SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA softball team will travel to Waco this weekend for the season-opening Getterman Classic,. The Roadrunners will face No. 24 Illinois and McNeese State on Friday before squaring off with tournament host Baylor the next day. The three-day event's semifinals will be played Saturday evening and the championship and consolation games will be contested on Sunday.
Click here for complete tournament information, including live stats and audio.
2011 season outlook
An even mix of experienced returners and newcomers make up the 2011 UTSA softball team. Interim head coach Stephanie Hughes returns nine letterwinners from last year’s squad that finished with 23 wins overall and in seventh place in the Southland Conference at 15-15.
The Roadrunners return 75 percent of their offensive production from a year ago, highlighted by junior Caitlyn Ivy, a preseason first-team all-conference and 2010 second-team National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region selection.
Ivy had a breakout season last spring, leading the team in seven offensive categories while pacing the Southland in slugging percentage (.660) and home runs (12).
Hughes also welcomes 10 newcomers — senior Carrie Monroe, juniors Corley Call and Alaina Byars, sophomore Haylee Staton and freshmen Siera Sproul, Courtney Buchman, Shelby Ruderman, Jori Fox, Molly Fichtner and Katy Akins — to the Main campus.
“The team chemistry that we have right now is the best it’s been in a while,” Hughes said. “They are gelling together really well. The newcomers are stepping right in and the veterans are accepting that because they see how talented our newcomers are.”
Where starting positions have been spoken for in previous seasons, this year could see several different lineups thanks to the versatility of the squad. Having those options is something Hughes is looking forward to.
“As a coach, having several all-around players is a nice problem to have,” she said. “I’ve been on other staffs where we’ve wondered how we would fill the lineup, and that’s just not the case with this group.”
Pitchers
All three pitchers that saw time in the circle last spring return and will once again share the workload for this spring.
Seniors Emily Humpal and Danyé Holmes along with junior Morgan Luksa pitched every inning and combined to record 22 complete games, five shutouts and 237 strikeouts.
Humpal, a right-hander from Corpus Christi, logged 142 panels last season and led the staff with 10 complete games, three shutouts and 132 punchouts while recording a 3.80 ERA. Seven of her team-leading 13 wins came in conference play. She also carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning last year against Texas State.
Holmes, a lefty from Sugar Land, returns for her final season after posting a half dozen wins to go along with a 4.05 ERA in 109 innings of work. All six of her wins came in Southland action, where she held opponents to a .242 batting average. As a freshman, Holmes earned second-team all-conference honors after going 9-6 (8-1 in league play) with a 2.23 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 101.1 innings.
Luksa, a right-hander from Clear Creek, is coming off her best season as a Roadrunner after going 4-5 with a team-leading 2.70 ERA in 98.2 frames. She made 20 appearances out of the bullpen and recorded two saves on the year. Luksa only got better as the season progressed, leading the league with a 1.64 ERA in Southland contests.
Staton and Akins also could see time out of the bullpen this spring.
Staton comes to UTSA after compiling a 10-6 record and 1.56 ERA at Concordia Texas where she earned first-team All-American Southwest Conference honors.
Meanwhile, Akins is fresh off her senior campaign at Bowie High School where she led the Bulldawgs to a state runner-up finish in 2010.
“You can’t coach the experience that Danyé and Emily have,” Hughes said. “Emily will probably throw most of the innings, but we’ll try to get Morgan more work this year. Those three, along with the two newcomers, give us the luxury of having five pitchers we can go to at any point. Haylee and Katy are different from the other three in that they rely more on movement rather than power and we look for that contrast to keep opposing hitters off balance.”
Catchers
Hughes will rely on two freshmen, Fichtner and Ruderman, to handle the experienced pitching staff behind the plate.
With Ruderman battling an injury in the fall, Fichtner handled the all the catching in fall practices and Hughes believes both are where they need to be offensively heading into the season and that they will continue to learn how to manage the staff as the year progresses.
“I don’t see a problem with starting either one of them right now,” she said. “Getting them used to the speed of the college game is our biggest challenge right now, but they are catching on quickly.”
Infielder Ashley Kappler will also be available to catch if necessary.
Infielders
UTSA returns half of its infield from last season, led by Ivy.
However, look for the Huntington native to see more time at first base this season, a position she made four starts at as a freshman in 2009. Ivy’s .383 batting average last spring ranks seventh on the school’s single-season charts and she once again will be counted on to be the catalyst for the Roadrunners’ offense.
The projected shift is a result of Monroe, a transfer from Iowa State, who owns a .922 fielding percentage in three seasons as a shortstop. Hailing from Austin, she started 153 games for the Cyclones the last three springs.
“Carrie is extremely athletic and quick with great range,” Hughes said. “To bring in someone with three years of experience at that position in the Big 12 is invaluable. She’s been working really well with the right side of our infield, which will be much younger and inexperienced.”
Along with Ivy, the right side will see either Ashley Kappler or Buchman at second base. Kappler made 32 starts at second base and was third on the team with a .282 batting average last season. Despite their youth, Hughes believes that both will contribute to a solid defensive infield.
Joining Monroe on the left side will be Kristin Kappler or Nikki Goff.
Kappler, a senior from Lake Jackson, logged 21 starts at the hot corner in 2010 and hit .254 with six homers and 24 RBIs. Goff, meanwhile, started 16 games at third base after transferring from Louisiana-Lafayette a year ago.
“Offensively, Kristin and Nikki have a lot of power,” Hughes said. “They both bring different things to the table defensively. Kristin doesn’t let a lot get by her and Nikki can use her quickness to come in and field a bunt. I’m comfortable with either of them in the lineup.”
Fox, a San Antonio native, and Beeson, a sophomore from Austin, also can step in and provide depth around the infield.
Outfield
With the loss of all-conference performer Rudi Cantu, Hughes welcomes what is essentially a brand new outfield to Roadrunner Field.
Little, a converted infielder, has the most outfield experience in the group after making 32 starts at the position last season. The Spring native committed just two errors on the year and could see time at all three spots this spring.
Sproul most likely will patrol right field, while Beeson and Buchman could find a home in the outfield when not playing the infield.
“This is our most inexperienced group, but they’re learning the position so fast,” Hughes said. “Laura has surprised us more than any other year with her tremendous range, especially for someone who has played infield their entire life.”
Schedule
As in year’s past, the Roadrunners will face a tough non-conference schedule to prepare for Southland play.
UTSA opens its season on Feb. 11 at the three-day Getterman Classic in Waco. The Roadrunners will play games against Big Ten-power Illinois, McNeese State and host Baylor before traveling to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the Bama Bash (Feb. 18-20) for contests against Syracuse, Alabama and Louisville.
“There’s no substitute for the experience of playing great teams like Illinois and Baylor and Alabama on their home field,” Hughes said. “If our players can handle pressure situations in front of 3,500 people, that will better prepare them for situations down the road this season. We want them to face pressure situations early, so when they’re faced with those situations when it counts in conference season, they will know how to respond.”
Other non-conference road tilts include North Texas (Feb. 25), Texas A&M (March 9), Baylor (April 20) and Texas (April 26), along with home-and-home doubleheaders with Texas Southern (March 16/April 5) and Houston Baptist (March 30/April 13).
The Southland slate includes home series against Northwestern State (March 5-6), Sam Houston State (March 19-20), UT Arlington (April 2-3), Central Arkansas (April 16-17) and Nicholls (April 22-23). UTSA will travel to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (March 1-2), Stephen F. Austin (March 12-13), McNeese State (March 26-27), Southeastern Louisiana (April 9-10) and Texas State (April 29-30) this spring.
The Southland Tournament will be hosted by Sam Houston State from May 12-14.
