'Roo Softball Set to Open Season

The Austin College softball team opens the 2013 season under first year head coach Andrea Vangoss with a doubleheader against Alverno College on Thursday. The 'Roos take on the Inferno beginning at 5:00 p.m. at Old Settlers Park.

Last season the 'Roos finished the year with an overall record of 13-29 and a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference record of 7-9 and won a berth in the SCAC Tournament with a dramatic victory in their final game of the regular season. It was just the second time since the program started in 2007 that the 'Roos have made the SCAC Tournament.

The 'Roos will be led by a strong group of seniors this season, including Chelsea Delaney, Charlotte Trudell, Heather Farquhar, Jenny Dowsey, Sam Matulis, and Amber Pemberton. Delaney, Trudell, Farquhar, and Dowsey all started in the field last season while Matulis and Pemberton were the top two pitchers on the squad.

Trudell batted .333 last season, the highest average of all returners, and started all 42 games. Farquhar hit .331 with two homers and a team-best 31 runs batted in, and Delaney and Dowsey hit .275 and .254, respectively.

Pemberton had a team-best 3.78 earned run average and won eight games while striking out 50 batters, and Matulis won three games and had an ERA of 4.67 on the year. Pemberton tossed seven complete games, and Matulis had five.

Also returning to the starting lineup are Jessica Baker, Mallory Rossman, and Rachel Ramos. Baker batted .276, scored 26 runs and drove in 12 more, while Rossman started 39 games and drove in 15 runs. Ramos started 24 games in the outfield and had a double, a triple, and a pair of stolen bases on the year.

The 'Roos also add a strong group of newcomers, including sisters Sophia and Briana Hernandez along with fellow freshman Mary Whitworth, along with sophomore Lindsey Pollard and junior Taylor Steelman, who are both newcomers to the program.

The 'Roos spend the rest of February on the road after Thursday night's games against Alverno, including a February 15 game at LeTourneau.