CLERMONT, Fla. - The Cabrini softball team will begin its 2016 campaign on Monday morning, with the first of six games on its annual Spring Break trip to Clermont, Fla. The season's first pitch will take place at 9 a.m., when the Cavaliers take the field against York College. Cabrini will then face Ohio Northern at 1 p.m.The Blue and White will play six games during the three day trip. Cabrini will face No. 11 Alma College and Capital University on Tuesday and conclude the trip on Wednesday with games against Otterbein University and John Carroll University.
Interim head coach Sammy Thompson will look to lead a Blue and White squad that graduated just three seniors from a team that posted a 27-12 record and reached the Colonial States Athletic Conference championship game for the second consecutive season.
The Blue and White will be led by senior Kaitlyn Cooper and junior Amber Dietrich, both of whom earned All-CSAC and All-NFCA All-East Region honors in 2015. Cooper posted a .375 batting average, a team high 42 RBI, 48 hits and five home runs, while Dietrich led the team with a .426 batting average and five triples and recorded 46 hits and 25 RBI.
The Cavaliers will also look to junior Lindsay Savar, who earned an All-CSAC Honorable Mention after her efforts last season. Savar added power at the plate in 2015, as the junior ranked third in the CSAC with six homers. Savar also held a batting average of .402, to go along with 28 RBI, 37 hits and 27 runs scored.
In the circle for the Blue and White, sophomores Kaitlyn Hohman and Jess Giordano combined for a record of 19-7 in 2015. Hohman finished the year 10-1, with a 4.18 ERA and 44 strikeouts. Giordano earned a 4.12 ERA, tallied a team high 48 strikeouts and surrendered just 47 runs in 78.2 innings pitched.
York is coming off a 23-19 season, which included an early season 5-2 win over nationally ranked Christopher Newport. The Green and White will look to juniors Katie Maloney and Carleigh Ruleman. Maloney earned All-Capital Athletic Conference honors after leading the Spartans with a .360 batting average, 28 runs scored, 16 RBI and .472 slugging percentage in 125 at bats. Ruleman averaged .351 from the plate, recorded 19 runs scored and a team high 23 RBI and eight home runs.
The Spartans split games today to start the 2016 season, falling 11-0 to Otterbein in the day's morning game before earning a 6-0 win over Lyndon State in the second game. York will face the Blue and White tomorrow morning, before taking on St. Vincent.
Ohio Northern finished 24-14, including a 12-4 win over the Blue and White during last year's Spring break trip. ONU made it to the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) title game where it fell to Heidelberg 9-5. Sophomore Kirsten Lightel, who earned OAC Rookie of the Year and OAC Pitcher of the Year honors, returns for Polar Bears. Lightel recorded 120 strikeouts in 149 innings pitched. ONU will also look to sophomore Gia Saturday, who led the team with 34 RBI on 37 hits.
ONU is 4-2 to start the season after today's action. The Polar Bears fell to Neumann 8-2 this morning but bounced back to score a 9-1 win over No. 11 Alma in the afternoon game. The Polar Bears will face Immaculata tomorrow morning and Cabrini in the afternoon.
After finishing .500 in 2014, Alma shocked the nation last season, as it was one of the final eight teams remaining in the country. The Scots fell 5-4 to DePauw University on the second day of the NCAA Division III softball national championship. Alma lost seven Scots, including five starters, from last year's club that finished 30-17.
Junior pitcher Morgan Stratton will look to lead the Scots from the circle. Stratton finished the 2015 season 19-9, with a 1.60 ERA and 203 strikeouts. The junior earned all-conference and all-region honors and was named Regional MVP, after her stellar play at The NCAA Tournament. Senior catcher Kayla Merice also returns after averaging .343 from the plate last season and recording 12 doubles and 22 RBI.
The Scots opened their season today with a pair of losses, falling 3-2 to John Carroll before dropping 9-1 to ONU.
The Capital softball team went 28-14 last season, before falling 3-2 to Ohio Northern in the OAC Tournament. Senior Ashley Knowles is the only outfielder returning for the Crusaders. In 41 games last season, Knowles finished with 26 putouts and a 92.9 fielding percentage. At the plate, The senior averaged .364 and recorded 16 RBI and 19 runs scored.
The Crusaders open their 2016 season tomorrow with games against Franklin and Alma.
Christine Steines enters her seventh season at the helm of the Otterbein Cardinals and will look to improve a team that finished 14-20. The Cardinals have gotten off to a hot start in 2016, with a four game win streak to start the season.
In this morning's 11-0 win over York, sophomore Bailey McElwain led the Cardinals to victory with four RBI, on a perfect 3-3 at the plate, and two runs scored. The sophomore added a pair of hits and RBI to lead the Cardinals to a 4-3 win over Hanover in the team's second game. Otterbein will play tomorrow, with games against Wartburg and Rose-Hulman.
John Carroll closed its 2015 season with a 22-17 record, falling to Ohio Northern 3-0 on the first day of the OAC Tournament.
The Blue Streaks are led by Senior Alyssa Coleman, who started all 39 games last season, recording with a .331 batting average. The senior also tallied seven homers and 28 runs scored. After topping the Scots in the morning, the Blue Streaks fell 8-0 to St. Mary's.
