The Camels followed up an outstanding 2008 season that ended with a conference title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament with an even better season in 2009. Despite being picked for seventh in the Atlantic Sun's Preseason Poll, CU was able to post a 16-4 record, sweep both the regular season and conference title and make the NCAA for the second consecutive season. The team posted an impressive 38-16 overall record and a winning percentage of .704 in winning both titles in 2009.
If repeating is difficult, then getting a "three-peat" in the ever improving A-Sun conference must be looked at as nearly impossible; but that is exactly what the 2010 Camels are attempting to do. Despite the loss of three key seniors from last year's team and still being without the school's all-time RBI leader, due to health, the Camels' 2010 team arrives at the season with plenty of firepower and experience to take on the difficult challenge. Coach Drew Peterson breaks down his roster and gives you an in-depth analysis of the 2010 Camels prior to the start of the season.
Your thoughts on 2010 Season?
We have the challenge of having the target on our back and having potentially the strongest schedule we have ever had in non-conference play. We have a veteran team this year, primarily seniors and juniors, so it is time for us to keep pushing the program forward. It is difficult when you reach certain levels to continue to advance and it doesn't happen without a lot of sacrifice, but the team has been committed to the challenges and they will do the best they can to keep moving forward.
What are some of this season's expectations?
Our first goal is that we keep getting better. As a team we would like to make another strong run at the regular season and tournament championship and go farther in regionals. I would be disappointed if we weren't in a position to do these things. Whether we do or not is another story. There is a lot of great competition out there, but I want to see us battle all year long. If we play consistently as a team this year these are things that are possible. Another goal I have is to be team first and not individualistic and to stay committed to things that we stated as our goals as a team prior to the season. If we do these things I will end up being happy and deem the season a success.
What difficulties due you envision in attempting to "three-peat" in both the Atlantic Sun and the NCAA this season?
You have the challenges of staying healthy, maintaining good chemistry and the keeping the team content with their roles. And then when you do have success, people begin to pay more attention to you and focus more of their efforts on beating you. Teams begin to formulate a game plan to beat you and know intentionally what they want or need to do to beat you. You become the goal for another team when you are on top.
Catchers
Because of Amanda Littlejohn's health situation, we are once again depending on (sophomore) Taylor McGee. Taylor had one of the best freshman years that I have been a part of. She came up big for us all season long but no time was it clearer than in the conference tournament. I think she is an even better player this year. I think her swing is more consistent and she really improved on her blocking ability throughout the spring and fall. The part of her defense that has really improved the most though is her throwing. She is playing on a higher level of maturity and confidence this year. We brought Amanda Cline back to the program, after being out for a year, as a backup for Taylor because of Amanda Littlejohn's illness. Amanda Cline is a strong athlete. She is quick and fast. She blocks the ball well and has power at the plate. She is capable of coming in and doing a creditable job when needed behind the plate.
First Base
Cassie Webb has been a reserve for us for the last three years and it is time for her to step in and be the starter. She has a real sound swing and is very good at picking the ball out of the dirt on defense. I have all the confidence that she will have a great year. Also playing first base this year is (sophomore) Christina Melton and (freshman) Brittany Arnn. Christina and Brittany can both play a good first base. They both have good arms and are pretty smooth over there. The biggest issue for both of them is experience since both have spent a lot of their time on the mound, but both have the ability to hit for power and are confident and competitive players.
Second Base
We will still be looking for Keeli Michael, as our now three-year starter, to continue in that role this season. I think she will continue to be a very consistent and steady player for us. This past off-season she was committed to working out and it help improve her speed and acceleration. The different range of plays she makes at second base allows her to really be special. Her slap game and bunt game will be a bigger part of her offense this year. I expect her to be an integral part of our offense this year. Sarah Forgacs, a freshman, will also play at second. She is a very capable player with great speed. She can make all the plays at second and is a great communicator. I am confident that when she is in the game she will do a very solid job.
Shortstop
Our infield with the exception of the since graduated Karlie Love is pretty much set from last year. Amanda Miller is starting her third year as our shortstop. I think very highly of her. She has great work ethic and demands a lot of herself. I expect her to be a prominent hitter in the lineup. Katie Woodcock will back her up, which she has done the last two years. Katie is a hard work, very quick, with a lot of range. She has the ability to do some great things with her hands. Katie has worked hard on improved her hitting throughout the summer and winter. I anticipate her getting more at-bats than she has in the past.
Third Base
Robin Leathers, who we nominated as potentially the Atlantic Sun's Preseason Player of the Year, returns for her senior season. She worked very hard over the summer to improve her speed and quickness. The biggest improvement she made was defensively on her release times on bunts and slow rollers. Similar to last year, I expect her to be a spark plug for us at the top of the batting order. Ashton Hardison will back her up. Ashton has really come in as a senior and dedicated this to be her best year. Her swing is good and she is solid fielder. I think she will probably earn a little more playing time this year.
Outfield
We have a lot of competition going on at a few different positions in the outfield this year. In left field we have juniors Lizzie Goldbach and Lauren Stephan. We decided to use Lauren in the outfield this year because of her hitting. She has really been dedicated to learning the position. She has a good throwing arm. Lizzie is a fantastic defensive left fielder. Her reads on balls and her throwing ability have all improved during her time here. Her swing is pretty solid. We have also tried to go back to more of the short game with her, along with all the other slappers on the team. We are focused on making that a bigger part of our offense this season. In centerfield we have Katie Hinton back. Katie is beginning her third year as the starter and is our lone set position in the outfield. Even though she had a good year last year, I also think her hitting is going to improve since she is fully healthy this season. Because of that she is going to be a more explosive offensive player. Her dedication this year has been the best it has been in her career. Sarah Forgacs will also back-up Katie in centerfield. Sarah has great speed and range and plays fearlessly out there. Right field is between a few players. We have Melissa Elks coming back at 100 percent after ACL surgery following the 2008 season. She played last year but wasn't really fully recovered until this past fall. She is contact slap hitter that reads the ball really well and gets great jumps on balls hit into the outfield. She is very consistent thrower. Freshman Sarah Ling had a really nice fall. She is a good hitter with solid power and speed on the basis. She can make some exciting plays in the outfield with her athleticism. She gives us a new threat in our lineup. There will be a lot of sharing time in right and left field this year.
Pitchers
All our pitchers are back and we also have the addition of freshman Brittany Arnn to the staff. Brittany Stanley is a senior that has been steady on course and gotten better every year. I think her movement pitches are crisper and more consistent this year. She has great work ethic and has done a great job of preparing herself for the year. Lauren Stephan is a great down ball pitcher. I think she wants to take her game to another level this year and is more dedicated with better mental intensity this year. She has been a very consistent pitcher for us with 10 or more wins in each of her first two years, but I could see her going higher this year. Both Brittany and Lauren will also contribute to the team with their bats. Katie Woodcock will stay in our closer role. She has a little bit of different look to her and some variations of what she delivers. Christina Melton's shoulder is back and healthy and she is now throwing the way she did in the first half of last year. She had an exceptional fall and has the ability to be a number one pitcher. Her movement and velocity is that good. Brittany Arnn comes in and gives us a left-hand pitcher. I wanted someone that would compliment the staff. She is a very smooth pitcher. It is fun to watch her throw since it seems effortless. She has good jump on the ball with a couple of her different movement pitches. Our goal when we bring in a new pitcher is to make the other team adjust their approach. In that regard I really like the staff that we have.
Designated Player
This position is really for us the best hitter that is not in the lineup at any given time. It could be Brittany Stanley and Lauren Stephan. It could be Christina Melton. Taylor McGee might work in the role some if we want to rest her from catching in a particular game. Sarah Ling could end up in that slot. We just have a lot of different people that could play the position. It all really depends on who is swinging well. With all our players we like to have a couple of options of where they can play so we can keep our best nine bats in the lineup at all times. It is a good problem to have. My challenge is keeping everyone on the team playing enough to stay sharp and ready to play at all times.
Coaching Staff
Just because of time together I think Theresa Stephens and I have gotten a better routine and learned how to communicate with each other more effectively this season. We understand our roles a little better this year. So it has been a smoother year this year. Theresa did a really good job with our pitching and catching last season. She continues to do that. I think our pitching staff is better because of the work that she does.
Experienced Roster
I think it is great and it helps create different expectations. As coaches we are always trying to motivate and give encouragement and confidence, but ultimately true confidence only comes from things that you have achieved. So I do feel like this team is very confident. I do think their expectations for themselves are at an elevated level. They want to go farther in the regional and of course win a regional, but they also have shown a maturity to realize that they need to win the conference to get to a regional. In order for that to happen the team needs to get a good seed in the conference tournament.
Non-conference
Well this year's schedule is all part of the process of building a program. So how does a school go from starting a program to being in a College World Series? Depending on the size of your school and the resources those things can happen faster, but for us it has been a small step at a time. First getting into the conference tournament, then getting into a position where we could be in the championship game, then winning the championship and now getting into the regionals and getting comfortable what it is all about and what those teams are like. We are at that stage now where we need to figure out how to win a regional. What I thought we needed to do with our non-conference schedule was play as many regional-type teams as possible so our non-conference schedule would help us learn to play at that speed and mentality and get to where we would be mentally comfortable that we belong there. A lot of success at any sport is mental perception. How you see yourself, how you see this name on the jersey and what your expectations are because of it. Having the name Campbell softball on your jersey now means something different now then it did five years ago. In order for us to move forward as a program we needed to play a tougher level of competition. Hopefully that will continue to allow us to be successful in Atlantic Sun as well. It is going to be extremely difficult, but I also feel like the girls expect a lot of themselves and welcome the challenge of playing some of the best teams in the country. Ultimately as a program we want to get to Oklahoma for the Softball College Word Series.
Atlantic Sun
The conference ended last season 10th in the final RPI, which is exceptional. I think the league is going to be stronger because of some of the top players that redshirted last season are back. There are also three additional teams that are eligible for the conference tournament this season (USC Upstate, North Florida, and Kennesaw State). It makes it a lot more difficult to get in. Some of those teams are going to be showing us a different level of play this season since they have something additional to play for. All three teams have exceptional players. Kennesaw State will be back with the return of a few keys players from injuries. Stetson was off last year but they will be back on pace this year because of their strong pitching staff, hitting and athleticism. Florida Gulf Coast is a juggernaut. They lost their entire infield to graduation but I feel comfortable that their coaching staff has recruited great replacements and they will be just as dangerous this year. North Florida and USC Upstate have maybe the two best pitchers in the league and have both improved their offense. Lipscomb has basically their entire team back from last year and they have been right at the top of the league for the last two or three years. Mercer made it to the championship game last year and they have mostly everyone back from last year. I see our league being stronger than ever and it is going to be tremendous challenge to come out on top.
Final Thoughts
I am grateful to be here. I am grateful for the girls and the impact and difference they have made to our program. I am excited to see the consistency they have brought with them every day. It is exciting to be a part of Campbell University and be a part of the university's growth. Hopefully we will do our part and help represent it well on and off the field this season.
Courtesy: Will Bratton