 "Photo: Albert Ramirez")
After last season’s disappointing 5-31 record, the UTD Softball team has nowhere to go but up — and they have the perfect infusion of youth to get them to the top.
The 2010 Comets roster doesn’t look like that of a contender, with six freshmen, two new pitchers and no seniors- but certainly expects to play like one. Head Coach Kim Sotomayor is excited about her young group.
“Last year, we had several injuries to key players — it was tough. Everyone is ready to be cleansed of last season.” Sotomayor said. “Recruitment has helped us be able to fill some important positions, so we’re looking forward to more success this time.”
Sotomayor, in her fifth full season as Head Coach of the Comets, hopes to lead the Comets to another 20 win season. She was at the helm of 2006’s 20-win team, the last Comets softball team to finish with a winning record.
For the young Comets to climb above .500, they will need their three top performers from 2009 to be superb.
Interdisciplinary Studies major Natalie Duran, considered the team “veteran” in just her junior year, will be fielding grounders and turning double-plays from second base.
Duran committed only 3 errors in 30 games started last season and has been named a team Captain for 2010.
Chemistry sophomore-slugger Caysie Norum, the team’s strongest player at the plate, could attain a .400 batting average after hitting .394 last season, the only Comet to bat over .300.
Her seven home runs and 28 runs-batted-in 2009 earned her American Southwest Conference (ASC) All-East Second Team honors.
Defensively, Norum plays a tough first base for the Comets, leading all returning players with a .966 fielding clip.
In 2009 she also appeared in 25 games from the mound, collecting four wins and allowing only six home runs.
In the outfield, mathematics sophomore Adrienne Rathy hopes to pick up where she left off after suffering a season-ending arm injury just four games into her freshman season. She was hitting .375 with a double and a triple before the unfortunate injury.
Sotomayor expects some of the newcomers to provide valuable contributions immediately.
Freshman Brooke Taft has already been named the starting catcher, and fellow first-year player Anna Knutson is in competition to be the starting centerfielder.
The pitching staff will receive a huge boost this season, when dual basketball/baseball recruit Mallory Meyers, a sophomore, plays her first year with the Comets. Freshman southpaw Jenny Olbeter will join Meyers in the revamped pitching rotation.
After losing 17 of their 18 home games last year, the UTD Comets will play their first 8 games on the road. The Comets are 1-1, having split their season-opening doubleheader against Austin College.
Come cheer on your young Comets softball team this month as they look to gain early-season momentum. All home games played at UTD Softball Field.
“We will use our experience from last year to spring us to where we want to be, hopefully the Final Four and eventually a national championship.”
Having received a first-round bye, the Comets played the winner of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB) vs. Wheaton on March 6, at the Activity Center. The team was thirsty for a potential rematch with ASC champions Mary Hardin-Baylor, who beat them for the ASC crown.
“They (UMHB) played their best game and we played our worst, so we would welcome another chance to play them,” said injured senior Brandon Greene. Greene, UTD’s second leading scorer the last two years, has been on the sideline since breaking his finger in December.
UMHB is playing in a different bracket though, after losing to Wheaton on March 4 .
The Comets, 2008-2009 ASC champions, opened their conference-championship defense with an 82-65 victory over Sul Ross State in the ASC Tournament quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, the men easily disposed of East Texas Baptist, beating them 86-54. The Comets got out to an 8-0 lead while holding the Tigers without a field goal for the first 7:22 of the game, clinching a spot in their second straight conference championship game.
ASC West division winners Mary Hardin-Baylor awaited them, in a clash of 20 win squads. UMHB, the host school of the 2010 ASC Tournament, reeled off 16 consecutive points before halftime, leaving UTD down 12 at halftime.
The third quarter didn’t prove any easier for the Comets and they found themselves down 64-47 with only 7 minutes to go in the game. Suddenly, UTD reeled off 14 consecutive points, cutting the deficit to 12 with three minutes remaining.
A full comeback proved to be too daunting a task as Comets leading-scorer Jimmy Witten, accounting junior, left the game due to a knee injury.
After the game, doctors informed Witten he had torn his ACL and would miss the tournament.
“It definitely isn’t easy,” Witten said. “But I’m going to do everything I can to keep the guys in line from the bench. Just keep their heads up and motivate them as best I can.”
Head coach Terry Butterfield, in his 10th season at UTD, stressed to his team at practice that they are a 40-minute basketball team and that no matter who they face they must be prepared.
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