FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 23, 2006

Lions open 2006 softball season Saturday at home

By Wendell Redden
Missouri Southern Sports Information

Consistent pitching, solid defense and timely hitting are the elements new women s softball coach Aron Potter hopes to develop into a winning program at Missouri Southern State University.

Potter, head coach at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College from 2003 through 2005, succeeds Jennifer Jimerson at Southern and is only the sixth softball coach in the history of the school.

After seeing a season-opening classic called off due to weather at Central Arkansas last weekend, the Lions are slated to open the 2006 season Saturday (Feb. 25) when they host Arkansas Tech in a 3 p.m. clash at Gene Wild Field.

Potter inherited only seven returnees from a squad that finished 23-32 overall and 8-10 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

With only three seniors on the 16-member squad, the Lions are short on experience but long on desire, Potter says.

 Our seniors have done an outstanding job of providing leadership in workouts last fall and during our preseason drills,  Potter says.  Our seniors are enthusiastic, they re open-minded, and they re working hard to lead this young team.

 There are times this season we could have six freshmen on the field, and we could have seven or eight underclassmen on the field at one time. 

Missouri Southern s three seniors are right-handed pitchers: Callie Stanford, Webb City, Mo.; Katy Owsley, Grandview, Mo., and Amy Schneider, Garland, Texas.
Stanford is a three-year letter winner and has compiled an overall record of 26-37 with a 2.44 earned run average during her career. She s started 69 games and has completed 42 to go with 198 strikeouts in her collegiate career.

Schneider is starting her third season with the Lions after playing one season at Collin County (Texas) Community College. She s 22-24 overall with 137 strikeouts, and has a 2.57 ERA. She has 29 complete games in 43 starts.

Owsley joined the Lions last year, transferring from Highland (Kan.) Community College. She was 5-8 last season with a team-best 2.33 ERA. She also saw action at the plate, collecting 10 hits in 51 at bats.

 Our three senior pitchers are very different in talent level,  says Potter.  Katy Owsley is going to move the ball around the plate. Callie Stanford is going to keep the ball down in the zone, and Amy Schneider is going to move the ball in and out. They all bring something different to the table and are so close in ability. 

Southern s other returnees are sophomore infielder J.T. Taylor of Springfield, Mo., Glendale, first baseman Rachael Bowen, junior from Lansing, Kan., and Missy Clark, junior utility player from Riverton, Kan.

Taylor started and played in all 55 games last season and was the Lions  fourth leading hitter with a .278 average. She had 47 hits, including four doubles and a triple and drove in 21 runs, fourth best on the team. One of the quickest players on the squad, Taylor swiped 10 bases in 13 attempts and her .304 batting average in MIAA play was second-best on the squad. Taylor figures to switch positions this year, moving in from right field to second base.

Bowen was a fixture at first base last season, playing in all 55 games. She fielded .984, committing only eight errors in 506 chances. Her 25 hits included three doubles and she led the Lions with 17 sacrifice hits.

Clark saw spot duty in only 11 games last year after transferring from Allen County Community College.

The remainder of Southern s squad is composed of three juniors and seven freshmen. The juniors include outfielder Kate Brittan, moving over from the women s track & field team. She s a native of Valley Park, Mo. The other juniors are transfers Alyssa Park, catcher from Murray (Okla.) State, and Afton Horst, outfielder from Butler County (Kan.) Community College.

First-year players are pitchers Lacee Craig, Bartlesville, Okla., and Tara Curtis, Olympia, Wash.; outfielder Ashley Hayes, Bentonville, Ark.; utility player Amanda Mitchell, Silver Lake, Kan.; catcher Angie Turner, Springdale, Ark., and infielders Amanda Godfrey, Sachse, Texas, and Andrea Childs, Silver Lake, Kan.

Potter said her freshman pitchers like to move the ball up and down the zone and can throw off-speed. Curtis favors the rise ball and moves it around the plate while Craig has a great change, Potter said. Both pitchers threw well in the fall, the coach added.

 Pitching comes down to our seniors,  Potter said.  They have worked very well with our young pitchers. Our seniors recognize that the only way for us to be successful is that all five must work together and do their job. We don t have anyone who is going to throw the ball past anybody. 

Potter likes the defensive potential of her club. The infield, while young, is blessed with athletes with good quickness. Bowen will start at first base, with Taylor at second, Childs at short and Godfrey at third base.

 Two of our infield starters will be freshmen and Taylor played the outfield last year,  Potter explained.  I think she s happy to be back in the infield. We have some players with good quickness who enjoy working together. I think they ll be fun to watch.

 Our outfield should be the fastest we ve seen around here in a long time,  she added.  Afton Horst is a welcome addition and Kate Brittan will probably start at another spot. Two freshmen, Ashley Hayes and Amanda Mitchell, along with Missy Clark, will also see action in the outfield. Missy has been an infielder, but she s probably been our most consistent player.

 We ve had a lot of compliments on our defense. They re not going to make a lot of mistakes. I want us to be aggressive on defense and I think we will be. Our players have worked very hard in conditioning and in weight training. We re small but strong. 

Potter believes her catchers bring different skills to the position.

 Alyssa (Park) does a nice job of handling our pitchers and possesses a lot of experience behind the plate,  Potter said.  Angie (Turner) has a great throwing arm, calls a nice game and has shown an ability to hit. 

Offensively, Potter sees the Lions as a team that will have to manufacture runs.

 We re not going to overpower people,  she said.  We re going to put the ball on the dirt and we ll be looking to score runs by stealing bases, hit-and-run and slapping the ball (through the infield). We re going to have a lot of base-hit hitters. It s going to be the four or five-hit game that s going to win for us. Hopefully, our pitching and defense will enable us to hold opponents to one or two runs a game. We re not going to be a team that will beat you with the long ball. If we re going to win, it will have to be as a unit. 

David Wright, whose daughter Sharon played for the Lions from 1992-94, is assisting Potter this season. A successful high school softball and basketball coach, Wright most recently taught in the physical education department at Southwest Baptist University, where he also assisted first-year head coach Cindy Snead in 2005.

 Coach Wright is a teacher and that s big in the coaching world,  Potter said.  His background as an administrator, coach and teacher really makes our staff complete both athletically and academically. 

Potter said she is a hands-on coach on the field.

 You won t see me in the coaching box too often,  she explained.  I ll probably be in the on-deck batters box talking to the next hitter. I want to help them relax and get focused. I don t like to scream and yell, but I will have a fit once in a while. I value the opinions of my players. If they have a question, I ll sit down and talk with them about it. I won t always agree, but I value their opinion.