1999 Softball Preview:

Corsairs will have a very different look with
only two returning veterans back for 1999

(Dartmouth, MA) -- It may take UMass Dartmouth softball coach Marilyn Ritz a little while to get used to filling out her lineup card this season. The Corsairs return only one player from last year's 6-28 team and one other veteran returning from the 1997 season.

Other than those two returners, the Corsairs will have a very different look as they enter the 1999 softball season.

The Corsairs' will be built around a pair of sophomore co-captains, Erin LaPerriere (Freetown, MA) and Jennifer McGuinness (Taunton, MA). An infield starter as a first-year player a year ago, LaPerriere appeared in 31 games for the Corsairs, tying for fifth in hits with 16 along with a pair of RBI and five runs scored. McGuinness returns to the Corsairs after taking a year off from school to join the Marines. During the 1997 season, McGuinness was UMass Dartmouth's second-leading hitter with a .348 batting average, including a home run, nine RBI and 18 runs scored. She had a slugging percentage of .500 and an onbase percentage of .392.

"This is an entirely new group of players who are really excited about playing softball at UMass Dartmouth," said Ritz, who is entering her 16th season with the Corsairs. "The coaching staff put a lot of time into recruiting players who could come in and make an immediate impact on our program."

One of the most important newcomers for 1999 will be sophomore pitcher Erika Roderiques (Freetown, MA), a transfer student from Rhode Island College. With the loss of last year's workhorse on the mound Jessica Boudreau, Ritz will look to Roderiques to carry the bulk of the Corsairs' pitching duties this season.

"Although it's her first season at UMass Dartmouth, she has experienced the very competitive Little East Conference at RIC," Ritz said. "Having her on the mound, with a year behind her, will be a big positive for UMass Dartmouth."

First-year outfielder and shortstop Melissa McCormick (Randolph, MA) leads the group of new faces on the Corsairs' roster. At Randolph High last season, she was part of the team which lost the South Sectionals to Apponequet Regional, 1-0. A talented fielder who can play almost any position on defense, McCormick was an All-America selection in Florida last summer while playing with an 18-and under softball team.

Melanie Ross (Methuen, MA) is another first-year infielder who comes from a strong high school program at Central Catholic High School. First-year middle infielder Susan Herriott (Westminster, MA) is a product of Oakmont Regional High School, one of the top Central Massachusetts softball teams.

Sophomore outfielder Jessica Braley (Acushnet, MA) played her high school softball at New Bedford High and brings a very strong bat to UMass Dartmouth as a transfer student from Boston University. First year infielder Madeleine Eiche (Orwigsburg, PA), an experienced player who competes during the summer months on a women's softball travel team, will be seeing action at first base.

"Many of these new players have come from very strong and competitive high school programs," said Ritz who will be joined by assistant coach Joan Allison in her 13th year of coaching and a newcomer to the coaching ranks, Kim O'Connor. "Because we play such a competitive schedule, beginning with our games in Florida, we will have to be ready mentally and physically. Our first-year players will need to contribute right away while gaining valuable experience."

Ritz said the Corsairs have added two excellent athletes, who will bring much needed speed to the outfield in sophomores Paula Malcom (Milford, MA) and Kate Douglas (Sharon, MA). A member of the Corsairs' women's basketball team, Douglas could also see some time at first base, a position she is familiar with from her high school days. Malcom is another two-sport athlete for the Corsairs, having played goalie for UMass Dartmouth's field hockey team during the past two seasons.

Among the other newcomers Ritz will be relying on are first-year catcher Heather Blaisdell (Seekonk, MA), who has looked solid in pre-season, along with first-year pitchers Valerie Paquette (Lunenburg, MA) and Carrie-Anne Cowdrey (Belchertown, MA). Both players will give UMass Dartmouth some depth on the mound, while Cowdrey could add some power to the lineup along with first-year infielder Deanna White (Essex, MA), who could play either third base or catcher.

"The team has been working very hard in our pre-season practices," said Ritz. "If improvement and desire are key elements to success we should experience success this season."

It won't take very long for the Corsairs to get a taste for the type of competition they will face in the LEC this season. UMass Dartmouth opens its season by traveling to Fort Myers, Florida where they will participate in the annual Gene Cusick Collegiate Classic.

The Corsairs have seven games scheduled in Florida, beginning with the season opener against Wesleyan University on March 15. Among the Corsairs' other opponents are Smith College, Marian College, Babson College, Aurora University and Amherst College. UMass Dartmouth will also get a look at the defending NCAA Division III national champions when the Corsairs face the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on March 18.

The Corsairs will return to New England for their home opener on March 23 against Framingham State College at 3:30 p.m. Following four non-conference games, UMass Dartmouth will open LEC action when they travel to Gorham, ME to take on the University of Southern Maine in an April 10 double header.

UMass Dartmouth has a 31-game regular season schedule, including nine doubleaders. The season culminates in a return trip to the LEC Tournament, where the seventh-seeded Corsairs advanced the semi-final round last year by upsetting second-seeded Western Connecticut.

If the Corsairs want to repeat their performance in the LEC Tournament a year later, however, they will have to do it with a new set of players.