The Time Is Here: Softball Begins 2012 Season

Friday, February 10

Clermont, Fla.

1 p.m.

University of North Florida

Bethune-Cookman

2/9/2012 6:13:00 PM | Softball

By: North Florida Athletics

2012 Softball Media Guide
Weekly Notes
2012 Schedule

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The wait is over. After arriving on campus back in August, the University of North Florida softball team's 2012 campaign gets underway this weekend.

“It's a long wait for all the spring sports. It's a lot of preparation,” said UNF head coach Marcie Hickey, who enters her fourth season at the head of the Ospreys. “They got here in August and we started up in September. We've been practicing, lifting and conditioning as much as we are allowed to. It's been a lot of work.

“The good thing is when they got back here for the Spring, the practices have stayed pretty consistent. They've had this drive for the whole month of January. I think you can start to see the 'Ok, we're ready to go.' It's been a nice progression. Last week, we looked good. This week we look better and I think they can see that progress. It's exciting.”

The 2012 Ospreys will look very familiar in terms of faces with the core of the team returning from a year ago. UNF will have 14 veterans to their roster, including 2011 Freshman of the Year Cortney Radke, All-Conference selection Kaley Brosky and All-Freshman honoree Lauren Pollack.

“We have the a little bit of the best of both worlds because we have the youth that have a little bit of that attitude,” stated Hickey. “They look around and see the team we have this year. They know we could have gotten to the Atlantic Sun Tournament last year. They see where we've made improvements. This is the strongest team we've had in a while. But on the flip side, a lot of that youth is also seniors this year. We have four kids out of junior colleges, so they were like freshmen last year. It's now or never.”

The Ospreys also add a talented group of five newcomers in transfers Ashley Brown, Megan David and Kelly Wilson and freshmen Kayla Goff and Kaylie Wallace that provides UNF with added depth and flexibility on both the offensive and defensive side.

“It's nice to have kids that can jump in and have an impact right away, because nobody knows who they are. Nobody knows what to expect,” stated Hickey.

UNF was tabbed sixth in the Atlantic Sun Coaches Preseason Poll, a spot that would get the Ospreys into the Atlantic Sun Tournament. However, the Ospreys' goal is not to just finish sixth in the competitive Atlantic Sun. They want to be higher.

“We expected to get into the tournament last year,” explained Hickey. “We expected things go to a lot different. At the end, we finished just out of the conference tournament. I think everybody has a chip on their shoulder about that. They knew they dropped the ball on some games where that could have easily put us in, let some teams sneak up on us and win by a run.”

“I think we're in a pretty familiar position,” concluded Hickey. “We'll use the preseason poll as motivation. We're not shooting for sixth. We're not shooting to sneak in. We're shooting to beat everybody. Hopefully, we can figure out a way.”

Pitching
If there is one word to describe UNF's pitching this year it is depth. Last year, the pitching staff was full of new faces in Radke, Richelle Raley and Chie Someya. Now this year, all three have a year under their belts in playing the type of competition the Ospreys face season-to-season, especially in the Atlantic Sun. Add Brown, Goff and Wallace to the mix and Osprey pitching is expected to be one of the team's biggest strengths this year.

“That's going to be interesting. It is going to be a strength, but also interesting for us to find the balance because we have a great staff,” said Hickey.

Radke spent the most of the time in the circle for the Ospreys last year, setting multiple program records and quickly establishing herself among the program's top pitchers. Raley and Someya gave UNF with added pitching power.

Newcomers Goff and Wallace add more power to the pitching staff, while Brown brings movement towards her pitches. All three are expected to play significant roles on UNF's pitching staff.

“We're expecting everybody to throw and offset each other, which will be nice in the relief situation,” stated Hickey. “Once you get timing or figure out one of our pitchers, we can throw something completely different. We threw everyone in the fall. We're going to take the most effective people and they're going to throw this spring.”

Infield
Nearly all of UNF's infield is back for the 2012 season after just graduating first baseman Caroline Torre last year. Like UNF's pitchers, the infield also has the depth and versatility for different options.

“Our whole infield has worked together through a whole competitive season last year,” said Hickey. “We made a couple of moves where we needed to improve at certain spots and worked specifically with kids on things that we thought were an issue last year. We have hitters that are able to move into the first base spot. It's always great when you have your core coming back; you get to pick and choose where to add your depth. That should be one more asset for us.”

Returning infielders include Alyson Bailey, Brosky, Kelly Dill, Megan Mihalik, Jackie Reese, Someya and Marissa Thomas, while Wilson is in her first year. Bailey enters her fourth year at third with Thomas as another third baseman. Brosky, Dill, Someya and Wilson are all possible middle infield options. Reese returns to her position behind the plate.

However, one void in the infield to fill is first base, which was left empty with the graduation of Torre. Dill, Mihalik and Thomas all have the capabilities to take over at first.

“It takes kids a little bit of time to get used to playing that side of the field,” said Hickey. “It seems like it would be an easy transition to make, but every time a ball is hit, it is thrown at your head and you have to get back and find the base.”

Outfield
Familiar faces will also be in the outfield. Brittany Hendrix, Danica Manadrano, Stephanie McAdam, Pollack and Mariah Reynolds are all back for another year. David will be the only new face in the outfield. Also, Thomas has the possibility of seeing time in the outfield in addition to the infield.

“With the veteran outfield, we know who has the speed, who has the arm,” said Hickey. “The communication is better out there this year because they are used to each other. They know, depending on where the ball is hit, when to lay out, when not to lay out, when somebody's going to be there to back them up. It gives them more confidence, which is something that is good for us as well.”

Hitting
Any nine, any day. The veteran roster and the powerful newcomers give Hickey plenty of options for her batting order.

“My biggest philosophy is to get your best nine hitters into the line-up anyway you can,” said Hickey. “We've worked with kids and recruited utility players. We've also recruited kids that are really versatile. It all depends on who's hitting. We spend a lot of time working on secondary positions so we can remain strong on offense.

“It's going to be competitive. The girls all know that,” added Hickey. “We can only put nine in the line-up, but I know we have kids in the dugout that can easily be out there in the batting order, which will give us pinch-hitting options that we haven't always had.”

Pollack, Reynolds and Broksy all registered over 40 hits on the season and combined for 128 of the Ospreys' 344 hits. Additionally, Reese has blasted five home runs in each of her first two seasons. Meanwhile, the addition of David and Wilson gives UNF some more speed around the bases.

“Either one of them can steal bases,” said Hickey. “We've added power. We'd added speed. Kids from last year have gotten a little bit quicker. We have way more options for running and that allows us to be more aggressive in our running.”

Schedule
UNF takes part in five tournaments this season, including two at home. However, all 12 of the Ospreys' games in February take place on the road. UNF will have some tough competition in that stretch, facing four teams that reached in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, including three at the Eagle Classic on Feb. 24-26. In all, the Ospreys play eight teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last year.

“I like playing in these preseason tournaments where we see the really good competition,” stated Hickey. “The better the teams that we see early, the easier it makes conference look. We do have a lot of competitive teams in our conference. We need to see stronger teams now to prepare for that.”

Like always, the Atlantic Sun is expected to be extremely competitive. A postseason spot will be more coveted this year with Florida Gulf Coast and USC Upstate both being eligible for the six-team conference tournament.

“Our conference is always competitive,” said Hickey. “There were five teams battling for the same few spots for last year's tournament. Everyone was really neck and neck through the conference and it just shows that it's anybody's game any given year.”

This weekend's Dot Richardson Collegiate Softball Invitational kicks off the season. UNF faces Bethune-Cookman, North Carolina, Florida A&M and Ohio State during the three-day tournament. Bethune-Cookman won the MEAC last year, going 12-0 in its conference and earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament. UNC received votes in the first USA Today/NFCA Division I Preseason Poll and advanced to the championship game in the ACC Tournament. Florida A&M returns most of its team that went 26-26 last year and will be a team the Ospreys face next Wednesday. Ohio State won last year's game 10-1 against the Ospreys at the Combat Classic.

“This tournament will be a really good test for us because of the mix in talent we're playing,” stated Hickey. “It'll make me really happy to win against the teams we should and beat the teams that are going to be tougher. This is going to be a really good test to see if we developed the killer instinct that we need.”