Belton, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor softball team will open the 2014 season with a program first and what will likely also be a last for the Cru softball program. UMHB will travel to Clinton, Mississippi for the first time in program history to take on Mississippi College in a four-game series in the season opener for both teams. With the Choctaws transitioning to NCAA Division II play next season, this will also probably be the only time the Cru softball team will make the trip to Clinton. The two teams will play a 3:00 PM doubleheader on Saturday before closing out the weekend with a noon doubleheader on Sunday. The first three games of the series will count as American Southwest Conference games with the fourth being a non-conference contest.
UMHB returns ten letter winners, seven starters and two pitchers from a team that finished 29-16 overall last season. The Cru advanced to the semifinals of the ASC Championship Tournament last year. UMHB will have eight ASC All-West Division selections returning to form the nucleus of the team this season. Pitcher
Rebekah Ragsdale (Sr., West-Orange Stark) and outfielder
Kourtney Bevers (So., Liberty Hill) were First Team All-West selections and Bevers also earned West Division Co-Freshman of the Year honors. Outfielder
Janie Neyland (Jr., Franklin), catcher
Chandler Henson (Sr., Van Alstyne), outfielder
Leanne Hinojosa (Jr., Edinburg), third baseman Tori Gomez (Sr., Pflugerville), utility player
Halle Sabo (So., Baytown) were Second Team All-West picks. Second baseman
Kelsey Vann (Jr., Moody) took Honorable Mention All-West honors.
Ragsdale and Sabo are the top returners on the pitching staff. Ragsdale went 16-6 overall with five shutouts, one save, 105 strikeouts and a 1.93 ERA. Sabo went 7-6 with a 2.60 ERA. Bevers could also see time in the circle along with newcomer
Haley Parker (Fr., Bryan) to provide depth on the pitching staff for the Cru.
Gomez, Bevers, Neyland, Hinojosa, Henson and Vann should once again highlight the offense for the Cru. Gomez led UMHB with five home runs, 32 RBI and a .392 batting average as the team's designated player. Bevers hit .331 with 23 RBI as the team's starting centerfielder but will miss the early part of the season as a starting guard for the Cru women's basketball team. Neyland and Hinojosa anchor the corner outfield spots, Vann hit .311 as UMHB's starting second baseman and Henson batted .304 and threw out 12 base stealers at catcher. Sabo started at first base when she wasn't in the circle. UMHB will have to replace the left side of the infield following the graduation of
Caitlin Bollier and
Brittany Moreno.
Hannah Parker (So., Bryan) and
Dayton Kunz (Jr., College Station) are both versatile returners who will challenge for playing time. Newcomers
Leah Brown (Fr., Crawford),
Emily Marrs (Fr., McKinney),
Meredith Langford (Fr., Belton),
Faith Escobar (Fr., Edinburg North) and
Callie Culton (Fr., Blanco) will also be in the mix and could play their way into infield roles for the Cru this season. UMHB features a trio of talented returning starters in the outfield, but newcomers
Myranda Hinojosa (Fr., Edinburg),
Jordan Banta (Fr., Pflugerville) and
Brittani Young (Fr., Bishop Lynch) will also battle for playing time. A pair of talented freshman in
Amelia Cluke (Fr., China Spring) and
Corina Drake (Fr., North Zulch) will provide depth at catcher behind Henson and develop as potential replacements behind the plate when Henson graduates.
The Mississippi College athletic department will offer live statistics of this weekend's series. You can find those links on the UMHB athletic web site at
www.cruathletics.com. Following this weekend's series, the Cru softball program will return home to host Texas Lutheran University in the 2014 home opener on Tuesday, February 18
th. The two teams will play a 3:00 PM non-conference doubleheader at Dee Dillon Field that day. UMHB will then host Howard Payne University for a three-game ASC series on February 21
st and 22
nd.
