The University of Minnesota Duluth will launch its 2009 softball season this Friday (Feb. 20) when the Bulldogs open play in the three-day Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference/Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Crossover Tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo. Eighteen teams will take part in the event, which will be held at both the Mountain Lion Field and the Leon Young Sports Complex
THE SCHEDULE: UMD will take on Mesa State College (9 a.m . MST) and host University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (3 p.m.) on Friday and the University of Nebraska-Kearney (9 a.m.) and Colorado State University-Pueblo (12 p.m.) the following day before closing out the weekend with games againsts Fort Lewis College (12 p.m.) and the Colorado School of Mines (12 p.m.), which was ranked 18th in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II Preseason Poll, on Sunday.
THE RECORD: UMD won 11 of its final 16 games to finish with a 21-18 overall record, and placed fourth in the final year of North Central Conference competition at 5-6.
THE COACH: Jen Banford is beginning her fourth year as UMD's head coach and has amassed a 77-61 record -- and three straight 20-plus win seasons -- in addition to guiding the Bulldogs to their third-ever NCAA Division II North Central Regional berth in 2007. Banford made her coaching debut in 2005 at Mayville State University (N.D.) where her Comets went 26-10 overall for their winningest season in school history. The 2009 Bulldog coaching staff includes three new additions in assistants Shannon Norman, Gina Zech, a former All-NCC first baseman who closed out her rewarding four-year Bulldog playing career last spring, and Dave Meyer, the club's volunteer pitching coach.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: The Bulldogs return to their old softball stomping grounds -- the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference -- after a four-year run in the now-defunct NCC this spring and they'll do so possessing one of their most experienced lineups in recent times. No less than 14 battle-tested veterans, including eight regular starters and basically the entire pitching staff, are back from a year ago. Headlining that sizable group of holdovers is a pair of 2008 All-NCC picks -- senior middle infielder Sonja Muck, who paced the Bulldogs in virtually ever statistical category last spring and batted a team-leading .430, and junior pitcher/utility player Kristin Danielson. Danielson, the 2007 NCC Freshman of the Year, went 7-6 and made a Bulldog-best 15 starts to go with a 2.51 earned run average one year ago. She also ranked fifth on the team batting charts with a career-high .338 average. UMD also retains the services of six other starters in second baseman/shortstop Whitney Olson, who was second among her 2008 teammates in hitting (.367), junior outfielder Val Hartel (.348 and a Bulldog-leading .500 slugging percentage), sophomore outfielders Ashley Johnson (.364 and a team-best 63 total bases) and Casey Moore (.274), senior outfielder Myriam Trepanier (.299), who is currently skating with the UMD hockey team and will join the Bulldogs in early April, and junior Sarah Kabes (.252). Kabes started all 39 games at catcher last spring and shared the team's home run lead (she and Moore both had five round tripper), but will be used as a designated player or first baseman in the early going of 2009 while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. Senior outfielder Amanda Van Effen, a three-year letterwinner, senior first baseman/designated player Laura Melde, and sophomore infielders Nicole Gale and Sammie Gardner should all figure more prominently in the Bulldogs' 2009 plans after handling reserve roles last season. The deep and talented Bulldog pitching corps will be anchored by the likes of Danielson and Heather Stemper, who posted a 8-6 record and a 2.75 ERA during her debut collegiate season while topping the Bulldogs with 19 appearances. They'll once again be supported by the sophomore tandem of Mandy Mutala, who was and even 3-3 in nine games and seven starts, and Sam Sakula (1-0 in five outings). Three promising rookies -- outfielder Taylor Van Damme from Superior, Wis., third baseman Erin Hunecke (Lakeville South High) and third/catcher Whitney Strantz (White Bear Lake High School) will provide additional punch this spring.
BULLDOG BITS: UMD, which owns the best winning percentage (.85 off a 211-35 record) and has won more regular season championships (13) than any other league school, was picked to finish sixth among 14 teams in the coaches' annual preseason poll ... Senior Sonja Muck, a two-time member of the All-NCC team (2007 and 2008), has compiled a .370 career batting average in her two seasons with the Bulldogs. Muck, Kristin Danielson, Whitney Olson and Val Hartel will all serve as Bulldog team captains in 2009 ... UMD was a perfect 13-0 when leading after six innings last spring and 13-1 when it headed into the sixth with a lead.
COACH BANFORD SAYS: "I think our experience -- especially at the pitching position -- and team chemistry is our number one strengths. We have added speed to our lineup and will be more aggressive offensively. The big key for us will be to get continuous leadership and production from all of our upperclassmen."
