Wittenberg University 2003 Softball Season in Review

Setting the Scene:
The Wittenberg University softball team took a rollercoaster ride in the 2003 season and generally enjoyed the experience. After starting out slowly with five wins in 10 Spring Break trip games and eight wins in 18 nonconference games through the first weekend of April, the Tigers picked up steam, going 10-4 in the North Coast Athletic Conference to secure second place in the regular season standings.

Then the Tigers won three straight NCAC Tournament games to capture the title and gain the second NCAA Division III Tournament berth in school history. In the national tourney, Wittenberg won the first game, 3-2 over Cabrini, before falling 10-2 to third-ranked Muskingum and 10-3 to Cabrini in an elimination game.

Overall, the Tigers wound up 25-21, a strong season for a team that finished 12-21-1 a year ago and featured a lineup with just one senior and numerous freshmen.

Postseason Honors:
Head Coach Becky Hall (Urbana 97) was named NCAC Coach of the Year and senior outfielder Beth Walters (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) earned NCAC Player of the Year honors. It was Halls second such honor and Walters first.

The Tigers placed five players on the All-NCAC first team Walters, sophomore utility player Norah Gillam (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield), sophomore second baseman Katie Niemeyer (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay), junior outfielder Carmen Montgomery (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) and junior catcher Kristen Hillebrand (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley). It was the second straight first-team honor for Walters and Gillam, who doubled as the NCAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Sophomore pitcher Jen Fleming (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) was named Honorable Mention All-NCAC.

All-Central Region honors were distributed to five Tiger players. Walters earned her second first-team award, and sophomore Katie Carver (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) joined her there as a utility player. Second-team nods went to Montgomery and Gillam and Niemeyer garnered third-team.

Tag Team On The Mound:
The name of the game in fastpitch softball is pitching, and the Tigers have a lot of young arms. Several pitchers gained valuable experience in 2003, and the improvement was significant from 2002, when the team earned run average was 4.72. The team ERA in 2003 was more than a run per game lower at 3.53.

For the second straight year, Norah Gillam paced the Tigers on the mound, compiling a 2.73 ERA and finishing with an 11-7 record. She allowed just 20 bases on balls in 113 innings pitched, a key element in lowering her ERA a full run per game from her freshman season.

Fleming led the team in appearances a year after breaking her leg in the first game of her college career. She posted respectable numbers of a 2.93 ERA, an 8-8 record, 12 complete games and four shutouts in 20 appearances.

 
The 2003 Tiger softball team showed great unity.
Five other pitchers saw action on the mound, with junior Katie Gildow (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) and sophomore Christy Cartaya (Mason, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame) pitching in eight and seven games respectively. Both posted ERAs under 4.30.

What the Future Holds:
The Tiger softball program included just one senior in 2003, making the future quite bright. The lone void in next years lineup will be a significant one, however, as Beth Walters will have to be replaced in centerfield and in the cleanup spot of the batting order.

Leading the charge in 2004 will be a strong senior class led by Carmen Montgomery and Kristen Hillebrand, both all-conference players this year. Montgomery was the teams top pitcher as a freshman and has played every position on the diamond the last two years. Hillebrand has developed into a strong team leader and has improved her batting average each year. In addition, Katie Gildow, a transfer from Ohio Northern, will be a senior and figures to be a key player after leading the team with a .992 fielding percentage while playing several different positions.

The Coach:
Becky Hall completed her fifth season at the helm of the Tigers with a 110-91-1 overall record. She was the NCAC Coach of the Year in 2000 as she guided the team to the best record in school history and its first NCAC championship and NCAA Division III tournament berth ever. She repeated the feat in 2003, taking NCAC Coach of the Year honors and guiding the Tigers to second place in the conference regular season race, the schools first league tournament title and the first NCAA Division III Tournament victory in Wittenberg history.