Cardinals return wealth of talent in 2011
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| The 2011 Newton softball team begins its season on Tuesday at home against Marshalltown. Pictured are (front row, from left) Marianna Ulrey, Morgan Davros, Monica Corso, Lizzie Shock, Sarah Tingle, Sarita Smith, Raiann Andersen, Arianna Jamieson and Michaela Wood. Back row: Kayla Corso, Ashton Hoffman, Madison Bagnall, Michaela Bleeker, Megan Sinnwell, Alora Simmons, Kalee Colbert, Kelly Murphy, Brittney Northcott, Courtney Meyer, Ashley Gipe and Sarah Kalkhoff. Not pictured: Nicole George. (Mike Hockett/Daily News) |
When you look at the numbers and stats from the 2010 Newton softball team, they don’t make a lot of sense.
The Cardinals, who went 15-25, finished with some of the best marks in the Little Hawkeye Conference across the board, both offensively and defensively.
To name a few, they had the league’s second-best batting average at .277, were second in hits and RBIs, fourth in runs and were first in doubles with 50.
On defense, they had the conference second-best fielding percentage at .944, second-best opponents’ batting average at .235 and recorded the second-most strikeouts with 172.
On top of that, Newton had three players receive honorable mention all-state status.
Yet, somehow, the team managed to finish five games below .500, ending the season with a 2-1 loss to Indianola in a Class 4A Regional Quarterfinal.
It would appear that the Cardinals’ record, or their stats aren’t being completely honest.
“Our conference is strong, and it’s going to be even stronger,” Newton coach Gary Grimes said on Wednesday. “Our record really wasn’t indicative of how good we were.”
Two injuries were major factors in the Cards’ inability to string together consistent victories last season: ace pitcher Courtney Meyer played a large portion of the year with a quadriceps pull, and senior center fielder Kelly Murphy tore an ACL midway through the campaign.
“Courtney wasn’t at full strength,” Grimes said. “She was doing a lot of it on one leg.”
The good news for Grimes and Newton is that both Meyer and Murphy return for 2011, along with a wealth of varsity experience that should make the Cardinals a conference contender this season.
Newton lost only two seniors two graduation in Amanda Jones and Valerie Humke. Both will be tough to replace, as Jones led the squad in put outs and fielding percentage at .988, while Humke was the team’s leading hitter and was one of the three to receive all-state honors.
But besides those two, the Cardinals return the rest of their starting lineup. Perhaps the biggest key to Newton’s success in 2011 will be Meyer — who is back to anchor the defensive unit from the pitching mound. She made 28 appearances last season, totalling 172 innings. Her 1.71 ERA and .220 opponents’ batting average were both fourth-best in the conference last year, while her 134 strikeouts were second-most.
Keep in mind that she did a good portion of it with one bad leg.
“When she’s healthy, she’s as good as any pitcher in central Iowa,” Grimes said. “She provides a lot of leadership on that pitching mound.”
Meyer — along with junior Alora Simmons and freshman Michaela Bleeker — has been doing double duty between softball and track practice these past few weeks. The trio will compete at the state track meet today and tomorrow afternoon, with Meyer in the shot put and discus, Simmons in the high jump and Bleeker in the shot put.
Back on the diamond, four senior starters also return a bounty of production.
Besides Murphy, Newton’s seniors include third baseman Nicole George — the team’s third leading hitter a year ago with 37 hits, 18 RBIs, 10 doubles and a .356 average, and two all-state players in catcher Michaela Wood and first baseman Megan Sinwell. Wood had 21 hits, led the team in put outs with 157 and had a .978 fielding percentage, while Sinnwell was the Cardinals’ leading hitter with 42 hits, 21 runs, 15 RBIs and a .382 average. She also recorded 106 put outs and a .945 fielding percentage.
“Those four are very good players, provide great leadership for our program and are hardworking kids,” Grimes said. “I couldn’t ask for a better group of seniors to work with.”
But it’s not just the returning seniors that will make Newton formiddable this season. Also back is Simmons, who made nine appearances on the mound and totalled 44 innings with 33 strikeouts as a sophomore. She also totaled 20 hits and eight runs on offense. Brittney Northcott and Kalee Colbert are two other juniors, who will be complemented by five sophomores who saw varsity time last year: Kayla Corso, Sarita Smith, Raiann Anderson, Madison Bagnall and Morgan Davros.
All in all, the Cardinals return 13 players, six of whom had at least 15 hits last season.
“That will make us a pretty solid ball club,” Grimes said of his returning players. “We have more experience than we’ve ever had.”
A large and talented freshmen class will provide added depth. Newton will carry nine freshman, including: Marianna Ulrey, Monica Corso, Lizzie Stock, Sarah Tingle, Arianna Jamieson, Ashton Hoffman, Michaela Bleeker, Ashley Gipe and Sarah Kalkhoff.
Pella and Pella Christian tied atop the conference standings at 11-3 last year, followed by Norwalk (8-5) and Newton (7-5).
With a well-stocked roster, Grimes expects his team to be at or near the top this season.
“We’re going to contend for the championship,” he said.
On Friday, the Newton softball and baseball teams will combine for a co-ed exhibition, to be played at both Woodland Park and Berg Middle School. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., teams will play an hour of baseball at Woodland Park, followed by an hour of softball at Berg. The event was rained out this past Friday.
After that, Newton softball officially begins the season when it hosts Marshalltown on Tuesday at 7:30.
