SSU LOOKING FOR RETURN TO THE TOP OF THE AMC

For the past three seasons, the Shawnee State Softball Team has fallen short of expectations and hovered around the .500 mark.  Coach Ralph Cole believes he may have the pieces in place to compete for the American Mideast Conference Championship and make a return to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time since 2001.   

“We have a solid nucleus of players and a solid pitching staff,” said Coach Cole.  “I really think this group can turn us around and get us back where we want to be.”  Shawnee State won conference championships every year from 1992-1998.  The Bears then won the American Mideast Conference Tournament in 1999 and 2001.  “If everybody buys in and sticks with the team concept, we’ll be back at the top of this conference.”  

Position Breakdown  

First Base:  Megan Felts enters her senior season as the starting first baseman.  Over the course of two seasons she has a career-batting average of .303 to go along with 12 homeruns, 16 doubles, and 44 runs batted in.  She earned All-American Mideast Conference Honors as a freshman in 2002.  

Second Base:  Freshman Tammie Jo Coleman will log the majority of innings at second base.  She was an all-conference and all-district performer during her career at West Portsmouth High School .   

Short Stop:  For the third straight season, Nikki Moore gets the starting nod at shortstop.  She earned All-AMC honors as a freshman when she hit .305 with 8 doubles and 10 RBI.  She spent most of 2004 in a season-long slump, hitting just .245 with 2 doubles and 4 RBI.  Coach Cole will look for Nikki to provide a great deal of leadership both on and off the field.  

Third Base:  Britney moved to third base about halfway through the year last year and adapted extremely well.  In her first season with the Bears, Britney was 3rd on the team in hitting (.330), 2nd in runs scored (14), 1st in doubles (8), 3rd in total bases (44), 1st in sacrifice hits (6), 2nd in hits (31), and 2nd in RBI's (14).   

Left Field:  Freshman Katie Wade was a catcher at Hilliard Darby High School , but will move to the outfield for her first season with the Bears.  She holds several school records including highest freshman batting average (.634), most walks in a season (13), most hit by pitch in a season (4), and most doubles in a season (8).   

Center Field:  Ashley Adkins will hold down centerfield for the second consecutive year.  She started all 30 games for the Bears as a freshman.  She covers a lot of ground and has the ability to make some tremendous plays in the field.  She looks to improve at the plate after hitting just .198 with 4 doubles and a homerun.  

Right Field:  Sophomore Tia Walling will start the year in right field.  She played in 26 games as a freshman, primarily in left field.  She hit .208 with 3 doubles and 7 RBI.  Junior Tara Walker will join the team at the conclusion of the Shawnee State Basketball season and will also see time in right field.  She played in 25 games as a sophomore.  She hit .281 with 7 doubles and 9 RBI.   

Catcher:  Senior Kristi Barka moves from second base to handle the bulk of the catching duties.  As a junior, she hit .298 and drove in 11 runs.  Her 14 runs scored were second most on the squad.  Freshmen Katie Wade and Tabby Reveal will see time backing up Barka.  Reveal earned All-OCC honors at Groveport Madison High School .  

Pitcher:  Senior Rhonda Sacks will once again anchor the pitching staff.  Over the course of her career, she has started 58 games.  Despite a career earned run average of 1.74, she has compiled a career record of 26 wins and 29 losses.  She was 8-10 with 2 saves in 2004.  She has recorded 141 strikeouts and allowed just 66 walks in 369.2 innings.  Rhonda earned All-AMC honors as a sophomore.  Freshman Ashley Keen will pick up the bulk of the remaining innings for the Bears this season.  She was a 3-time All-Ohio honoree at West Portsmouth High School .  She was the SOC Player of the Year as a junior.  Tammie Jo Coleman could also see time on the pitching rubber this season.  

Designated Hitter:  At the conclusion of the Shawnee State University basketball season, freshman Ali Hull is likely to get the largest number of at bats in the designated hitter slot.  She was a three-time All-Ohio recipient in softball.  She will also backup Megan Felts at first base.

Bench:  Freshman Emily Curtiss will backup all the outfield positions.  She earned All-MOAC honors at Highland High School her sophomore through senior years.  Shawntavia is a sophomore transfer from Columbus Community College .  She was a four-year letter winner at Marion-Franklin High School .  Shawntavia possesses great speed and will regularly come off the bench as a pinch runner.   

Shawnee State opens the season on February 19 at Spalding University .  The Bears host the Shawnee State Invitational March 11 – 13.  SSU opens American Mideast Conference play at home on April 2 against Urbana University .  All Shawnee State home games are held at Boone Coleman Field at Doctor Singleton Park .