January 30, 2009

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LAURINBURG, N.C.—The St. Andrews Presbyterian College softball team will be looking to build on its improbable run in last year’s Conference Carolinas Softball Tournament, as the outlook for the Lady Knights 2009 softball season is full of excitement.

St. Andrews returns 10 letter winners from last year’s team that won three games in the 2008 Conference Carolinas Softball Tournament as the Knights made a run to the final day of competition. SAPC entered the tourney as the No. 10 seed but won games against the No. 2, 5, and 7 seeds before finally being eliminated by the top seed in extra innings.

St. Andrews sophomore outfielder Jasmine Dobbin (pictured) was a Conference Carolinas First Team All-Conference honoree in 2008 after batting .329 in her freshman campaign.

Head Coach Elizabeth Burris enters her third season at the helm of the St. Andrews softball program and will try and continue to guide the Lady Knights to more victories in ‘09. Burris has led the Diamond Knights to a better record compared to the previous season in each of her first two years at St. Andrews.

First year assistant coach Kristin Hall joins Burris in coaching this year’s 15-player roster. Hall joins the SAPC staff after coaching at Schreiner University last year.

St. Andrews won 16 games in 2008, as the young roster showed signs of improvement all season. The Knights finished with a winning record in the month of April helping boost their confidence, which eventually resulted in a successful fall season.

“Our fall was very good, we played some great D-I competition that allowed us to see where we were and where we needed to go,” said Burris. “The addition of our assistant coach, Kristin Hall, has added a lot to our workouts, as well as our outfield and slappers.”

Burris will be coaching eight upperclassmen that have become very familiar with her system. Those eight players have already played under Coach Burris in her first two seasons at SAPC. The St. Andrews softball team has a nice mix of players that should blend well together and is usually a recipe for success.

The Knights have a trio of seniors that will be looked upon to bring leadership to this year’s squad. Outfielder Tiffany Capone (Jacksonville, N.C.) and corner infielder Dani Ghramm (Hayden, Idaho) both enter their fourth season in a Royal Blue & White uniform. They have combined for 193 games worth of experience at St. Andrews. The Knights senior class also features catcher Megan Riggs (Hubert, N.C.), who red shirted last season after transferring in from Mercyhurst North East.

Burris has a large junior class of seven players including a quartet that have averaged at least 35 games played in each of their first two years at SAPC. Corner infielder Brianna Shurteff (Colton, Calif.) leads the pack of juniors with 97 games played and 33 career RBI. Middle infielder Nicole Bailey (Lumberton, N.C.) has played in 85 games including 51 starts in ’08. Outfielder Morgan Farroll (Newton Grove, N.C.) has played in 73 games including 48 starts last year while infielder Kailee Munden (LaVerne, Calif.) has a .282 career batting average. Daisy Mendez (Miami, Fla.) was a versatile player for the Knights last year playing both in the outfield and pitching after red shirting her first year. Infielder Danyell Marquez (Riverside, Calif.) returns to the playing field after blasting a team-high six home runs in ’07 before red shirting last year.

Sophomore outfielder Jasmine Dobbin (Pikeville, N.C.) was named a Conference Carolinas All-Conference First Team selection in her rookie season after leading the Knights with a .329 batting average in 2008. Dobbin started in all 52 games as a freshman and led SAPC in doubles and runs scored, and she is the team’s returning leader in stolen bases.

“Our seniors have worked hard and our happy to be seeing progress with the team and us moving forward,” expressed Burris. “Returners have endured a lot of hardship over the past two years and have come ready to play this year.”

Burris added five newcomers to this year’s much deeper team including four true freshmen and one transfer. Burris added, “They are great kids that work hard and have added a lot to our team.”

Catcher Lex Cowger (Indian Head, Md.) and infielder Kaitlin Harris (Acworth, Ga.) are a pair of rookies that will help strengthen the Knights lineup and defense.

The Lady Knights will have a new looked pitching staff after 96-percent of their innings pitched graduated in May. St. Andrews will send a pair of freshmen right-handed hurlers to the mound in 2009 including Hannah McLeod (Hampstead, N.C.) and Ashley Disque (Prince Frederick, Md.). Junior Sarah Applegarth (Young Harris College) is a leftie that will also toe the rubber for the Knights after transferring in from Young Harris College. Applegarth and Mendez -- who pitched 13 innings last year – will both patrol the outfield for St. Andrews.

“We have solid pitchers including one that did very well in the fall,” commented Burris. “We also have a junior who is filling in nicely for our injured freshman.”

Coach Burris hopes to have a more productive offense this year because of great team speed, better power, and hopefully more gap shot hitting. She feels the team needs to become a more consistent hitting team, with that being one of the biggest concerns from last year. The Lady Knights batted .226 last season with only five home runs but those numbers should increase with the much deeper and talented bench.

Senior Megan Riggs said “We are better and more positive. Last year we dwelled on things, but this year we move past them. We are mentally stronger.”

SAPC has had matching 5-15 records in league play the past two years but Coach Burris believes the team is ready to move into the upper half of the conference and the Knights should be in every game they play this year. St. Andrews is picked No. 9 in the 2009 Conference Carolinas Preseason Poll as voted upon by the leagues head coaches.

The St. Andrews softball team opens up the 2009 season with a home doubleheader against Wingate University on Saturday, February 7 at 1 p.m. The Knights will play 20 league games including home conference twin bills against Lees-McRae College, Queens University of Charlotte, Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, and Mount Olive College. SAPC will once again play in the Francis Marion University Patriot Invitational, competing in five games the weekend of March 6-8 in Florence, S.C. The Knights play a demanding 33 non-conference schedule with most of their opponents coming from the newly realigned Southeast Region. Schools from the Peach Belt Conference (PB) and South Atlantic Conference (SAC) join Conference Carolinas institutions in making up the new region. SAPC caps the season in the 2009 Conference Carolinas Softball Tournament hosted by Coker College on April 16-19 in Hartsville, S.C.

Overall, Coach Burris feels she has a great pitching staff, solid leadership and group dynamics that should equal a fun and exciting season for St. Andrews softball fans. “This year’s team is ready to go,” concluded Burris.

Conference Carolinas Softball Preseason Coaches Poll
1.	Coker College	93 (5)
2.	Pfeiffer University	85 (3)
3.	Mount Olive College	79 (1)
4.	Erskine College	76 (2)
5.	Limestone College	65
6.	Anderson University	64
7.	Queens University of Charlotte	36
8.	Barton College	32
9.	St. Andrews Presbyterian College	26
10.	Belmont Abbey College	25
11.	Lees-McRae College	24