Softball starts 2011 campaign Friday
2/8/2011 9:20:00 AM | Softball
With seven starters returning including a preseason All-Southland Conference selection and the second all-time leading hitter in the program's history, Sam Houston head softball coach Bob Brock is ready to prove the preseason polls wrong.
After a tough, injury-laden 21-28 campaign in 2010, the Bearkats have been tabbed to finish ninth in the 2011 Southland softball race according to the preseason poll of the league's head coaches last month.
"We've challenged the team to prove that poll wrong," Brock said. "We're eager to get the season started. We have a solid base of returning players and we're adding some quality freshmen who are going to make an impact."
Sam Houston's 2011 schedule begins this weekend as the Bearkats open play in the Cajun Classic hosted by the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.
The Kats will face the University of Arkansas in a 7 p.m. contest Friday night. On Saturday, Sam Houston meets Rhode Island at 10 a.m. then battles the Razorbacks again at 8 p.m. SHSU will complete action in the tournament Sunday with Prairie View A&M at 12:30 p.m. and host Louisiana-Lafayette at 3 p.m.
The Bearkats will play their first home contest Tuesday, Feb. 15, when they meet Texas Southern at 4 p.m. in the Bearkat Softball Complex.
Brock bases much of his optimism for the coming campaign on the hard work his young team did in the fall.
"We have a young team this season but we have a lot of contributing freshman," Brock said. "We brought in seven freshman and we are trying to get them acclimated into college. This is the first year that we have ever had two freshman pitchers. The freshman have been doing really well and he have scored many runs this fall. Things are really picking up."
Junior Erin Burford, a preseason All-Southland Conference selection, and senior Hailey Wiginton look to be the Bearkats' leaders at the plate. With one season to play, Wiginton ranks second all-time at Sam Houston with a .353 batting average.
Other good news for SHSU is that junior Tomi Garrison is healthy again. Garrison hit .333 last year and also is a top pitcher for the Kats. Also returning from injuries last spring, Alex Survant, Courtney Schoemann and Ashley Isbell have performed well in preseason work.
Besides Burford and Wigington, other returning starters include Calli Wood, Kim Damian and Shelbi Tucker.
Brock is pleased with how the girls have improved and how quickly the freshman have caught on.
"We have some kids here who can really fulfill goals this year," said Brock. "We have three nice tournaments coming up and our main goal right now is getting into the conference tournament and winning."
