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Feb. 16, 2000
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – For the Ring.
That’s the Virginia softball team’s mantra for the 2000 season.
After earning runner-up honors at the 1998 and 1999 Atlantic CoastConference Softball Championships, Virginia has its sights set on winningits first-ever regular season ACC Championship, as well as the school’sfirst ACC Tournament title since 1994. The ingredients are all there: sixexperienced seniors, seven returning starters, a group of newcomers thatwill strengthen last year’s weaknesses, and add to that mix great teamchemistry.
The team cheer “For the Ring” is how the 2000 Virginia softballteam concludes each of its practices. That tells third-year head coachCheryl Sprangel that the Cavaliers believe they can win the ACC titles asdoes she and the rest of the coaching staff. “The coaches and the playersare very excited about the prospects of this season. We know we have thecapability to make it our year. We have the potential and ability to putit all together and win the ACC regular season and tournament titles,” saidSprangel. “Now we have to go out and accomplish that goal.”
The Cavaliers have been close to winning the ACC title the last twoyears under Sprangel’s tutelage. In each of the past two seasons, the’Hoos have been runners-up at the ACC Championship. Sprangel has led UVato back-to-back 30-win seasons, including a 35-26 overall record in 1999.The Cavaliers tied for third place in the ACC regular season with a 4-4record in 1999 as well.
The 2000 version of the Virginia softball team features 16 players,including a six-member first-year class. Among the 10 returningletterwinners are seven starters that give the Cavaliers quality experience. One of the strongest characteristics of Virginia softball hasbeen defense, both in the infield and the outfield, and that should be thecase in the 2000 season as well. “The success we have had in the past canbe directly attributed to our defense and I don’t see that changing,”stated Sprangel. Pitching is another of the Cavaliers’ strengths with thereturn of three veteran pitchers. One area of concern that Sprangel hadfrom last year’s team was run production and she thinks that the additionof the first-year class will aid significantly in alleviating thatweakness. “Offensively, we have added some bats to the lineup. One of theproblems we had last year was that we would get some hits and get runnerson, but we didn’t have the ability to drive them in. This year, I feel wehave more bats in the lineup that are capable of coming up with RBIs.”
INFIELD
The Cavaliers return three of five starters in the infield. Theone major loss is at shortstop with the graduation of four-year starterLori Reese, who was a two-time All-ACC selection (1998 and 1999). Despitethe loss of Reese, Sprangel feels the infield will be solid again in 2000.
Sprangel is looking for fourth-year Karen Breshears to anchor theinfield at third base. “She is definitely going to be one of thecornerstones of our infield,” commented Sprangel. “Karen is a proven,consistent third baseman with excellent reactions.” Breshears was named tothe 1999 All-ACC team as well as the ACC All-Tournament team. A two-yearstarter, she hit .274 last season and tied for team-high honors in runsbatted in with 27. One of three players to start all 61 games, Breshearswas fourth on the team with 49 hits and scored 15 runs.
With the loss of Reese at shortstop, Sprangel is looking for a pairof first-year players, Johanna Kaiser and Ruby Rojas, to step up and fillthe void. “I can foresee both players settling in at shortstop and gettinga lot of playing time. They split time during the fall and showed thecapability to play shortstop, but being first year players, neither of themhas a lot of experience,” explained Sprangel. Both players have strongarms and are good hitters who will be counted on for offensive production.Kaiser has a little more range, but Rojas has more experience fielding theposition. Rojas, a member of the Venezuelan national team, also earnedvaluable experience by playing for her home state of Carabobo in theVenezuelan Olympic Festival in December.
Virginia possesses a combination of experience and youth at secondbase. The experience comes from fourth-year Amy Peay. First-year JillBumler should also gain some valuable experience at second base in 2000.In addition to playing shortstop, Kaiser could see time at second base.
Peay has served as a utility player in the past and will havesomewhat the same role this season. She is pencilled in as the startingsecond baseman, but will most likely shift to first base when second-yearKristen Dennis is pitching. “Amy had the opportunity to play second baselast year, so she has some experience there. She has also played first andthird, giving her quite a bit of collegiate experience,” Sprangel said.Peay started the 56 games she appeared in last season. Her season was cutshort by a finger injury. Peay hit .194 with 27 hits in 139 at-bats andscored 17 runs while driving in 10. She was a perfect six for six instolen bases and had a .941 fielding percentage as well.
The shift of Peay to first will give Bumler and Kaiser additionalplaying time at second base. Bumler is a good hitter and has the mostrange of the second basemen on the roster. “One thing that we will beworking on with Jill is more throwing consistency,” said Sprangel.
At first base, the Cavaliers welcome the return of Kristen Dennis,the 1999 ACC Rookie of the Year. She was also named to the 1999 All-ACCand ACC All-Tournament teams. Dennis was a Southeast Region second-teampick as a utility player and a 1999 VaSID All-State Team selection as well.In addition to playing first base, Dennis will be pitching quite a bit in2000. Dennis is coming off a spectacular year in which she led UVa inhitting with a .347 batting average. Dennis started all 59 games sheappeared in and banged out 61 hits, including team highs of 16 doubles andtwo home runs. She tied Breshears for team-high honors in RBI with 27 andher 61 base hits were third on the club. Dennis was also outstanding inthe field as she posted a .986 fielding percentage. She committed justfour errors in 282 total chances. “When Kristen is not pitching, we willkeep her in the lineup at first base because her hitting is one of the keysto our success,” stated Sprangel.
Sprangel believes that catching is the area that will see the mostimprovement in 2000. That says a lot considering the two catchers on theteam, Britton Gore and Stephanie Calhoun, are first-years. “The reason whyI think the catching position will see the most improvement over last yearis because both of our first-year catchers have stronger arms than we had ayear ago and that will cut down on the number of steals against us. Bothare solid all-around defensive players who will make our infield stronger.”Gore and Calhoun had excellent fall seasons and are very capable hitters.
“The thing that impresses me about Britt is that she has cat-likequick reactions behind the plate. If any of the pitchers do get wild, shehas the capability to keep the ball in front of her or track the ball downquickly. The pitchers are also very comfortable with her knowing whatpitches to call in certain situations of the game to get batters out,” saidSprangel.
“Stephanie has also done a good job and has a strong arm. She isgood at blocking balls and keeping them in front of her. Stephanie’sstrongest aspect is her hitting and will help our team quite a bit with herbat. With Steph in the lineup, it won’t be as easy to pitch around someother players because of her hitting ability. She makes our wholeoffensive lineup stronger. Because of Stephanie’s bat, we want to keep herin the lineup as much as possible and that may mean playing her either atcatcher or in the designated player position,” Sprangel commented.
OUTFIELD
Virginia returns all three starting outfielders from last season.Fourth-years Jen Krill and Corinne Good return in left and center field,respectively, while third-year Meaghan Young is back in right field.Second-year Kelly McCabe and first-year Katie Weinberg round out theoutfield corps. The latter two possess the best speed on the team.Sprangel characterizes her outfield group as fundamentally sound. Theoutfielders always make the routine play, but have the ability to make thespectacular play.
The 2000 season will be Young’s third as the Cavaliers’ startingright fielder. Young, who was selected to the 1999 ACC All-Tournament andVaSID All-State teams, hit .321 last season after hitting .308 as a rookiein 1998. She has 133 career hits after two seasons and already ranks amongUVa’s all-time hits leaders. In 1999, Young led Virginia with 67 hits andscored 28 runs. The leadoff hitter also drove in 21 runs and stole 11bases. “Meg is the type of player who is always consistent offensively anddefensively. She adds to the team every day and is someone we have come tocount on,” said Sprangel.
Good will hold down the starting role in center field. She is anoutstanding defensive center fielder and notched a .970 fielding percentagewith just two errors in 67 attempts. Good batted second in the lineup in1999 and hit .208. She had 31 base hits and led the ‘Hoos with 14sacrifice hits. Good drove in 10 runs while scoring 21 times and stoleseven bases. “Corinne’s biggest asset is the fact that she is very soliddefensively. She always gets a great jump on the ball off the bat and isan excellent communicator in center field. Her senior leadership isanother key for us,” said Sprangel.
Krill is the returning starter in left field, but will share theduties in left with McCabe. Last year, Krill started 57 of the 59 gamesshe appeared in and hit .184. She drove in 20 runs and had eight sacrificehits. “Jen has improved tremendously over the years. She is the type ofplayer that makes the play on every ball she gets to. Jen has the abilityto be a good hitter and also possesses power. The one improvement I’mhoping for this year is for her to become a more consistent hitter and stepup and drive in runs when we need it.”
McCabe, who is the fastest player on the team, will split time inleft field with Krill. McCabe could also see time in center field and atdesignated player. Her biggest strengths are on offense and her greatspeed. She was off to a great start in 1999 before suffering aseason-ending injury. In three games, McCabe was batting .600 with threehits, including a triple and had driven in four runs. “The most excitingthing about the outfield is getting Kelly McCabe back,” Sprangel stated.”She is the key to improving the outfield, especially in regards tooffensive production. We know what she is capable of doing. To me, she isthe type of player that can get things started and make things happen. Wemissed her last year.”
Rounding out the outfield is Weinberg, who adds depth to theoutfield and will most likely see action in left and center field. Shecould also see spot duty in the infield. Weinberg’s biggest asset is herspeed, making her an ideal candidate for pinch running duties. “Theaddition of Katie gives us some depth and options in the outfield. Katiewill also help us a lot in certain base running situations. I can foreseeusing her as a pinch runner in key situations in games. She is anintelligent base runner with above average speed,” Sprangel said.
PITCHING
With the return of four pitchers, including three that won nine ormore games in 1999, pitching must be considered a strength for the 2000Virginia softball team. Sprangel will look to fourth-years Chrissy Quinnand Stacey Zagol, along with Kristen Dennis to shoulder most of thepitching duties. Second-year Erin Allinder will also see quality actionthis season.
Zagol led the pitching staff with 11 victories last year. Shestarted 20 games and appeared in 27 with an 11-10 record and a 2.29 earnedrun average. Zagol pitched 134.1 innings and struck out 65 batters whilewalking 26. She also notched team highs of 15 complete games, fiveshutouts and two saves.Quinn was 9-8 with a 2.25 ERA last season. She pitched 112 innings andcompleted 12 of the 15 games she started. Quinn led the ACC with just overone strikeout per seven innings (7.06). She totaled 113 while walking 59batters.
“Both Chrissy and Stacey return with a great amount of experience.They have both had great years in the past and are determined to go out ona high note. Having those two lead our pitching staff is very exciting,”said Sprangel.
The other exciting aspect in the pitching department is the returnof Dennis. As a freshman, she posted a 9-6 record with a 1.64 ERA and wasnamed the ACC Rookie of the Year. Dennis threw 10 complete games,including four shutouts in 15 starts. In 111 innings, she gave up 77 hitswith opposing batters hitting just .192. “We knew Kristen was going to dowell last year, but she really came on strong towards the end of theseason. If she can pick up where she left off last year she will have aneven better year,” Sprangel said. “Kristen has shown the ability tototally shut down teams – very good offensive teams. The best example isMaryland, who was one of the best hitting teams in the nation last year andKristen was able to shut them down and beat them three out of four times.She has shown the capability to pitch against anyone and be successful.”
Allinder was 1-1 last season and posted a 1.68 ERA. She startedthree games and completed two, including a shutout against George Mason.In 16.2 innings, Allinder struck out nine batters and walked three. “Erinwas able to pick up some experience last year. The games she did get topitch in she showed a lot of maturity and a lot of experience. We have herin the background ready to step up when we need her,” commented Sprangel.
SCHEDULE
The Cavaliers will play a 65-game schedule in 2000 with 22 of thosecontests occurring at home at The Park. In addition to hosting theCavalier Classic and the Hoo’s Who Tournament in March, Virginia will playin five other regular season tournaments. Two of the tournaments have theCavaliers traveling to California, while the others are in Las Vegas,Fayetteville, Ark., and Chapel Hill, N.C. UVa will also travel toTallahassee, Fla., to compete in the 2000 ACC Softball Tournament.
“Every year our schedule gets tougher. Our record ended up prettymuch the same last season as it was the year before, but last year I knewwe were better because we had a stronger schedule. This year, I think itis the same case. We keep stepping up the schedule, where we are playingmore top-20 teams, but that is something we need to do in order to reachour goal of making the NCAA Tournament,” Sprangel stated.
“We know we are a stronger team all-around. The key to this seasonis to make sure we take one game at a time and step up when we have to doit. One of the biggest areas that I would like to improve is the abilityto step up and knock in runs during crucial situations. That will be thekey to our success. There has been a lot of talk that we are going to doit, but the real key is that we really do step up when it comes time. Weneed to stay focused on that. Nothing is ever handed to you, you have togo out and earn it,” concluded Sprangel.
And the Cavaliers want to earn that ring.