St. John's University Athletics
2007 Red Storm Softball Season Preview
2/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
A renewed sense of purpose has swept through the Red Storm softball team. Some may attribute it to the brand new coaching staff, anchored by head coach Amy Kvilhaug, or to the five incoming players that add a level of depth unseen in previous season???s squads. Whatever the case may be, one thing is for sure - There is a certain swagger in the steps of this season???s athletes, one that brings visions of BIG EAST Championships and much more.
???There is a saying that goes along the lines of ???guys have to play good to feel good but girls have to feel good to play good,??? said Kvilhaug. ???We have seen a huge turnaround in our team in such a short time. The girls are regaining their confidence and are happy to not only be playing together, but to be representing St John???s. Everyone here feels that the sky is the limit for this team.???
Kvilhaug, who was hired as the head coach in August of 2006, may be what the team needed. Her true competitive nature and passion for softball has made her one of the most exciting young coaches in the game. Over her four seasons as head coach at Radford, Kvilhaug transformed a team with a losing record and molded it into one of the most successful teams in the Big South conference. She left Radford with a 127-115 record and led the team to back-to-back winning campaigns in 2005 and 2006. Kvilhaug shared Big South Head Coach of the Year honors in 2005 after leading the Highlanders to another winning season. Her 2006 pitching staff ranked among the top five in the nation with a 1.12 ERA and helped the team advance to its first Big South Championship game in program history.
Head Coach Amy Kvilhaug |
Her proven tradition of winning stems from her playing days. Kvilhaug competed in the BIG EAST conference as a pitcher with the Providence Friars for four seasons. She made an immediate impact on the program, earning BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, first team All-BIG EAST, second team All-New England and Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament MVP honors all in her freshman season. Kvilhaug served as a team captain during her final three years on the team, leading the Friars to a BIG EAST Championship in 1994 and the ECAC Championship in 1995. She graduated from Providence as the single season leader in appearances (30), games started (29), innings pitched (215.2) and wins (24).
???The challenge of bringing this team to the next level and ultimately being one of the top teams in the BIG EAST is something I look forward to,??? said Kvilhaug. ???I see it already starting to happen with the wonderful athletes we have here and strong staff that I work with. The BIG EAST is most certainly going to be a challenge but I???ve always been one to want, accept and take on challenges.???
BEHIND THE PLATE
After spending the 2005 season without a natural catcher, the Red Storm looks forward to having two catchers join the staff. Rookies Brandy Reyes and Tiffany D???Alessandro both spent their high school careers as catchers and give St. John???s a big boost behind the plate. Reyes will get the start with D???Alessandro serving as a backup. Reyes is a lefty catcher with the ability to throw people out from her knees. Offensively, she is a power hitter that will most likely be penned in at the four or five spot.
???Brandy has the potential to be one of the top catchers in the BIG EAST,??? said Kvilhaug. ???She is extremely talented and is going to be a very big deal for us. She calls a great game and has a solid understanding of the game.???
Meanwhile, in just her short amount of time with St. John???s, D???Alessandro has garnered the nickname ???The General??? for her intensity and hustle on the field. She has the ability to drive the ball and her speed could translate to time in the outfield as well.
AROUND THE INFIELD
With the influx of new faces, the Red Storm will most certainly have different players around the infield this season. Senior co-captain Tami Hill returns to her spot at second base and will lend leadership to the newcomers. Hill played in 55 games last season and led the team with 11 doubles, while posting a .964 fielding percentage.
Senior Co-Captain Tami Hill |
Fellow senior Loren Anguiano has secured a spot as the starting shortstop after working hard to improve her throwing arm. She has great range and has stepped up all areas of her game in each of her seasons with the Red Storm. Offensively, Anguiano proved her ability to produce in clutch situations, coming through with 42 RBI last season. She ranked among the league???s best in RBI for the majority of the season and placed second on St. John???s all-time single season leaders list. Anguiano finished the year with two grand slams, nine doubles and eight home runs while playing in four different positions.
???Loren is the kind of player that has the potential to be an All-American,??? said Kvilhaug. ???We saw what she could do last year and we really just need her to produce on a consistent level. She is going to be a huge piece of the puzzle for us.???
After recovering from a hip injury that required surgery, sophomore Roxann Struble is healthy and ready to take over at third base. She will inherit the position from All-BIG EAST selection Megan Oliver, who graduated in 2005. Struble spent the majority of last season at first base but played third during her high school career. Before becoming irritated by the hip injury, Struble showed hints of just how powerful she can be at the plate. As a rookie, she blasted eight doubles and two triples along with 23 RBI. Now being able to use the full range of the bat, Struble will most certainly see herself in the heart of the lineup.
First base duties will likely fall to newcomer Spring Montgomery. She is a junior transfer from North Idaho College with solid experience under her belt. Montgomery has been described as a ???gamer??? by Kvilhaug and has also shown she can drive the ball. Junior pitcher Lisa Geer may also spend time at first base when not starting in the circle.
ACROSS THE OUTFIELD
St. Johns??? graduated its entire outfield in 2005, leaving three starting spots wide open. So far, junior co-captain Bionka King and freshman Shauntaine Harris have stepped in to fill two of those positions. King will take over in left field, where she made limited appearances last season. She made the most out of her 27 games played, contributing eight runs and seven RBI.
Junior Co-Captain Bionka King |
Finding a replacement in center field looked to be a daunting task after All-BIG EAST and NFCA selection Jo Sherlock graduated. She left St. John???s as the all time leader in various categories, including hits, home runs and RBI and was a mainstay in the outfield for four seasons.
Harris seems unaffected by the legacy of the position that she will take over and her play in limited fall softball action had some thinking she was the perfect girl for the job.
???Defensively, Shauntaine is amazing,??? said Kvilhaug. ???She has the ability to track balls dead-on and has a terrific arm. Offensively, I think she will be overlooked because of her size but she can pop the ball over the fence. She is going to make a huge impact as a freshman."
Right field will be up for grabs between four players: junior Danielle Estrada, freshman Ona Halladay, and sophomores Melissa Pilley and Alyssa Clark.
Estrada is the likely candidate, making the switch from the infield to the outfield. Her versatility and speed give her the advantage in a new position.
???Danielle is a very unselfish player,??? said Kvilhaug. ???She is going to do whatever her team needs her to do to win. She is very quick and she can do a lot of good for us in the outfield.???
Estrada did not miss a single game last season and led the team in runs scored with the 38, which was also among the top 10 in the BIG EAST. She hit her first career home run in 2006, achieving one of many personal goals and inspiring her to continually work on her strength.
Halladay and Pilley have both spent time practicing in the outfield. Pilley is known for her speed, while Halladay???s ability to rip the ball may earn her some time in the outfield or the designated hitter spot. Clark is recovering from ankle surgery and has been working diligently to get back to the team.
IN THE CIRCLE
Senior Kim Lerch and junior Lisa Geer return to the mound this season. Both pitchers experienced success in 2006 and have been working with Kvilhaug to better all areas of their game.
Senior Kim Lerch |
Lerch led the pitching staff with a 2.84 ERA last season and earned arguably one of the team???s most exciting wins of 2006. In only the second weekend of BIG EAST play, Lerch took on No. 19 Louisville on the road and walked away with a 4-1 win. It was the first time St. John???s had defeated a ranked opponent in more than two seasons and helped the team make a statement early in the season.
???Kim has been working very hard, both in practice and on her own,??? said Kvilhaug Because she is a power pitcher, it is important for her to have movement on her pitches. We have been working hard on this all fall, and I am very happy with the improvements I have seen. Kim and I both set goals for her and she has not only met them, but exceeded them and is doing it consistently.???
Meanwhile, Geer led the staff in most other categories including innings pitched (164.2), strikeouts (138) and opponent batting average (.241). She tossed her first career no-hitter against Fairleigh Dickinson on March 22 and racked up 13 wins on the season.
???Lisa has all the tools in the world available to her,??? said Kvilahug. ???We have been focusing on her location because if she can cut down on her number of walks, she will be much more affective. If Lisa keeps working hard, she will be able to achieve great things for us this season.???
As a relief option, Montgomery has pitching experience from her junior college days at North Idaho and could make appearances in the circle for the Red Storm this season.
THE SCHEDULE
The Red Storm will face one of its most competitive schedules in recent years, taking on 10 teams that advanced to the Women???s College World Series (WCWS) and four that spent the 2006 season ranked among the best teams in the country. St. John???s will open the season on Feb. 16, at the Florida Atlantic Tournament in Boca Raton, Fla. Long Island, Florida Atlantic and Michigan, all of whom advanced to the NCAA Tournament, along with Maryland, will be on the three-day bill.
"I strongly favor aggressive scheduling,??? said Kvilhaug. ???With the schedule completed upon my arrival in August, I was pleased to see us matched up early in the season against teams like Texas and Michigan who are often ranked in the top five nationally. I feel that in order to be the best we must play the best. Overall, our non-conference schedule is really well-rounded this year and will certainly assist us in the preparation for an extremely competitive conference schedule."
The Red Storm will take part in three additional tournaments before the start of the BIG EAST Conference season: the East Carolina Tournament, the University of Texas Tournament and the Hofstra Tournament. The University of Texas Tournament, which will take place March 2-4, has St. John???s pitted against Texas, who finished the season as the third-ranked team in the nation and made it to the semifinals of the WCWS. The Hofstra tournament will showcase local talent such as Stony Brook and Hofstra.
Monmouth will help St. John???s open the home portion of its schedule on March 21 at Red Storm Field. The Red Storm will play 10 doubleheaders at home overall during the 2007 campaign, seven of which are BIG EAST contests. St. John???s will look to use its home field advantage as Providence, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, South Florida and Louisville all finished in the top of the conference. For the second consecutive season, St. John???s will close out the regular season and the BIG EAST season at home the weekend of May 5-6 when it hosts South Florida and Louisville. The Louisville/South Florida weekend proved to be an important one last season, as the Red Storm split its games with Louisville and dropped two tightly contested games to South Florida.
The conference season will officially begin for the Red Storm with a road trip to Notre Dame and DePaul the weekend of March 24-25. The Fighting Irish are the defending BIG EAST Champions after defeating Louisville, 1-0, in the conference championship game. In its first season as part of the conference, DePaul finished fifth overall and advanced to the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament. Notre Dame will once again host the BIG EAST Conference Tournament on May 10-12, in Belleville, Ind.
