2011 Roster
2011 Schedule

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University softball team was picked to finish in a tie for fourth place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division as announced in the PSAC Preseason Coaches Poll released by the league office Thursday.

California (Pa.) was picked to win the division after receiving all five first place votes. The Vulcans were followed in the poll by Mercyhurst in second place and Edinboro in third place with Slippery Rock and Gannon in a tie for fourth.

Bloomsburg and Kutztown were unanimous selections to win the PSAC-Central and PSAC-East, respectively.

Rock coach Vashion Johnson, who is now in his eighth season at SRU, returns 14 players, five of whom started at least 25 games a season ago, from a squad that went 22-21 in 2010. Leading the way will be a pair of 2010 All-PSAC-West performers in first baseman Jenna Geibel and center fielder Shardea Croes.

Last season, Geibel hit .385, scored 31 runs, hit 11 home runs and had 37 RBI. Geibel's .738 slugging percentage was the fourth highest in the PSAC. Croes led The Rock in batting average (.407) and hits (55). Croes also recorded 16 stolen bases.

Other returners include Jordan Zeunges and Natalie Atkinson. Zeunges started 34 games and led The Rock with 17 stolen bases and scored 31 runs. Atkinson, who played in 34 games and made 27 starts in 2010, is coming off of a season in which she hit .296 and was second on the team with 12 doubles. Zeunges is penciled in as the starter at third base and Atkinson will act as the team's fourth outfielder and see time as the team's DP.

Shortstop Kirsten Brant has started 84 games over the last two seasons for SRU and will be back on the left side of the infield for The Rock. Brant hit eight home runs last season, was fourth on the squad with 24 RBI and tied for the team lead with 32 runs scored. She also flashed speed to go with her bat, stealing 10 bases.

Top reserves returning from last season include second baseman Rachel Henderson, utility player Stephanie Collenette, catcher Brittany Jones, outfielder Samantha Pfister and third baseman Jessica Shroyer.

Henderson and Collenette appeared in 23 and 20 games, respectively, last season while Jones started three of The Rock's final four games. Pfister and Shroyer saw limited playing time. Jones and Henderson will be counted on to start at their respective positions.

All four pitchers who took the mound last season for SRU are back, including 11-game winner Shauna Walker. The senior hurler started 18 games and made six relief appearances, totaling a record of 11-5, with a 3.97 ERA and 67 strikeouts in a team-high 102.1 innings of work.

Shaylee Ianno pitched in 24 contests in 2010 and compiled a 5-4 record. Ianno had team-best totals in strikeouts (89) and ERA (2.42). Opponents hit just .245 against her. Lindsey Grace made 15 starts last year and finished the season 6-10 with 37 strikeouts and a 4.07 ERA in 75.2 innings. Amy Erickson pitched a total of 19.1 innings in nine games as a freshman.

Four freshmen, five transfers and one former Rock volleyball player will be wearing the Slippery Rock softball uniform for the first time this season.

Emily Lobdell, the only pitcher in the recruiting class, will join The Rock after back-to-back all-state seasons at Warren Area High School.

Three new catchers are on the 2011 roster. Katie Saluga (West Liberty) and Karra White (Washington & Jefferson) both transferred to Slippery Rock in the offseason. Saluga started 40 games at West Liberty. Phylicia King comes to SRU after a stellar prep career at Grove City High School.

Also new to The Rock this season at first base are freshman Breanna Tongel, freshman Kristin Kaminski and junior college transfer Elizibeth Gorges. Tongel will split time with Atkinson and Saluga as SRU's DP. Gorges holds Corning (N.Y.) Community College career-records in home runs (23), RBI (121), hits (125), doubles (26), total bases (230) and slugging percentage (.948). However, an injury will force Gorges to redshirt this season.

Rounding out the list of newcomers are outfielders Gina Brenzo, Amanda Hedgepeth and Kalli Wakefield, who was a member of The Rock volleyball team in 2009.

Brenzo, who will start for SRU in one of the corner outfield positions, starred with Gorges at Corning in 2009 and 2010. The Horseheads, N.Y. native capped off her Corning career last season by garnering first-team NFCA and second-team NJCAA All-America honors after she batted .465 with a .537 on base percentage and 37 stolen bases.

Hedgepeth started 41 games as a freshman at Bowie State and led the Bulldogs with 58 hits and 12 doubles. She also ranked second on the team in batting average (.446), on-base percentage (.520) and runs scored (46). Hedgepeth is slated to start in the outfield.

Slippery Rock will play several tough opponents this season including games with California (Pa.) and Saginaw Valley State. Both teams played in the 2010 NCAA Division II Softball Tournament and California is ranked No. 20 in the latest NFCA top-25 poll while SVSU received votes in the poll. SRU's 2011 opponents posted a combined winning percentage of .449 (376-462) last season.

Slippery Rock opens its season with 10 games at The Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla. beginning with a March 6 game against Wilmington (Del.) at 1 p.m.  

2011 PSAC Preseason Coaches Poll
(First place votes in parenthesis)

West
1. California (5)
2. Mercyhurst
3. Edinboro
T4. Slippery Rock
T4. Gannon

Central
1. Bloomsburg (5)
2. IUP
3. Lock Haven
4. Mansfield
5. Clarion

East
1. Kutztown (5)
2. West Chester
3. Shippensburg
4. Millersville
5. East Stroudsburg