GAME QUICK FACTS
Millersville (0-0) vs. American International (0-0)
Saturday, Mar. 6, 2010 - 1:30 p.m.
National Training Center - Clermont, Fla.

Millersville vs. Bloomsburg (4-0)
Saturday, Mar. 6, 2010 - 5:30 p.m.
National Training Center - Clermont, Fla.

COVERAGE
Live Stats

2010 OUTLOOK
Last season was one of peaks and valleys for the Millersville University softball team. The Marauders ventured to Florida for their annual Spring Break trip, but came back with a 3-7 record. Starting on Mar. 9, the ladies put together their best stretch of the season with 14 wins in 17 games to jump seven games over .500. Conference play would prove unkind with a 2-14 record and the Marauders' season would end at 24-25.

Although the Black and Gold finished with its fourth straight 20-win season, coach Kathy Cummings speaks adamantly towards striving for better things in 2010. “Our number one priority is making the post-season,” Cummings says. “It's great that we have been able to put together that amount of wins in consecutive seasons, but it's just a number, and we're looking for more. We want to go to the next level.”
The post-season is somewhere only one Millersville team has ever been before. The 2006 squad −which won a school-record 30 games− qualified for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional and even knocked off perennial contender Kutztown in the tournament before bowing out. To make the post-season a reality once again Millersville will turn to its captains, Casey Coker, Jill Golomboski, and Lindsay Hosier, in hopes that they can lead a team with 10 incoming players to new heights.

“I've always been a big believer that your team goes as far as your leadership can take them,” noted the 17th-year head coach. “Our leadership has been great heading into this season. They aren't afraid to push each other and their teammates are receptive to what they are being told. The girls don't get offended when a teammate has something to say, but at the same time our leaders have done an excellent job of understanding how to relate what needs to be said to their fellow players.”

Youth will once again be served on the 2010 Marauder softball team. The 19-player roster is comprised of nine freshmen, four sophomores, three juniors, and three seniors. While a majority of the team may be underclassmen, neither Cummings nor her assistants Jennifer Patrick-Swift and Jack Gamaldi will use the factor as an excuse or crutch. “You can't approach each game with a different mindset,” said Cummings. “While our game plans may change based on matchups, we don't want the girls to be thinking that any opponent should be treated different based on records or previous meetings. We need to play with confidence and work to execute to the best of our abilities each time we take the field. If we do those things, that's when we start to play like we did last March.”

With the roster seeing a lot of flux from a season ago, here is what you can look for from the Marauders at each positional area in 2010:

CATCHER
Kelly Fitzgerald stepped onto the field as a freshman and almost immediately she wowed the coaching staff and Millersville fans. The Delaware County native quickly played her way into a starting role behind the plate for the Marauders. Fitzgerald played in 48 games, starting 44 (41 at catcher).

Fitzgerald's attributes extend far beyond her calling of the game. According to Cummings, the sophomore is one of the best catchers she's ever seen, due in large part to her quick instincts and cannon of an arm. She's also one of the Marauders' main threats at the plate, where she hit for a .313 average in 2009. In addition to a solid average, Fitzgerald contributed 42 hits, five doubles, two home runs and was the team's second-leading run producer with 25 RBIs.

“Kelly is a key to the success of this team in a number of aspects. Her abilities allow us to play her at more than just one position and she's stepped up to really embrace a leadership role,” Cummings said when asked about the second-year player. “We need to keep her bat in the lineup and with her versatility we are able to do that in a few different ways.”

Waiting in the wings behind Fitzgerald is freshman Anna Libby. Libby starred at nearby Elizabethtown High School where she was a three-time First Team Lancaster-Lebanon League All-Star selection and led her team to section and league titles. Libby can also provide the Marauders depth at other positions and is a player that Coach Cummings will not hesitate to use.

INFIELD
Two of Millersville's four starters in the infield return this season and both reside primarily on the left side. Senior Lindsay Hosier and junior Casey Coker figure to see much of their playing time at shortstop and third base, respectively. Hosier has registered over 130 hits in each of her three seasons in black and gold. Last year she bumped her batting average up to a career-high .340 and also stole a career-best 16 bases. She's been a constant for Millersville, having started in each of the 138 career games she's played.

That number is all the more impressive when one considers that the veteran player fought off an upper body injury for most of the 2009 season. Looking at Hosier's team-highs of 36 runs scored and 12 doubles, it's scary to think what a healthy Hosier could have done. Cummings is hoping this can be the season it all comes together for the fiery shortstop. “Lindsay is a player that will fight off pain and she'd run through a brick wall for you. She's worked so hard to recover and get back to where she expects to be and I think you'll see a renewed Lindsay Hosier this season.”

Coker is another player who has yet to miss a start. She's made 96 of them in her two seasons in a Millersville uniform and, more importantly, she's been outstanding with the glove at the hot corner. Coker has been successful on over 95-percent of her fielding opportunities and mirrored Hosier in stepping up at the plate. After hitting .238 as a freshman, Coker's batting average saw an 81-point jump during her sophomore campaign. Coker also increased her numbers in most offensive categories, including runs, hits, doubles, triples, slugging percentage and total bases. She increased her walk total by 11 in just five more at bats and become much more of a viable option at the plate for MU.

As much as the return of the left side of the infield will be for the Marauders, it's the right side that has left two gaping holes. Graduation takes starting first baseman Janelle Mrakovich and starting second baseman Shaina Briel away from Millersville and leaves Cummings with some decisions to make on spots that need filling.

One of the likely options to take over for Mrakovich at first is Sam Jackson. The sophomore played in 36 games last season and was a reliable glove with a fielding percentage of 98.6-percent. Jackson had her rookie struggles at the plate, but that is something that her coach thinks will be behind her moving forward. Jackson did still manage to knock in 12 runs, which ranked eighth on the team.

The surprise coming into this season may be the player sliding into Briel's spot at second base. Freshman Deanna Schneiderreit, a walk-on from Warminster, Pa., came in with an unparalleled work ethic and has improved steadily throughout the fall. Schneiderreit's hard work and commitment to the team have her in the mix for the starting job.

Jamie Motsko helped Parkland High School win the PIAA AAAA Championship last season and came into the program as a corner infielder. She has worked at first and third base, but has also seen some time in the middle infield for the Marauders during the fall and may do so throughout her freshman season.

OUTFIELD
Millersville will not see much turnover in its outfield as starters Jill Golomboski and Ally Homa are both back in the fold. Golomboski is a steady defensive presence who Cummings calls “one of the most fundamentally sound” players she's ever coached. “Jill does things the right way in the field and we can always count on her,” said Cummings. Golomboski has committed five errors or less in each of her three seasons in a Millersville uniform. Like many of her fellow upperclassmen, Golomboski has started in all 141 games she's played. She also has improved her batting average each season and last year hit .303 to surpass the .300 barrier for the first time in her career.

Homa's athleticism allows her to play any of the three spots in the outfield. With blazing speed and an uncanny ability to make jaw-dropping plays, Homa's role on this Marauder squad is invaluable. During her freshman season Homa threw her body all over the outfield and made multiple full-extension catches that would have made major leaguers like Johnny Damon and Jim Edmonds proud. Not only was her speed in high demand in the outfield, but on the base paths as well. Homa was third on the team in steals and laid down –and beat out– a number of bunts from the lead-off spot in the lineup.

Right field was vacated by Trisha Johnson, who dared runners to test her arm. Millersville may have an answer for that loss by the name of Allison Chew. Chew, who hails from Maryland, has been working in right field for much of the fall season and the coaching staff believes that opposing players trying to run on her may be in for a rude awakening.

Also expected to see time in right field is Amy Kossyk. One of the seniors on the squad, Kossyk will probably see her playing time more as the designated player. Kossyk hit .274 last year, but led the team with five home runs. Despite the pop in her bat, there seemed to be no runners for Kossyk to bring home as she tallied just 11 RBIs in 33 games.

PITCHER
Maybe the area of most importance on the softball field is in the circle. The Marauders knew improvement was needed on their staff and Cummings thinks they've done just that. Brittany Peterson, now a sophomore, and Courtney Eckman, who is in her junior season, carried the load of the staff for most of 2009. The two righties combined to win 16 of the Marauders' 24 games and both sported a 2.84 ERA. Neither was a dominant strikeout threat, but both showed control and composure at points throughout the season. Peterson finished with 118.1 innings pitched. She went 7-9 and also registered two saves. Eckman threw 113.1 innings, which included eight complete games. Her final record on the season was 9-9.

Seniors Mrakovich and Emily Fleiger paired up to throw almost 90 innings last season, but Millersville has incoming players that it expects to help contribute innings. Sarah Signore, a junior transfer from Division I St. Bonaventure, will probably see time in the circle for MU and may additionally play in the outfield. Freshman Alicia Hughes gives the Marauders a strong left-handed throwing presence that they do not otherwise have. Lisa Rich, also an incoming freshman, can also provided innings on a deep staff. “Starter-wise, we know we have four or five girls we can go to if one of the others is having a rough day,” said Cummings. “It's not something we've had the luxury of doing in the past, but this year if we find ourselves in that scenario, we think we have the depth to combat it.”

SCHEDULE
The Marauders head to Clermont, Fla., and the National Training Center to open up the 2010 season. Millersville is in Florida from Mar. 6-12 and will play 12 games in six days. A year ago that trip didn't go so well, as MU sputtered to a 3-7 start.

Playing with confidence and approaching each game with the same mindset will likely loom large for the Marauders, who according to their coach are facing one of their tougher schedules in her tenure. “I like a challenge and that's what we've got. Anyone we play from the Northeast this year is a regional game for us, so now there is a lot more emphasis and importance placed on these games, because ultimately they do matter to our post-season chances,” noted Cummings.

Snow hammered the Millersville area and drastically limited on-field practice time, but that case could be claimed by any number of teams Millersville may play at the start of the season. Millersville won't use that as an excuse though, as their schedule is loaded up early on. Following the trip to Florida the Marauders play two doubleheaders and then head to Salem, Va., for the West Virginia Wesleyan Tournament. Much like last season, the tournament will feature plenty of inter-region contests for the Black and Gold.

PSAC East play was unkind to Millersville last season as it compiled just two wins in 16 games. The first three PSAC East doubleheaders are all at home for the 2010 Marauders. Conference play starts when defending PSAC East Champion Kutztown visits the Millersville University Softball Field on Mar. 23. The next day East Stroudsburg comes to town and Shippensburg is in for two on the 27th.

“If we play the way I know we're capable of playing, I believe 100-percent that we can challenge for one of the top three spots in the division,” alerts Cummings. If the Marauders do play to their coach's expectations in 2010, there is no telling where the squad may go, maybe even back to the post-season.