Junior pitcher Shalise Lugo looks forward to leading a talented pitching staff for the RedHawks that features two juniors and a freshman.
As the bitterness of winter wears on, the Miami University softball team is hard at work improving on the success of last season and moving toward the goal of a MAC title.
After finishing 13-9 in the MAC and 23-27 overall last season, the RedHawks appear promising with the return of 12 letter winners and one of the strongest recruiting classes in Miami's history.
Of those returning is senior outfielder Ashley Gartland who said she feels the 'Hawks will be stronger all around this year.
"We have more depth at all positions, and I feel we're more cohesive as a team," Gartland said. "We definitely will have a strong defense as well as great hitting, and pitching is something we have more of than we did last season."
Miami has four pitchers in the rotation this year compared to only two last season. One newcomer is freshman Jessica Simpson, who is coming off a fall season when she pitched 28.1 innings with a 0.00 ERA and 31 strikeouts, and held her opponents to a .214 batting average.
Also returning is senior captain Kelly Cabana, who along with Gartland did not play last year due to injury.
Third-year head coach Kelly Schoenly said the return of Cabana and Gartland will be a strength for the team this year.
"They're definitely hungry to play," Schoenly said. "By not playing last year it only fuels their fire to be the best because this is their last shot."
The team began its season last weekend at the Sunshine Classic in Tallahassee, Fla., winning against Appalachian State University before dropping games to Purdue University, Mississippi State University and Florida State University, all of which were in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
Coach Schoenly said she feels the tough schedule will pay off when it comes time to start MAC play.
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"The harder schedule at the beginning of the season definitely helps us later on. The girls gain confidence knowing they can play with the top teams and that will help us when we play our conference schedule," Schoenly said.
Coach Schoenly was honest about the outlook for the season.
"We're going to be sort of two different teams as the season progresses; both (Alicia) Hogl and (Lauren) Odom will be out for the first two weeks of the season due to injury," Schoenly said. "There will be lots of opportunities for playing time so I'm unsure who will ultimately win out, but we're definitely going to be a strong team this year."
The RedHawks were picked to finish third in the MAC East, but Coach Schoenly isn't giving that too much attention.
"I don't really worry about that this early," Schoenly said. "We're approaching things with a day-by-day attitude."
The 'Hawks head to Georgia this weekend to compete in the K-Club Classic hosted by Kennesaw State University. The team begins play Friday against MAC rival University at Buffalo in a non-conference game at 1:30 p.m., then will play the host Owls at 4:30 p.m.
Miami's offense is ready to get its bats rolling this season and improve on last season's surprising 13-9 conference record.
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