preseason has been very productive,” said Forsty, who is 491-308-3 in her 22 years at Bethany. “I was a little worried with losing a week to the weather, but it hasn’t bothered us. We are actually ahead of the game from last year because we have most of our key players back. Everything is in place, now we just need to play.”
The Bethany infield is loaded with experience, as they return all five starters, but could still see some new faces get time. Behind the plate, senior Bridgette Fauth (Pittsburgh, Pa./Carrick), a two-time First Team All-PAC selection, is back after hitting a team-best .362 and driving in 23 runs. She’ll be backed up by freshman Elizabeth Kletzli (Carnegie, Pa./Chartiers Valley), who will also see time at third base with junior Andrea Thomas (Toronto, Ohio), who hit .282 last season with one homer and 18 RBIs.
Shortstop will be handled again by senior Ashley Marinacci (Bellaire, Ohio/Bellaire St. John’s), a four-year starter at the position who was a First Team All-PAC choice after leading the team in home runs (six) and RBIs (29). Freshman Kaitlyn Pitchok (Weirton, W.Va./Weir) may also see time at shortstop.
“Fauth is back for us behind the plate and should have a phenomenal year,” said Forsty. “Kletzli is a key for us, as she is challenging for the starting third base spot with Thomas and has great catching potential, so she’ll see time at both spots. We are looking for a big year from Thomas at third coming off a subpar statistical year for her. And as a four-year starter at shortstop, Marinacci is the rock of our infield and we expect her to finish her career with her strongest year.”
“Overall, we return everyone in the infield,” said Forsty. “We’ve moved people around in preseason on purpose so we have as many options as possible because we have a lot of talent but are a little thin in numbers.”
Last year, the Bison were short on numbers in outfield, but that won’t be a concern this season, as five returners are joined by a trio of freshmen. The battle to replace three-year starter Brittany Leslie in center field is down between junior Chelsea Shenton (Chester, W.Va./Oak Glen) and freshman Alison Powell (Nashport, Ohio/Tri-Valley).
In left field could be sophomore Brittani Seeman (Rumson, N.J./Rumson Fair Haven) or freshman Angie Varhula (West Mifflin, Pa.), with junior Cortney Lax (Orrville, Ohio) looking for time at either corner outfield spot or even behind the plate. Senior Janelle Windsheimer (Maynard, Ohio/Buckeye Local) and freshman Maria Vallone (Rochester, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) are in contention for the right field starting nod, while junior Allie Fluharty (Follansbee, W.Va./Brooke) is in the mix for time as well.
“We have eight outfielders this year, which helps us tremendously because we were pretty thin last year,” said Forsty. “Having that many gives us a lot of options and when I look at who we have, it may come down to whether we want offense or defense in the line-up on a given day. The biggest question is who takes over in center and right now it’s between Shenton and Powell, who has unbelievable potential and now we have to see if she can make the jump to college ball. The starters on the corners could be Seeman and Windsheimer, while Lax is in the mix to start in either corner, but we also have solid freshmen in Vallone, who can really hit, and Varhula, competing for at-bats.”
Another area with increased depth is the pitching staff. The Bison battled through with two starters in ’09, but have a staff of five ready for Opening Day. Back is junior Cortney Newland (Carmichaels, Pa.), who was 14-8 with a 2.56 ERA last season, and sophomore Summer Terrell (Bridgeville, Pa./Chartiers Valley), who won nine games and led the team in innings pitched (151.1) and strikeouts (67). Terrell also clubbed six homers and drove in 33 while batting .333 at the plate.
Joining the staff this season are freshmen Emily Jump (Milford, Del./Polytech), Deanna Gamble (McMechen, W.Va./John Marshall) and Heidi Soriano (Austintown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch), who all bring different looks to the circle for Forsty.
“Our major weakness last year was having only two starting pitchers and by the time we reached ECACs, they were out of gas,” said Forsty. “So our main offseason goal was to improve our pitching staff and we took a giant step. We have two solid pitchers back in Newland and Terrell, who are both coming off good years. We are really excited about the freshmen we have. Jump is a tremendous pitcher who mixes it up well, while Soriano is a hard-throwing kid who hits spots well and Gamble is still developing but could see a lot of time.
“It’s good to actually have a staff of five this year who could go at any time and in any situation,” said Forsty. “As far as a dominant pitcher, we’ll have to wait and see, but they are all capable of collecting wins and helping us climb back to the PAC title.”
For the Bison to claim another PAC championship, which would be their second in the last three years, Forsty will lean on their pitching depth and a line-up that could be a threat to score from top to bottom.
“The conference is going to a dogfight again with Thomas More still the team to beat because they return their top two pitchers,” said Forsty. “But with our additional depth in the pitching staff and the potential to put out a line-up that 1 through 9 can be very strong, we should have the chance to be there at the end. We will need to be fundamental and sound in all three phases of the game and don’t beat ourselves.”
