Dukes’ depth is ‘ridiculous’
JMU returns eight starters, including multiple 2007 CAA award winners
Posted on February 21, 2008
Last season, the JMU softball team finished third in the Colonial Athletic Association, winning a school-record 38 games and recording only 16 losses. This season, they want more.
The team hopes to make a strong showing this year, returning eight starters and three pitchers. Combine this with some new talent, and the Dukes have the skill and the speed to be a legitimate threat to Hofstra, who has claimed six-straight CAA championships.
“I am excited about the new freshman we have acquired and the amazing speed we have,” sophomore Chel’sea Ryan said. “I feel like we will steal at least three bases a game and the depth that we have at the plate and in the field is ridiculous.”
JMU was the most decorated team in the CAA last year, and returning to the field is senior Jenn Chavez, who was the 2007 CAA Co-Player of the Year and First Team All-CAA. Junior pitcher Jenny Clohan, junior outfielder Kaitlyn Wernsing and sophomore outfielder Lauren Mernin were also First-Team All-CAA players.
Also returning are junior pitcher Meredith Felts, sophomore outfielder Courtney Simons and junior third baseman Amber Kirk, all with Second Team All-CAA honors last year. All that’s missing is that coveted CAA title.
Could this talented JMU team be the ones to finally dethrone Hofstra? Junior pitcher Shannon Outman, who earned her first win as a Duke Saturday, thinks so.
“I am very excited for the competition and our difficult schedule,” Outman said. “I want to be a part of something special, for example, being part of the first JMU softball team to win the CAAs.”
Conference play starts with a three-game series that begins on March 21 at home against Hofstra, and then a series at Georgia State, who ended JMU’s chance at the title last year.
The Dukes also travel to take on UCLA during the San Diego Classic later this month. UCLA has won 11 national championships and is ranked fifth in the nation.
The Dukes opened the season last weekend with the North Carolina-Greensboro Spartan Classic in Greensboro, N.C. JMU is 2-2 overall, identical to last year’s record-breaking season through four games. They next travel to Burlington, N.C. to play in the Elon Phoenix Classic and then move to San Diego, Calif. for the San Diego Classic.
