DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 12, 2019) – The Mercy College softball team opens up their 2019 season on Friday, February 15th against Chowan University and Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina.
Head Coach Mike Fazio and the Mavericks are coming off a season in which they won 31 games and just missed out on qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. Mercy looks to make the ECC Tournament for the third straight year and get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.
The Mavericks return 12 student-athletes from last year's team and have a solid eight-member recruiting class joining the team for 2019. Mercy enters the season ranked third in the ECC Preseason Poll and opens up ECC play on March 26th against LIU Post.
Infield
Leading the returners in the infield is sophomore Hannah Mueller who was a First Team All-ECC selection last season after batting .374 with 58 hits, 36 runs and 21 RBI. Mueller was a two-time ECC Rookie of the Week last season and started 46 games. Also looking to see time at first base is senior Kaylee Stevens who batted .384 with 12 RBI and three home runs. "I expect Hannah to start the season at first base, but she could transition back to her best position, second base as we get deeper into the season," Fazio said. "We will have to see how the infield gels early in the season."
Juniors Alexis Carmichael and Erika Byrne, freshman Jordan DiGiacinto and senior Raina Gorman could also see action at first base.
At second base, Fazio will look to freshman Ylannah Bowman to begin the season. Bowman has the ability to play almost any position on the field says Fazio and can swing the bat as well. Juniors Breanna Wheeler and Erica Handegard will also look to see time at second base. Wheeler made 20 starts last season and Handegard appeared in 14 games making eight starts a year ago. Sophomore Casey Akers could also see time at second base.
Wheeler is expected to see a lot of time at shortstop along with freshman Ariana Ricci and Handegard. "Ricci showed a strong arm and the ability to hit to all fields in the fall," said Fazio. "Who starts on any given day will depend on their ability to contribute offensively," Fazio added. Gorman will also look to get some time at shortstop. "Although she didn't get many at bats last year, she was productive for us at the plate this past fall. We have a lot of options and a lot of different pieces to the puzzle. They all showed us they can play during the fall, so with the depth we seem to have, we should be able to platoon at several positions. This could really help us if some of the bats cool down at any point." Handegard looks to get the bulk of the time at third base with Bowman also seeing time at the position. Also seeing time at third could be freshman Jessica Brandt and DiGiacinto.
Byrne leads the catchers for Fazio after transferring from San Diego Mesa College. The junior has showed good receiving skills, a strong arm and the ability to be a middle of the order hitter, said Fazio. Freshman Alexis Crawford will also see time behind the dish. The freshman is solid behind the dish and can handle herself at the plate, according to Fazio. Also looking to see time behind the plate are Ricci and DiGiacinto.
Outfield
Looking to see the bulk of the action in center field is senior Mikayla Newham. The senior was a NFCA First Team All-Region selection and named First Team All-ECC last season. The one-time ECC Player of the Week and Honor Roll recipient batted .398 with a team-high 66 hits and 47 runs scored. She recorded 11 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 27 RBI. Newham ranked in the top five in the ECC in batting average, runs and hits.
Also competing for time in center field will be Ricci, seniors Marisa Miano, Emma Gilaga and perhaps Akers.
Miano will look to start in left field for the Mavericks. The senior has appeared in 44 games with 19 starts in three seasons with Mercy. Junior Jessica Lombardi will also see time in left field after appearing in 19 games with five starts last season. Ricci, Gilaga and Akers will compete for time in left field.
Right field will be manned by Brandt who is very athletic with a strong arm and solid defensive skills, according to Fazio. Fazio also states that she hits the ball hard, has knowledge of the game and is a very hard worker. Ricci, Lombardi and Akers will also likely see time in right field.
Pitching
The veteran pitching staff will be led by senior Yazzy Jameson who was a one-time ECC Pitcher of the Week last season. Jameson went 10-6 with a 3.55 ERA and a team-high ten complete games in a team-high 108.1 innings. The senior had 69 strikeouts after appearing in 23 games with 18 starts.
Stevens will also contribute in the circle for Fazio after being named ECC Pitcher of the Week once. The senior went 6-4 with a team-best 2.22 ERA and two saves in 69.1 innings with 55 strikeouts. Stevens held opponents to a .181 average and led the ECC in ERA and was second in saves.
Carmichael appeared in 12 games in the circle last season and went 3-3 in 26.2 innings with 11 strikeouts. Senior Raina Gorman also returns after going 12-3 with a 3.10 ERA in 99.1 innings with 40 strikeouts. Gorman led the team in wins and tossed seven complete games.
Also competing for time will be freshmen Sabrina Gonzalez and Katelyn Shephard. Gonzalez is strong, has shown good velocity and movement and is a hard worker, says Fazio. According to Fazio, Shephard has good command and presence in the circle and could see significant time as well.
"Although we lost some tremendous players to graduation, I like our chances this spring as we look to build on our back to back 30 plus win seasons. I anticipate it will be somewhat difficult as we have added some very tough opponents to the schedule this year. I am hoping our younger players can contribute with the core of returners we have. We will need to rely on our veteran pitching staff to get us big outs and we will need to play solid "D" consistently this year to offset any fall off in run production from the past two seasons. With eight new faces in the lineup, only time will tell if the potential they bring to the lineup is going to translate into success in terms of wins and losses."
