Season Review: Talented freshmen continue SU’s winning tradition
SALISBURY, Md.-The 2007 Salisbury University softball team continued its winning ways this season and upheld the programs rich tradition as it finished the season with a 39-9 record and won its 11th consecutive Capital Athletic Conference championship. SU also made its 11th straight NCAA Division III tournament appearance. The Gulls have won every CAC title under head coach Margie Knight as well as never winning below 32 games in a season. The Sea Gulls were a young ball club as they will only graduate two seniors and have 14 freshmen and sophomores combined returning in ’08.

“Our seniors [Tee Dronenburg, Nichole Fuqua] had a great fourth season. It’s nice when a senior has their best year in their final year. They are terrific leaders and their work ethic was contagious to all of our younger players,” said Knight.

OFFENSE
The maroon and gold offense was as potent as ever as it hit .350 as a team and crushed 59 home runs and scored 375 runs. The 59 round trippers smashed the previous single season school record of 31 (1998, 2006) by 18. The home run mark of 59 was tops in the nation throughout Division III.

“This was the first year that every player trained in the weight room during the off-season and understood that more strength would not only improve power and flexibility but help them to stay healthy as well,” said Knight.

The Sea Gulls can attribute the offensive explosion to a new approach at the plate. Two years ago Knight and the SU coaches changed the hitting philosophy to incorporate more of a loading mechanism which has taken a year or so to work out the kinks but seems to be in place and paying huge benefits. Six Sea Gull non-freshmen had their best seasons in terms of all around offense.

To go along with the improved upperclassman Salisbury had a trio of freshmen come in and contribute right away. Freshman Kelly Waskewicz led the way as she garnered third team All-American honors, was named as a third team Easton All-American, 2007 Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Atlantic Region first team, named Capital Athletic Conference Player and Rookie of the Year and a named to the All-CAC first team. The freshman is currently the school single-season leader in home runs (17) and is tied for the single-season lead for runs scored (61) for SU. Waskewicz led the team in 10 offensive categories; at-bats (164) runs (61), hits (68), doubles (14), triples (four), home runs (17), RBIs (50), total bases (141), slugging percentage (.860) and stolen bases (six). The shortstop struggled in the field the first part of the season and was benched.

“She [Waskewicz] needed to wake up,” said Knight. “She had to understand that you have to produce offensively and defensively to retain a spot on this team.” 

Waskewicz responded as she went on a tear and blasted 11 home runs, 32 RBIs and only committed three errors in the final 26 games.

Freshmen Ali Ritter and Jen Cahall also had a huge impact in the Sea Gull lineup. The three freshmen (Cahall, Ritter, Waskewicz) combined for 30 percent (114-of-375) runs, 34 percent (157-of-460) hits, 40 percent (32-of-80) doubles, 40 percent (6-of-15) triples, 46 percent (27-of-59) home runs and 36 percent (121-of-335) RBIs. Ritter, who was named to the NFCA Atlantic Region first team and an All-CAC at-large selection, led the team with a .450 batting average and was the team’s most clutch hitter as she sported a .483 average with runners on base, a perfect 3-for-3 with the bases loaded and hit .439 with runners in scoring position.

“She [Ritter] has a great attitude, works hard and the ball just explodes off her bat,” said Knight.

Cahall, who originally battled for the shortstop job managed to find a home in the outfield. She displayed unknown power and clubbed six home runs, as she had never hit one in her high school career. Cahall played in 45 games and batted .333 with 6 home runs and knocked in 38 RBIs. The right fielder was also named to the All-CAC first team.

DEFENSE
At the start of the season the Sea Gulls only knew two of the eight position players that had an opening day starting job.

“We had three new infielders and an entirely new outfield. It took some time to find the right line-up but this group really stepped up and displayed tenacity, perseverance and played great with their backs to the wall,” said Knight.

The newly assembled outfield consisted of Cahall, junior Kurisha Hoffman and sophomore Meaghan O’Gara. The trio combined for only six errors in 121 chances and added 31 outfield assists giving the maroon and gold a solid defensive outfield. Hoffman was also named to the All-CAC first team.

The Sea Gull middle infield was not only great offensively but they were a tremendous defensive duo as well. Fuqua and Waskewicz turned 13 double plays on the season and combined for a .957 fielding percentage.

Junior Stacey Malarkey found an eventual home at third base. Malarkey was named to the NFCA Atlantic Region first team and an All-CAC first team selection as she hit .339, slugged 11 home runs and drove in 44 RBIs while only she only committed 11 errors in 262 opportunities. 

PITCHING
Salisbury had a huge hole to fill in the pitching staff as former All-American pitcher Lacey Lister moved on from ace to assistant coach this year. Sophomore Stacy Davis looked to fill the void as she stepped up in a big way to lead the team with a 1.65 ERA and a 19-4 record. Junior Kirsten Wells made up the other half of the SU one-two punch as she recorded a 17-5 record. The two hurlers combined for 166 strikeouts in 289 innings of work. The Gulls led the CAC in team ERA (2.24), innings pitched (312) and placed second with 193 strikeouts.

SU received some quality innings from junior reliever Kortni Pedlow who pitched 20 innings in 12 appearances with 23 strikeouts. Pedlow (3-0) also recorded three wins on the season.

SCHEDULE/GAMES
The Sea Gulls started the year hot as they won their first five games on a season opening road trip in Virginia Beach to start the 2007 campaign. SU then saw some youthful growing pains as they dropped four of their next five games and were reduced to a 6-4 record.

“We got off to a rocky start. It took time to find the right mix of personnel and we gave different players opportunities to play,” said Knight.

The slow start was quickly forgotten as the young team rose to the challenge and ripped off wins in its next eight games and added a 13-game win streak to close out the regular season.  The maroon and gold outscored its opponents by an average of five runs a game and recorded a 29-0 record when it scored six or more runs. It took Salisbury nine innings to put Catholic away in the CAC championship game, 12-11, on April 22.

Throughout the season the Gulls sported win streaks of five, eight (two times) and 13 en route to their 11th straight NCAA appearance. Salisbury drew arguably the toughest regional bracket in the entire tournament. The Fayetteville regional included such teams as Methodist, LaGrange, Emory, defending national champion Rutgers-Camden, Christopher Newport, Marietta and Lynchburg.  Salisbury went 3-2 and was eventually ousted by Lynchburg, 6-2, after winning three straight.

“In our bracket all eight teams could have won, there were no weak teams. If we had a few plays go our way and did not self-destruct as we committed some costly errors then we would have been in the World Series,” said Knight.  

NEXT YEAR
The Sea Gulls will be loaded next year as they return all but two graduating seniors.

“We are going to have a great recruiting class which is very similar to our class last season and have some Division I pitching transfers making the move to Division III,” said Knight. “I’m anxious to see how much we improve next year. We are a team to be reckoned with and I think we have a great group of people ready to continue this great winning tradition.” 

Most Improved Player: Stacey Davis, P
Davis was named to the 2007 CAC all-conference first team as a sophomore. She finished the year with a 19-4 record, a team-low 1.65 ERA with 94 strikeouts and 14 complete games. She has allowed a stingy .226 opponents batting average in 29 appearances. In 2006 Davis saw only 6.2 innings of work.

Unsung Hero: Nichole Fuqua, 2B
Fuqua was a senior co-captain as well as the All-CAC first team second baseman and was named to the NFCA Atlantic Region first team. She had a career year in 2007 as she sported career highs in batting average (.396), runs (44), hits (59), doubles (nine), triples (three), home runs (five) and RBIs (42).

“She was not only a leader on the field but she leads our team off the field as well,” said Knight.

Team MVP: Tee Dronenburg, C
Dronenburg was also a senior co-captain and is the third year in a row that she has been named to the CAC first team she was also named to the NFCA Atlantic Region first team. She finished the season with a .325 batting average and hit seven home runs with 30 RBIs. Dronenburg only committed five errors behind the plate in 218 chances.

Game(s) of the Year:
March 13, Salisbury @ Christopher Newport University, SU won 13-12.
April 22, Salisbury vs. Catholic University (CAC Championship), SU won 12-11 in nine innings.

Milestones:
Coach Margie Knight joined an elite group on April 21 as her Sea Gulls defeated University of Mary Washington 9-0 in the first round of the Capital Athletic Conference. Knight becomes the 34th NCAA Division III softball coach ever to win 400 games. Her career record is now 413-105-2 in 11 seasons here at Salisbury. Knight's winning percentage of .795 ranks fourth all-time in Division III and 10th all-time in NCAA history in any division. Knight has led the Sea Gulls to 11 straight Capital Athletic Conference championships and 11 trips to the NCAA tournament. In addition, SU has made five appearances in the College World Series where they were national runner-ups in 2003 and 2005.

Former SU pitcher Lacey Lister had her No. 14 jersey retired in between an April 25th doubleheader sweep of Washington (Md.) College. Lister joined an elite group of former student-athletes as she is only the fifth person to have her jersey retired at SU.

"Wow! I don't know what to say," said Lister after the on-field ceremony. "I just went out there and did something I loved to do. It never crossed my mind that I would have my jersey retired."

Lister pitched for the maroon and gold from 2003-06 where she was a four-time All-American, a three-time CAC Player of the Year and three-time All-CAC member. She set every school pitching record and concluded her career ranked in the top 10 of eight different NCAA Division III pitching categories.