Sophomore catcher Erin Collinsworth takes a cut.

The 2005 Wittenberg softball team is looking to keep the ball rolling and take back the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Tigers are coming off two excellent seasons, in which they posted records of 25-21 in 2003 and 20-15 in 2004, good for second- and third-place NCAC regular season finishes respectively, but they are looking to take home the championship this year. With 10 returning players back in the fold, coupled with a solid recruiting class, all of the ingredients except depth appear to be in place in 2005.

The Tigers definitely will miss the leadership and dedication of 2004 NCAC Player of the Year Carmen Montgomery, who batted leadoff four straight years and played every position during her career in the Red & White. However, three seniors and a super sophomore return to the lineup, starting with pitcher/utility player Norah Gillam (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield), who is already a three-time All-NCAC selection and was the only active player on last year's NCAC 20th Anniversary All-Decade Team. Senior Jen Meyer (Solon, Ohio/Hathaway Brown), who showed her versatility in 2004 by moving to the outfield most of the time, returns to the top of the lineup and may make the move back into the infield this year. The third returning senior is Ashley Lands (Dover, Ohio/Dover), an outfielder who made signficant defensive contributions in 2004 and made the most of her plate appearances as well with a .356 average. These seniors are joined by sophomore shortstop Stephanie Zorn (Grapevine, Texas/Colleyville), who ranked among the team leaders in almost every offensive category last year en route to second-team All-NCAC honors.

Fastpitch softball revolves around pitching, and the Tigers return two key pitchers this year in Gillam and sophomore Grace Wigton (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Christian). Gillam posted a 2.00 earned run average last year while leading the Tigers in wins with 11. Wigton appeared in five games while posting a record of 1-1. The Tigers will also receive pitching support from freshman Taryn Hensel (Marion, Ohio/Ridgedale) and sophomore Meghan Campbell (Marion, Ohio/Ridgedale), who did not take the mound last year in her role as a reserve outfielder.

Zorn is the top returning offensive performer after hitting for a .342 average and scoring 20 runs in 2004. Gillam has been one of the team's top offensive players in past years, and a return to form in 2005 will be important for an offense without several top players from the 2004 squad. Lands and Meyer are the other two players who hit better than .250 in 2004 who are back for another go-around. Meyer was perfect on the basepaths in 2004 as she recorded seven steals in seven attempts. One position on the team where there is plenty of depth is catcher where sophomores Jamie Bockelman (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) and Erin Collinsworth (Springfield, Ohio/Central Catholic) will split time again this year after backing up graduated all-conference performer Kristen Hillebrand.

New additions to the team this year also include freshmen infielders Amy Myser (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) and Sarah Fetters (Maumee, Ohio/Maumee), who will compete with sophomore infielder Courtney Dancer (Swanton, Ohio/Swanton) for playing time at second . Fetters will get looks in the outfield as well, as will left-handed freshman outfielder Nicole Ottavi (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone). Rounding things out, sophomore Lucy Huelsman (Wellington, Ohio/Wellington), a solid reserve who appeared in 16 games as an outfielder a year ago, will get chances at third base as well as the outfiled, and freshman Kristin Sprecklemeier (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) and Wigton are also in the outfield mix.

The Tigers are led by Becky Hall (Urbana '97), who has posted a 130-106-1 record since 1999 at Wittenberg. With nine of the first 11 games away from home, including eight on a Spring Break trip to Orange County, Calif., the Tigers will be tested early, but the hope is that they will then be ready for another run at the NCAC title as the weather warms in Ohio during the spring.

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