Softball Info:
2009 Elizabethtown College Softball Preview
A dramatic run to the Commonwealth Conference championship game in 2008 has the Elizabethtown College softball team eager to chase the crown in 2009.
Eight starters and 11 letterwinners are back from last year's team, which went 5-5 in the Commonwealth Conference during the regular season, then defeated Widener University and Messiah College to advance to the championship game for the first time since 2003.
Junior shortstop Paige Tanner (Waynesboro, PA/Waynesboro) is the lone All-Conference selection returning for the Blue Jays, as she was a second-team selection after leading the team in batting average (.286), hits (30), doubles (7), triples (3) and walks (22).
Also returning in the infield are junior first baseman Sarah Church (Aston, PA/Sun Valley), who hit .250 with six doubles and 14 runs batted in, junior second baseman Ryan Allard (Londonderry, NH/Londonderry), who started 34 games, and senior Lauren Hoover (Reading, PA/Oley Valley), who moves behind the plate after batting .231 with two home runs and 14 RBI at third base last season.
In the outfield, senior Marian Guzik (Greensburg, PA/Hempfield Area) starts in left field after batting .261 last year while battling an early-season injury. Sophomore Shannon Marsico (Elizabethtown, PA/Elizabethtown) is back in center field after making 33 starts last year, and in right field senior Amanda Gordon (Vernon, NJ/Vernon Township) willl share time with senior Holly Martin (Elizabethtown, PA/Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, NY). Gordon hit .259 in 22 starts last season while Martin also made 22 starts, mostly in left field.
Sophomore Kelsea Corrado (La Plata, MD/La Plata) emerged as a power threat for the Blue Jays last season at designated player, after slamming a team-high three home runs and leading the Blue Jays with 24 runs batted in while hitting .263.
Junior Sheri Hihn (Aston, PA/Sun Valley) will also see playing time behind the plate after batting .222 in 10 starts last year, mostly in the outfield. Junior Meghan Tooley (Bedford Hills, NY/Fox Lane) appeared in 25 games last year, mostly as a pinch-runner and defensive substitute in the outfield.
Newcomers expected to play a role for the Blue Jays include Ashley Barbiero (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) at third base, Heather Peluso (Monkton, MD/Maryvale Prep) either in the outfield or as a pinch-hitter, and Autumn Phillips (Waynesboro, PA/Waynesboro) in a utility role.
The pitching staff will be led by a pair of first-year students, righthanders Elaine Parr (Washington, DC/Academy of the Holy Cross) and Julie Sebastian (Broomall, PA/Marple Newtown).
