Lady Pioneers travel to Salem this weekend for the East Coast FastPitch Classic

Mar. 17, 2005
MARIETTA, Ohio – One thing Coach Jeanne Arbuckle and the Marietta College softball team won’t do is shy away from good competition.

The Pioneers should be tested this weekend in Salem, Va., as they face some of the top teams in the nation at the East Coast Classic.

“This is always a good tournament. We expect to see good competition,” Arbuckle said. “Salisbury (Md.) is ranked second in the nation and have played about twice as many games as us. But I expect us to compete well and hopefully come away with a win.”

Marietta’s schedule is tough as it opens Friday with SUNY-Geneseo at 1 p.m., followed by Salisbury at 5 p.m. and Averett (Va.) Saturday at 9 a.m.

Salisbury (12-1), which has won eight consecutive Capital Athletic Conference championships and reached eight straight NCAA tournaments, is clearly Marietta’s toughest opponent on Friday.

The Sea Gulls enter the tournament hitting .309 as a team and an earned run average of 0.62. Two outstanding pitchers — junior Lacey Lister and freshman Kirsten Wells — lead Coach Margie Knight’s squad. Lister is 8-0 on the season with 79 strikeouts and 13 walks in 52 1/3 innings with a 0.86 ERA. Wells is 4-1 with 40 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings with an even more impressive 0.29 ERA.

Salisbury’s hitting prowess is also impressive. Junior shortstop Kristy Shaffer leads the attack with a .419 average, seven RBI and one home run. Junior Erin Ruest is at .400 with two homers and eight RBI. Sophomore catcher Tee Dronenburg leads the Sea Gulls with 12 RBI, while batting a tidy .344 with two homers.

The Pioneers upset the Sea Gulls in Salem last year.

Marietta first opponent, Geneseo, enters Friday’s game with a 2-2 record. Junior infielder Jodi Guilboard leads the Knights in hitting with a .500 average, while junior outfielder Cat Pratico has a team-high three RBI. Sophomore pitcher Audrey Kuhn threw a complete-game shutout in the Knights’ 4-0 victory over Roanoke.

Averett enters the tournament on a similar run as Marietta — with a record that doesn’t show the real talent. The Cougars are 4-10 after opening against some tough competition that included Lynchburg (Va.) and Methodist (N.C.).

Despite a 1-3 record, junior Heather Mull is Averett’s top pitcher. She also has a 1.73 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings. Mull also leads the Cougars in hitting with a .389 average and four RBI. Sophomore Brittany Estep is 2-5 with a 3.45 ERA, and she’s thrown the most innings at 44 2/3.

“We are using our preseason to prepare for the conference,” Arbuckle said. “It’s in our best interest to play good teams. We have stressed to our team that we need to play fundamentally sound softball this weekend.”

The Pioneers will also have to play without two starters — senior catcher Katie Moriarty (academic presentation) and sophomore outfielder Kelly Rucker (medical). “This will give us a chance to look at some other kids this weekend.”

While spring trip wasn’t as successful as they would have liked, the Pioneers did finish the week in Orlando with a 7-1 victory over Penn State-Behrend. Sophomore Kristen Quintana improved to 2-3 on the season in the win, while sophomore Jessy Hutchison went 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI in the win.

Sophomore Lindsey Romick leads all Marietta hitters with a .370 batting average. She also has two doubles and three RBI. Moriarty’s bat will be missed as she is hitting .321 with four RBI, while sophomore Jenny Carroll is at .292 with three RBI and a triple.