· Game notes (.pdf)
SAN ANTONIO — The three-time defending Southland Conference champion UTSA softball team will open the 2007 campaign this weekend at the CenturyTel Classic in San Marcos, Texas. The Roadrunners face Oklahoma State in the opener at 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 9, and then play host Texas State in a non-conference game at 5:30 p.m. Friday. UTSA faces Alabama, a Women’s College World Series participant the past two seasons, at 10 a.m. on Saturday before bracket play that afternoon. The consolation game is at 11 a.m. on Sunday, followed by the championship at 1:30 p.m.
UTSA Roadrunners at CenturyTel Softball Classic
Friday-Sunday, Feb. 9-11
Bobcat Field (1,000) • San Marcos, Texas
UTSA’s Tournament Schedule
Friday, Feb. 9
UTSA vs. Oklahoma State (GameTracker on txstatebobcats.com), 10 a.m.
UTSA at Texas State (GameTracker on txstatebobcats.com), 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 10
UTSA vs. Alabama (GameTracker on txstatebobcats.com), 10 a.m.
Bracket Play (GameTracker on txstatebobcats.com), 3 or 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 11
Consolation or Championship Game (GameTracker on txstatebobcats.com), 11 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.
Tuning In: Live audio of the Oklahoma State game will be available for free through UTSA’s official athletics Web Site — goUTSA.com. Texas State will provide GameTracker for all of its games, including the UTSA matchup on Friday evening, at txstatebobcats.cstv.com.
Series Histories: UTSA has faced all three teams before, owning a 27-25 all-time record against Texas State, an 0-7 mark against Oklahoma State and an 0-1 record against Alabama. Oklahoma State defeated UTSA, 11-3, in the last meeting on Feb. 16, 2006, while Texas State has won the last three meetings with the Roadrunners. Alabama defeated UTSA, 10-2, on Feb. 19, 1999, in the only meeting.
A New Era: Lori Cook enters her second year as head coach after guiding the Roadrunners to one of the most successful seasons in school history in 2006. UTSA was 37-14 overall, won its third consecutive SLC regular season title with a 22-5 mark, won the SLC Tournament for the second time in three years and made its second NCAA Tournament appearance.
UTSA Tidbits
• UTSA is 6-9 all-time in season openers, including an 11-3 victory against Portland State last year
• The Roadrunners last played in the CenturyTel Classic to start the 2004 season, going 3-2 with victories against New Mexico State (5-1), Texas Tech (11-3) and Tulsa (8-2)
• UTSA has led the NCAA in home runs per game in each of the last four seasons
2007 Season Outlook
Coming off arguably the most successful season in the program’s 15-year history, head coach Lori Cook has plenty of reasons to be excited and anxious about seeing the product on the field this spring.
The Roadrunners were faced with two big question marks entering 2006 — would the success of the past two seasons carry over under a new head coach and how would the team fill the void left by 2005 Southland Conference Player and Hitter of the Year Jessica Rogers, who sat out the season to recover from surgery.
UTSA didn’t miss a beat, posting a 37-14 record, capturing its third consecutive regular season conference championship with a 22-5 mark, winning the SLC Tournament, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years and demolishing its own NCAA record for home runs per game.
“Stepping in as head coach prior to last season was a challenge for me,” Cook, who was a UTSA assistant coach from 2001-05, said. “I felt that since I had recruited most of the players and was with the program for so long, that the transition to me as head coach would be an easy one for the entire group. For us to accomplish the things we did in my first year was very exciting. The pressure was on me to see if I could continue the success, but we were successful because the players believed in the things we were committed to.”
That the Roadrunners were successful was not surprising, but to be successful at the level they were was. Considering UTSA would have to play without the services of Rogers, who slugged 23 home runs and drove in 64 — both conference records — in 2005, not many thought the Roadrunners would continue to rewrite the record books for power hitting.
“You never want to say you can’t accomplish something,” Cook, the 2006 SLC Coach of the Year, said. “I honestly did not think we would break the home run record when we lost Rogers for the season. Other players stepped up in her absence, and in some cases, it was freshmen. It was truly amazing, but it shows that we have built a program here.”
This year, Rogers returns to the lineup, but a large void has been created by the graduation of an accomplished senior class responsible for a large portion of UTSA’s success the past three seasons. The loss of Jessica Els, a two-time first-team all-conference catcher, Amanda Horton, the 2006 SLC Utility Player of the Year who led UTSA with 19 home runs, Mel Torres, a two-time all-league performer at second base, Stacey Gillespie, one of the most dependable outfielders in school history, and Hope Ortiz, the team’s top reliever the past three seasons, looms large.
However, UTSA has an established program in place and programs don’t replace players. They reload.
“That class helped make this program what it is today,” Cook said. “They won three conference championships and went to regionals twice, neither of which had been done before. We have to find new players who can do what they did – help take this program to the next level. I think we’re on the right track with the group of newcomers we added.”
Infield
UTSA traditionally has put one of the league’s best infields on the field for the past three seasons and 2007 should be no different. Aimee Murray, a three-time all-conference performer with 35 career home runs, returns for her senior season at shortstop, while the aforementioned Rogers and her 51 career long balls are back at third base. Senior Stevi Simpson earned first-team All-SLC accolades after a.352 year at the plate and errorless season in the field in her first full year at first base. Rachel Rackley, a sophomore from Baytown who hit 10 home runs and slugged .548 last year, also could see time at third.
The Roadrunners will have to fill the spot left by Torres at second base, but a trio of shortstops by trade have shown promise in the preseason. Kelly Cato, a redshirt freshman from Angleton, Kourtney Jones, a junior transfer from Texas-Tyler, and Mercedes Hessel, a freshman from Montgomery, all have the arm and footwork to play the position. True freshman speedster Rudi Cantu, who was recruited as an outfielder, also gained experience in the middle infield during her outstanding prep career at Alvin High School.
Freshmen Brittany Bell, the 2006 District 22-5A Defensive Player of the Year at Baytown Sterling High School, Cassie Miller, an all-district performer from Mesquite High School, and Krista Sitka, a slugger from Pasadena Dobie High School, all could contribute at one of the corner infield positions.
Catcher
Els was a four-year starter behind the dish for UTSA, capping her career by earning SLC Tournament MVP and second-team all-region honors.
Senior Catherine Garza returns as the most experienced catcher on the roster, having batted .381 with four home runs in 26 games last season. Bell, Miller and Rogers all could see time behind the plate, depending on who has the hot bat.
Designated Player
Rackley earned honorable mention and All-SLC Tournament honors at designated player last year and returns as one of the top power hitters in the conference this season. Cook has some flexibility with position starters, so the hot bat will see the most time at DP in 2007.
Outfield
UTSA has two big shoes to fill in center and right field with the departure of all-conference performers Gillespie and Horton. Junior Kim Chavez, a third-team selection who batted .324 last year, returns after missing the final two months of the season with a knee injury, while sophomore Leanne Risberg saw action in left and right field in 48 games last season.
Cantu and junior transfer Lindsay Perry, also a speedy Alvin High product who hit .331 at Alvin Community College in 2006, are both qualified candidates to step in at any of the three positions. Freshman Chelsey Chapman, an all-district player from Clear Lake High School, also will see action in the outfield.
Pitcher
In what has been UTSA’s most-improved position during the past three years, no pitcher arguably has had a better individual season in the past half-decade than Amanda Nikolenko did in 2006. The junior from Ashland, Mo., earned first-team all-conference honors after posting a 23-7 record, 2.24 earned run average and 157 strikeouts in 184.2 innings of work.
UTSA will have to replace two-time all-league pitcher Ursula Mares, who left for personal reasons after her junior season, but junior transfer Janeille Nickels brings solid credentials — 16-6 record, 0.83 ERA at Palomar JC last year — as the complement to Nikolenko. Simpson, who was 9-6 as a freshman in 2004, also could see some time in the circle.
Schedule
In keeping with tradition of last season, the non-conference slate is tough. UTSA will face five teams that made the 2006 NCAA Tournament, including Women’s College World Series participants Alabama and Texas.
The Roadrunners open at the CenturyTel Softball Classic in San Marcos on Feb. 9-11. UTSA faces Oklahoma State, Texas State and Alabama in the four-team bracket before heading to College Station to play Arkansas, Rutgers and Texas A&M for the Aggie Classic on Feb. 16-18.
UTSA makes its first trip to the West Coast in some time to play in the UCSB Mini-Tournament on Feb. 23-25. The Roadrunners face UC Santa Barbara, Santa Clara and Northern Illinois in their final tune-up for the conference slate.
Still playing the traditional three-game series in SLC play, the Roadrunners open on the road at conference newcomer Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 27-28 before finally playing their first home games against Texas-Arlington on March 3-4.
UTSA hosts a pair of intriguing mid-week games the following week. St. John’s comes to San Antonio on March 6 before the lights come on for Texas on March 8, the first night game at Roadrunner Field.
UTSA has a couple of tough road games at nationally-ranked LSU (March 13) and Baylor (March 28) and a home doubleheader with Texas Tech (March 16) to round out the non-conference portion of the schedule.
Conference home series include Central Arkansas (March 17-18), Nicholls State (March 24-25), Northwestern State (April 14-15) and Sam Houston State (April 28-29). UTSA is on the road in league play at Southeastern Louisiana (March 10-11), Texas State (March 30-31), Stephen F. Austin (April 21-22) and McNeese State (May 5-6). The SLC Tournament will be hosted by Sam Houston State on May 10-12.
