For Immediate Release
March 17, 2008
Wellesley Sports Information
2008 Wellesley Softball Season Preview
The Wellesley College softball squad started the 2007 season as a solid third-year program in a tough conference, and finished with a NEWMAC title, NCAA tournament bid, conference Pitcher and Player of the Year, three All-Conference and All-Region selections, one All-American, and the NEWMAC Coach of the Year. Currently ranked 23rd in the country, the Blue are looking to pick up where they left off last season.
The Blue return 12 players and have added five promising first-years. Sam Littlejohn ’09, Alex Warren ’10 and Shawna McCreadie ’10 will compete for the first base job and contribute power to the offensive lineup. All are solid defensive players, and Warren finished last year among the leaders in every offensive category, batting .305 with four homers and driving in 23 runs.
Sophomore Alex Houghtalin will see time at second base, joined by Sinta Cebrian ’11. Beej Grundlock ’09 will again split time between third base and pitching; standout utility player Amanda Tai ’09 will see time at third this year after playing most of her innings in center field last year. Alex Coari ’08, who last season was second in fielding percentage among starters, will compete with first-year Sarah Parmelee ‘11 for the shortstop job.
The outfield corps is strong again this year, with several players looking to split time among the three positions. Megan Wood ’10, a returning All-Region and All-Conference player, last year led the Blue in batting average and hits and finished second in on-base percentage and runs scored. Meghan Sullivan ’08, returns from a year abroad after batting .303 in 2006 and being named to the All-Region team. Ilana Orloff ’10 will get innings in right field and Tai will split time between the outfield and infield. In addition, newcomer Brittany Bakacs ’11 will add to the solid outfield.
The Wellesley pitching staff is anchored by four returners: seniors Jenna Harvey and Kristie Gola, junior Grundlock and sophomore Wood. Harvey was named last year’s NEWMAC Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year and received the team’s first All-American selection. Gola threw 7 complete games and struck out 58, Grundlock finished with a 1.05 ERA with 42 strikeouts, and Wood posted a 2.21 ERA.
Behind the plate, Kara Wong ’08 leads a trio of catchers that also includes first-years Ali Davis and Megan Townsend. Wong returns after a season where she was named All-Conference as well as All-Region leading Wellesley in several offensive categories including multi-hit games (15), on-base percentage (.409), runs batted in (26) and homeruns (6).
The team’s spring break contests on the West Coast will offer some great match-ups, including defending Division III champions Linfield College. O’Meara also cites the midseason tripleheader against top NESCAC programs Tufts and Williams as tough games. In the NEWMAC, the Blue will once again face serious competition. “Quite honestly, every team in our conference is very strong and any team could win the title,” says O’Meara. And after a season where 11 of Wellesley’s games were decided by one run, O’Meara has another goal, “We’re hoping to limit one run ball games!"