Season Outlook - Guilford College

  • 2006 SOFTBALL OUTLOOK

 

      Guilford's softball team enters its fourth season with great promise. Seven returning letter winners, including four seniors, should help the Quakers improve on last year's school-record 16-win season.  Guilford finished the regular season as the fifth-place team in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) and was invited to the six-team ODAC Tournament.  Four student-athletes earned All-ODAC and All-Atlantic Region honors:  Jennifer Franklin '05, Ashley Cooke '05, Christi Dunnigan, and Carla Cain.

 

Head coach Ty Cook begins her third season at the helm with a strong mix of youth and experience.  The Quakers boast senior leadership at key infield and outfield spots, plus their starting pitcher.  Six new student-athletes join the Quakers lineup this year, all of whom are versatile hitters and field players.  The team's flexibility gives Cook plenty of lineup options and allows her to tailor the Quakers' strength to their competition.  The addition of assistant coach Rashida Bryant's experience added to the roster's flexibility should allow Guilford to move into the top third of the conference.

 

Here's a preview of the Quakers by position:

 

      INFIELD:  Seniors Carla Cain, a 2005 All-ODAC and All-Atlantic Region honoree, and Jennifer King will anchor for the Quakers infield.  Cain, a three-year starter and Guilford's top returning hitter (.341), will share middle infield duties with newcomer Lauren Utz. Cain, a right-handed hitter, is an excellent defender and a team captain in 2005.  King, who joins the team after completing the basketball season, is the Quakers' most versatile utility player capable of playing any position on the field.  She will share corner infield duties with freshmen Kelly Hale, Taryn Pulvermuller, Jessica Smith, and Utz.  Senior Jennifer Evans and sophomore Zenovia Hogue, both pitchers in Guilford's rotation, will also vie for time at infield positions. Whatever the combination, Cook has more flexibility than last season, which should parlay into better production from the infield.

 

      OUTFIELD:  The Quakers return three-year starter Cara Pattillo in the outfield.  Guilford's best outfielder, Pattillo has a strong arm and can cover ground quickly.  She will be joined by sophomore Ciara Locklear along with freshmen Kelly Guarnieri and Sara Vaisvilas vying for time as outfield starters in 2006.

 

      PITCHER:  Leading what is arguably the Quakers deepest rotation to date, senior Evans again returns as Guilford's top pitcher in 2006. She will highlight a five-player rotation which includes: Hale, Hogue, Pulvermuller and Vaisvilas.  The pitching staff combines finesse and power, which should allow Guilford to create match-up problems for its opponents.

 

      CATCHER:  The departure of Cooke, who earned all-region and All-ODAC honors a year ago, creates an opening for the starting job behind the plate in 2006.  Junior Murphie Chappell will compete with Guarnieri for back stop duties.

 

      Guilford begins its competition February 18 hosting Peace College.  The Quakers face a difficult out-of-conference schedule that includes games against perennial powers Salisbury, Rutgers-Camden, Mary Washington, and Lycoming.  Guilford opens its ODAC schedule against visiting Roanoke March 15 at 2:00 p.m.