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Red Hawks Hope Mix of Youth and Experience Is A Winning Formula
The 2007 version of the Ripon softball team has a lot to look forward to. They lost just three players off last year's team that finished first in the Midwest Conference North Division with a 9-4 record. This year's team will have a nice mix of experience, and first year players, which will only make the team stronger as the season rolls on.
"We have a solid core of veterans, but with five freshmen, we have some players who'll have a lot to learn," said head coach Kelly Witte. "One of the advantages of having that many first year players is that they'll get an opportunity to learn from a group of players that have worked to improve their skills every day, so they'll see what it takes to be successful at this level."
With just two starters gone from last year's team, the majority of the Red Hawks lineup will remain intact. That will help Ripon when it matters most, which is tournament time.
"I am very optimistic, partially because of the experience of the returning players. All the starters have that conference tournament experinence under their belt, so they already know what it takes to get to that point," Witte said.
The Red Hawks return their entire infield for this season, with the exception of catcher Chrissy Schneider, who was lost to graduation. Schneider was third on the team in batting, and was just as valuable as a leader. She'll be replaced by two freshmen, Jessica Goudreau (New London, Wis./Shiocton) and Bethany Melberg (Marion, Wis./Marion), who will split time at the position.
"A very big concern for us is our captain behind the plate. It's going to be a challenge for our coaching staff to put the right person at catcher, so that we can be as solid as we were on the mound last season," said Witte. "Jessica has played catcher before, whereas Bethany is a pitcher, who can also play infield and is just a great athlete. We're going to give both players some practice behind the plate and see how it goes."
The rest of the infield will consist of Tara Rabideaux (.225, 9 RBI, 2 SB) at third, Natalie Geenen (.391, 7 2B, 10 RBI) at short, Krista Shafer (.242, 5 2B, 11 RBI) at second, and Sara Rabideaux (.225, 6 RBI, 2 SB) at first. Geenen is coming off a season that saw her earn All-MWC North Division First Team honors, while leading the team in batting average, hits, doubles, triples, and total bases. She will be looked at to take on an even bigger role this year, as fellow MWC first-teamer Rose Reichart was lost to graduation.
"Offensively, we'll have some big shoes to fill in replacing Rose," said Witte. "I think that's going to happen naturally on the team, not by one person, but by a combined effort from the rest of the team, including some of the first year players."
One new addition to the Red Hawk outfield will be Rose's sister Jackie Reichhart (Cedarburg, Wis., Cedarburg), who will try to carry on the Reichhart tradition at Ripon College. Reichhart will see plenty of playing time, as she's slated as the starter in rightfield. The other two outfield spots will see Joelle Shady (.216, 2 2B, 8 RBI) return as the team's leftfielder, while Mary Friend (.255, 4 2B, 8 RBI) will move from right to centerfield, so the Red Hawks can capitalize on her speed and athleticism.
The pitching staff will be similar to last year with senior Jen Mueller (12-11, 2.03 ERA, 2 SV) and sophomore Andrea Knorr (5-5, 2.89 ERA) seeing most of the innings. Mueller is coming off a season that saw her earn Co-Pitcher of the Year honors in the MWC. She already ranks in the top three in Red Hawk history in innings pitched (343.2), victories (29), ERA (1.53), complete games (38), and strikeouts (180).
"Jen is going to bring that swagger to the mound," said Witte. "She's not the tallest pitcher, but she's got a great sense of body awareness on her pitches. She knows how to tweak something in order to make a pitch work and how to maneuver her body or alter her release to be more effective. She's going to bring a lot of confidence and experience to the mound."
Mueller gained even more experience during the summer, along with a couple of her teammates. That will only help the Red Hawks as they try to take the next step and win a conference championship.
"Geenen, Knorr, and Mueller all played in the Wisconsin Classic leagues over the summer so they were playing at a high level of college competition all summer long," said Witte. "I expect to see that experience show in all three of their performances this year because they're used to showing up for those intense games, even during the summer."
After taking Grinnell to extra innings, only to lose in the semi-finals of last year's MWC tournament, the Red Hawks are hungry to get back to that point this season. This time though, Ripon will hope to be celebrating, instead of going home.
"We've really got our sights set on getting back to the conference tournament," said Witte. "The way we lost to Grinnell last year in extra innings was a tough loss to swallow and our players would love to be on the other side of that type of game in the conference tournament."
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