St. Louis Billikens
2011 Record (A10 Play): 29-24 (11-9)
Returning Position Players: Liz Jones C/UT, Kelly Flanagan IF, Rachel Faletto 3B, Kerri Dockins 2B, Jessica Buschjost OF, Aly Brand C, Laura Bohning 2B, Jessica Van Nostrand SS, Kelsey Biggs IF
Returning Pitchers: Kelcie Matesa P, Hannah Huebbe P, Julian Austin P
Losses: Kristin Nicoletti OF, Kristain Burger 1B, Caitlin Santefort P/IF, Erin Cejka 1B, Caitlin Trevillyan OF, Tori Holland IF
Newcomers: Erin Harcar UT, Katie Kroeger OF, Breanna Lockette OF, Lindsay Friedman OF
 |
| Kelcie Matesa |
Pitching: The strength for the Billikens lies squarely in the circle, as they return three quality arms from last year. Kelcie Matesa has been a workhorse for the Billikens throughout her career and Coach Christy Connoyer is going to be counting on her for a strong senior season. Matesa throws with some heat and she throws a real heavy ball in the circle. Matesa had a solid 2011 season going 11-9 with a 2.69 ERA and 139 SO in 133 IP. Hannah Huebbe is the Billikens' other senior ace and her style complements Matesa's quite nicely. Huebbe relies primarily on her drop and change and she really keep hitters off balance in the box. Huebbe had her best season yet at St. Louis in 2011, going 14-7 with a 2.55 ERA and 121 SO in 134.2 IP. Matesa and Huebbe will be the Billikens solid one-two punch again in the circle, though sophomore Julian Austin figures to add key innings as well. Coach Connoyer has the luxury of playing around with her staff to provide opponents with different looks.
 |
| Hannah Huebbe |
Catching: Behind the plate, the Billikens will look to Aly Brand and Liz Jones once again. Brand saw the majority of the action last year and she hit .259 with 37 hits, 3 HR, and 31 RBI. Brand should see a lot of the work, but Jones is very capable back there as well. Jones hit .308 with 4 hits last year in limited action. If she continues to hit that way she should see even more action in 2012.
 |
| Aly Brand |
Infielders: Coach Connoyer returns three of four starters in the infield, so this should be a real area of strength for her squad in 2012. Rachel Faletto is back at third base after an impressive 2011 season, which saw her hit .299 with 44 hits, 3 HR, and 28 RBI. Faletto will once again be counted on to help lead the Billikens' offense. Kerri Dockins returns to the second base position and she too had a solid year in 2011, going .299 with 40 hits, 2 HR, 21 RBI, and 10 SB. Jessica Van Nostrand is back at the shortstop position after going .238 with 30 hits, 1 HR, and 18 RBI in her rookie season. There is a vacancy at first base this year and it should be a fierce competition to fill that spot. Kelsey Biggs, Kelly Flanagan, and Breanna Lockette could all see time at first for the Billikens.
 |
| Rachel Faletto |
Outfielders: Jessica Buschjost is the lone returning starter in the outfield for St. Louis, so she will be counted on to lead a young, talented group of players. Buschjost had a great 2011 season, going .331 with 40 hits, 0 HR, 5 RBI, and 10 SB. She will most likely be the leadoff hitter for St. Louis this year, so she will look to get things going with her speed on the bases. Iowa transfer Katie Kroeger figures to hold down one of the spots in outfield and the other spot seems up for grabs at this point. Lindsay Freidman, Breanna Lockette, and Erin Harcar are all in the mix for that final spot in the outfield.
 |
| Jessica Buschjost |
Schedule: The Billikens schedule has pockets of difficult and easy games and the Billikens should surpass last season's win total. St. Louis needs to start out strong and come out of the first four weekends of play with a winning record, as they will have an extremely difficult weekend in Louisville on March 10-11, as they will face Michigan, Louisville, and Illinois State all NCAA participants in 2011. After that brutal weekend the Billikens will head home and enter into conference play. After last season, when they missed the A10 Tournament by just a half game, they will need to come to the field ready to play and they cannot afford any off days. St. Louis will have to get it done on the road, as they will only have 8 conference games at home in the regular season. If they can make the Atlantic 10 Tournament, they will get the benefit of playing at home.
Postseason prognosis: 2011 was an incredibly disappointing year for St. Louis, as they did not advance to the Atlantic 10 Tournament for just the second time since joining the conference in 2006. It was Christy Connoyer's first year at St. Louis, but that doesn't excuse the fact that this team had enough talent to make the Atlantic 10 Tournament, regardless of who the coach was. This season we should expect the Billikens to come out with a fire and passion to prove that last year was a fluke. Coach Connoyer is going to have this squad ready to go in 2012 and they are going to be right in the mix for an Atlantic 10 Tournament berth. St. Louis could finish anywhere from 4th to 7th this year and they even have an outside shot at finishing 3rd.
No comments:
Post a Comment