Lady Bobcats ready for 2002

By Ryan Schomber
Staff Writer

They went 23-24 last year. Will they snag a Peach Belt Conference championship this year?
After rebuilding around four seniors and six juniors, things are looking quite impressive for this year’s Georgia College & State University softball team.
“We have high expectations; we want to hopefully win the Peachbelt and go to regionals. These are realistic expectations for this team,” said Head Coach Windy Thees.
The pitching staff is much better than last year. With two more good arms on the staff this year, the team has a lot more depth than last year.
“Cathy and Michelle had to throw every game last year. Once teams see the same two pitchers for two years in a row, they can practice for us,” said Thees. “Adding Joiner and Brook Harrison, our freshmen, it is a nice change of pace.”
Senior Michelle Mayne and junior Cathy Chandler return for hopes of another solid season. Mayne, who is GC&SU’s all-time leader in career victories, returns for her fourth year after finishing 12-10 with a 2.14 ERA last season. Chandler pitched just as well as Mayne last season with an 11-9 record and posting a 2.42 ERA. Newcomers Jennifer Joiner and Brook Harrison look to be strong additions to the Lady Bobcats; Joiner transfers to GC&SU from St. Petersburg Community College where she earned All-Star honors last season. In high school, Joiner was the MVP for the state of Florida as a senior and earned All-Academic Honors while playing for Bell High. Freshman Brook Harrison joins the pitching staff after earning All-State Honors three times and being the Region AAA Pitcher of the Year at Harris County High School.
“There is not a number one and number two pitcher. What we want would to do is throw to different looks at the same team,” said Thees. “Jen has speed, Cathy has spin, Michelle has a nasty drop ball and Brook has an off-speed riser. It is nice we have four really good pitchers.”
Following Cheryl Chan’s job at catcher will be hard, but Coach Thees is brought in two quality players to replace her. Newcomer Rebecca Heinicka, a junior, steps in after transferring from Chattanooga State Technical Community College. Another newcomer, Candace Coats, graduated from Morgan County High School in Madison after she was named Best Defensive Player twice.
“Rebecca’s got the experience; she works well with most of the pitchers,” said Thees. “The freshmen are coming along, and all of our catchers have their high points and their low points. Depending on who’s throwing, then we can determine who is going to catch, but Heinicka has the experience, and she will get the start on Wednesday.”
Jill Williams and Nickie Black will play the middle infield positions, at shortstop and second base respectively. Williams is a sophomore with a lot of potential; she was home-schooled in Byron, Ga. She played on a traveling softball team where she earned USSSA All-State honors and was the USSSA Georgia Player of the Year.
“Our middle infield is fabulous with Jill Williams and Nickie Black; they are pretty solid and should be a great asset throughout the year,” said Thees.
This season a newcomer will be playing third base. All-American Kristin Hughes transfers in from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC). She also was a two-time conference player and MVP of the Junior College State Tournament.
“She has so much power at the plate, I am actually scared for the safety of some of the defenders that are going to be playing pretty close,” said Thees.
Freshman Jessie Boutelle can play a couple of positions and will see action at catcher and second base.
A solid pair of seniors, Rebecca Schweitzer and Melanie Cannon, will anchor first base. Schweitzer had a good year after leading the Lady Bobcats with 26 RBI last year. Cannon played in 29 games last year and finished third on the team with a solid .319 batting average.
The outfield is still up in the air with the exception of sophomore Joni Frei, who will be playing centerfield on a regular basis. Seniors Michelle Mayne and Jocelyn Lakani will battle for the leftfield spot. Mayne finished second on the team with 21 RBI, while Lakani finished fourth on the team in batting.
“When Michelle is not pitching, she will be out in left field,” said Thees. “Jocelyn will battle for time in right field, but she has looked really good this fall.”
Junior Mandi Jones and sophomore Brin Davis will share time in right field. Jones was playing really well last season until a broken finger slowed her hitting down and made her finish with .240 batting average. Davis was a freshman making the jump from high school to college and played quite well as a pitcher/outfielder.
“Davis had to make the switch from pitching to outfield. Her attitude has been great, and she has made great steps in becoming a better hitter,” said Thees. “That came with playing everyday in the outfield.”
With so many quality outfielders, the starting lineup could still be up in the air, which means that each Lady Bobcat will have to work really hard in practice to get in the starting line-up.
“We went out and got depth; last year our weakness was the fact that we had no depth,” said Thees. “I really don’t think we have a weakness this year; our pitching, hitting and defense are great. The only thing could be the comfort of the girls playing with each other, and that will come in time.”
This year the Lady Bobcats are taking no prisoners, so come to West Complex and watch the softball team as they beat up on conference rivals.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 8 2002. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry