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General Information
Athletic Information
Sports Information
Softball Information
The 2001 softball season brings an air of uncertainty to Blue Hen country. After setting a school-record for wins again last season with a 36-14 mark and advancing to the America East Tournament after a second place regular season finish, the Delaware roster this season features six freshmen for the 2001 season. Yet, there is still reason for optimism.
Head coach B.J. Ferguson, who enters her 21st season as coach of the Blue Hens, realizes that there will be a learning curve. "We are a young team and we will possibly have three freshmen in the starting line-up," said Ferguson who needs just 10 wins for 400 in her career. "Mistakes are going to happen. We will work toward the conference schedule in late March in hopes that we can grow from our mistakes." Toeing the rubber will be the senior Dugan, junior Amanda Cariello and senior Lauren Mark. Dugan was Delaware's first 20-game winner last season. The native of Rising Sun, MD went 20-3 and earned second-team all-conference and second-team all-region honors in her first season as a Blue Hen after transferring from St. Joseph's.
Cariello will take on a new role this season. After spending the first two seasons as a designated player and outfielder, the Bear, DE native returns to the role of a pitcher that she filled in high school at nearby St. Mark's. The Blue Hens suffered a loss when sophomore Brooke May suffered a season-ending ligament tear in her knee during pre-season workouts. May had an outstanding off-season and was improved from a year ago. As a freshman, the native of Kelso, WA pitched in just 12-2/3 innings of work, recording one no-decision as a starter and appearing six times in relief. The loss of May brings Mark back into the pitching circle. Mark pitched briefly as a freshman at Delaware and will get the call in the absence of May. The trio will have big shoes to fill after the graduation of UD's all-time winningest pitcher and first-team all-conference and all-region selection Kristi O'Connell (16-11, 0.72 ERA, 170 Ks, 36 BBs, 174.1 IP). Behind the plate will be a pair of freshmen &endash; the first time in Ferguson's 21 seasons that two freshmen will split the catching duties. Laurie Erickson and Ashley Green will platoon behind the plate in their rookie season. Ferguson will likely go with whichever catcher is playing best come game day. Erickson is a right-handed hitter from Warminster, PA. At Archbishop Wood HS, she was a three-time Catholic League Most Valuable Player and first-team all-conference selection as well as Bucks County Courier Times Athlete of the Year and second-team all-state selection as a senior. Green was a two-time all-conference honoree and three-time team MVP at Stoneridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, MD. A native of Germantown, MD, she was also a three-year letterwinner on the field hockey team. "Our pitchers and catchers will have an advantage this season unlike before," said Ferguson. "We have hired Kerrie Porter as a full-time assistant coach, who was an all-region catcher at Wingate University. She will work with our pitchers and catchers a great deal and also bring her hitting knowledge to the team, as well." Around the infield, it will be a mixture of experience and youth. Wasilewski and Basilio return as the anchors of the infield. Basilio, a sophomore from Pickering, Ontario, Canada, enjoyed an outstanding defensive season at third base for the Blue Hens. In 47 starts as a freshman, Basilio had a .978 fielding percentage, committing just four errors in 179 chances last season despite playing most of the year with a sore hand. That hand did seem to affect her hitting as she hit just .191, but was third on the team in two-out RBI with seven.
All that and she also earned District II CoSIDA Academic All-American honors. She will be a candidate for academic honors again this season. At first base this season will be freshman Liz Winslow. A hard-worker who can hit for power from the left side of the plate, Winslow comes to Delaware via Scarborough, ME. She was selected as the state's Most Valuable Player last season and the Gatorade Player of the Year as a pitcher and first baseman at Scarborough HS. Her team compiled a four-year record of 70-10 at Scarborough, where she also earned All-Western Maine Conference each of her four years. At second base, two players will be vying for the starting nod after the graduation of Erin Kelly (.236 avg., 16 RBI, .969 field pct.). Junior Beth Baugher will look to emerge from her role as a reserve the last two seasons and move over from third base. Baugher, a native of Langhorne, PA (Neshaminy HS) and the younger sister of former Blue Hen standout Lauren Baugher, appeared in 23 games last season, mostly as a late game pinch-runner. Also looking for the starting nod will be freshman Rebecca Bates. A native of Stewartsville, NJ, Bates was a three-sport standout at Warren Hills Regional HS. She was selected the Star-Ledger's Area Athlete of the Year and was an all-county and all-area selection in softball, as well as a second-team all-state selection in field hockey. She will be moving over from first base, where she played at Warren Regional. At Delaware, she could also be called upon in the outfield. In the outfield, the Blue Hens return two starters from a year ago. Mandy Welch and Lauren Mark return to solidify the outfield. Welch, who saw time at both first base and in the outfield last season, hit .276 as a sophomore &endash; nearly 80 points below her freshman batting average of .357 which earned her 1999 America East Rookie of the Year. The junior from LaPlata, MD has started all 100 games since arriving at Delaware and already has 111 career hits &endash; last season becoming the first player in UD history to surpass 100 hits as a sophomore. Her 45 hits were second on the team and her 34 runs scored was best on the squad. In addition, she made just one error in 164 chances at first base and in the outfield.
Mark hit .403 with runners in scoring position and also led the team in two-out RBI, with 16 of her 31 coming in the clutch. Its no wonder she was a first-team all-conference selection and an All-ECAC pick. The third outfield slot will be filled by a couple of possibilities. The left field position became available when Krissy Chrisztopulosz did not to return to school. Therefore, either the aforementioned Baugher, Bates or Cariello are the most likely candidates to fill the slot. One of those players may also move to right field when Mark is called upon to pitch. In addition, Cariello will likely be used as the designated player from time-to-time, along with freshman Laura Streets. Streets, a freshman from Newark, DE (Newark HS), brings another left-handed bat with power into the line-up and could also play herself into the outfield. Last year at Newark HS, Streets earned first-team all-conference and second-team all-state honors as a pitcher and shortstop. She led Newark to its first state tournament appearance since 1976. Also looking to fill in from time-to-time is utility player Erin Kushlan, a freshman from Quarryville, PA. She was a three-sport athlete at Solanco HS. Ferguson sees the conference outlook as possibly the most balanced it has been in several years. "There is no real frontrunner this season," said Ferguson, whose teams have qualified for the America East Tournament each of the last eight seasons. "I think that Towson, who was very successful with a young team last season, along with Hofstra, Boston University and Drexel have to be considered among the top. However, there is certainly more parody this season than we've seen the last four or five years." The America East Softball Tournament will be held at Delaware Field on the UD campus May 10-12. It will mark the fifth time in the last 10 years that the Blue Hens have served as the tournament's host.
Please direct Athletics questions to the Sports Information office. |
