Monday, February 01, 2010

MACON, Ga. – As the 2010 NCAA Division I Softball season approaches, the Atlantic Sun Conference takes a look at each team leading up to the start of the season. Today, the spotlight is on ETSU.

2010 ETSU Lady Bucs

Team Page

Roster

Schedule

2009 Team Statistics

Overview
ETSU returns six starters, three pitchers, and 10 of 17 letterwinners from the 2009 season, in which the Lady Bucs amassed an overall record of 27-28 and an A-Sun tally of 6-14. Head coach Andrea Mangrum returns for her fifth season with ETSU, having amassed an overall record of 105-126 while at ETSU. Last season, the Lady Bucs tallied a home record of 11-13 at the ETSU Softball Stadium in Johnson City, Tenn.

Top Returners
For the third consecutive season senior Katy Jett received Atlantic Sun Preseason All-Conference honors. Jett, who has been ETSU’s most consistent hitter over the last three years, finished last season with a.337 batting average (59-175) in 2009. The Talbott, Tenn. native played in all 55 games for the Lady Bucs and led the team in hits (59), runs scored (34), total bases (71), slugging percentage (.406) and on-base percentage (.377). In addition, Jett also led the Lady Bucs with 17 multi-hit games, and owns the third (.347 in 2008) and fifth (.337 in 2009) highest single-season batting averages in Lady Buccaneer history. The education major also earned Academic All-Conference accolades for her work in the classroom.

Top hitter Cheniece Cason started in all 55 games at shortstop and led the Lady Bucs with a career-best .345 batting average (57-165), which ranks fourth all-time amongst single-season leaders at ETSU. Cason tied a team-high with an eight-game hitting streak from April 10-18 and posted a personal best 17 stolen bases, while driving in 11 RBIs and scoring 14 runs. The Moreno Valley, Calif. native also earned Academic All-Conference accolades last season.

Top pitcher Marissa Hardy broke the Lady Buccaneer single-season shutout record with seven and led ETSU’s pitching staff in every major category, including 17 wins and 184 strikeouts. Hardy earned Academic All-Conference honors and received an A-Sun Pitcher of the Week award on May 4.

Newcomers
Junior newcomer Jessica Duncan will give the Lady Bucs some added depth in the circle and in the outfield in 2010. Duncan also gives ETSU some experience as she helped guide Chattanooga State to its first-ever No. I ranking in the NJCAA Poll, a FCCJ Tournament title, and a 60-win campaign in 2009. The Ooltewah, Tenn. native also posted a perfect season in the circle, going 13-0 with a 1.32 ERA (20 ER/105.2 IP).

Freshman Arielle Garner stands as a very versatile player as she played third, short, first and pitcher at both Bremen and Central High Schools. The Buchanan, Ga. native earned Player of the Year honors in Carroll County as a senior and Most Valuable Offensive Player as a sophomore.

Freshman Lucy Schneider will see most of her time at second but can also fill in at short and play the outfield slots as well. Schneider stands as a valuable commodity with her bat, speed and defense. The Dade City, Fla. native hit .495 (48-for-97) with 10 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 35 RBIs as a senior at Pasco High School. The standout player helped the Pirates not only with her bat, but also her speed, as Schneider finished the 2009 season at 32-for-33 in stolen base opportunities.

Schedule (Courtesy ETSU Media Relations)
The Lady Bucs, who kick off the season with 24 consecutive road games, face six teams from NCAA Tournament play a year ago.

ETSU kicks off the season playing in five tournaments, which begin on Saturday, Feb. 13 in Charlotte, N.C. The Lady Bucs open up the campaign with BIG EAST foe St. John’s at 11 a.m. Along with the Red Storm, ETSU will also play Liberty and the host 49ers. Following their stint in Charlotte, the Lady Bucs make the trip to Greenville, S.C. for a doubleheader with Furman on Wednesday, Feb. 17.

From there, the Lady Bucs continue with tournament play in Atlanta where ETSU collides with Temple, Eastern Illinois and Georgia State. The Panther Invitational takes place from Feb. 20-21 inside Georgia State’s Bob Heck Field.

The Lady Bucs finally play their first set of games inside the Volunteer state in 2010 when ETSU makes the journey to Chattanooga. ETSU goes head-to-head with Central Connecticut State and Ball State on Friday, Feb. 26; while taking on in-state rival and 2009 NCAA Participant UT-Martin, along with BIG EAST foe Rutgers on Saturday, Feb. 27. The Lady Bucs close out competition at the Frost Classic with another in-state counterpart, Tennessee Tech, on Sunday, Feb. 28.

ETSU wraps up its tournament play when the Lady Bucs make their longest road trip in school history, and seniors Hardy (Rocklin) and Cason (Moreno Valley) make a visit to their home state of California from March 5-13. During this span, the Lady Bucs will play in two tournaments, one in Riverside and the other in Fresno. The pair of tournaments includes games with four teams who appeared in postseason play last year, including the opening game with Big 10 opponent Ohio State on Friday, March 5 in Riverside. Joining ETSU in Riverside are the host Highlanders (March 5), and BIG EAST foe and NCAA Tournament participant Notre Dame (March 6). The Lady Bucs then travel north to Fresno to play in the Bayer CropScience Classic, marking their final regular season tournament of the campaign. While in Fresno, ETSU takes on host Fresno State (March 11), Cal State Northridge and Georgetown (March 12). Then, ETSU plays Colorado State and Mississippi State on Saturday, March 13.

After the 24-game road trip, which covers four tournaments in four different states, the Lady Bucs finally say hello to Johnson City when ETSU hosts Presbyterian in its home-opener on Saturday, March 20.

The home stand doesn’t last long for the Lady Bucs, as Mangrum’s squad embarks on a three-game road swing to close out the month of March. ETSU begins Atlantic Sun Conference play with a series in the Music City against Lipscomb (March 26) and Belmont (March 27). The Lady Bucs conclude their road trip with the short trip over the mountain to Boone and play Appalachian State on Wednesday, March 31.

Once again the Lady Bucs return home for a brief two-game home stand when conference contenders Stetson and FGCU visit the newly built ETSU Softball Complex. The Lady Bucs host the Hatters on Friday, April 2 and Eagles on Saturday, April 3.

During the final stretch of the season, the Lady Bucs split time both at home and on the road. ETSU travels to Blacksburg for a night game with Virginia Tech on Tuesday, April 6, before heading down to Florida for a critical A-Sun showdown with Jacksonville (April 9) and North Florida (April 10). Other road swings include a trip to North Carolina for games at UNC Central and a doubleheader against A-Sun Champion Campbell on Thursday, April 22.

Following a trip to USC Upstate on April 25, the Lady Bucs wrap up regular play with a three-series home stand starting on Wednesday, April 28 against Western Carolina. In addition to the Catamounts, ETSU hosts former A-Sun rival Gardner-Webb (May 1) and Big South and 2009 NCAA participant Radford on Friday, May 7.

Fans can follow the Atlantic Sun on Twitter and on Facebook. Visit twitter.com/AtlanticSun to begin receiving updates on conference news, weekly awards, and from A-Sun championships. Atlantic Sun followers with a Facebook account can become a "fan" of the conference by visiting facebook.com/AtlanticSunConference.

11 Days of Atlantic Sun Softball Schedule
Jan. 28 – Belmont
Jan. 29 – Stetson
Feb. 1 – ETSU
Feb. 2 – Kennesaw State
Feb. 3 – Jacksonville
Feb. 4 – UNF
Feb. 5 – USC Upstate
Feb. 8 – Mercer
Feb. 9 – Lipscomb
Feb. 10 – FGCU
Feb. 11 – Campbell