With their 14-year odyssey through the NAIA ranks officially over, the Clan are set for a season unlike any before it. Competing fully as a member of the NCAA for the first time in the 21-year history of SFU women’s softball, the team enters the 2012 season ready to write a new story.
The Clan’s transition to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference means new opponents and new challenges, but the team’s storied history and impressive talent suggest they’re ready to meet them head-on. During their time in the NAIA, they captured four national titles and were thrice runners-up. They finished in the top-10 in the championships all 14 years and are led by a coach just six wins shy of 500.
Of course, none of that matters if the players can’t get it done on the diamond. However, that’s not likely to be the case, despite facing tougher competition. The team is deep, and led by eight returning starters — valuable experience the team lacked last year.
The team’s four seniors are headed by shortstop Leah Riske and first base star Kelsey Haberl. That’s no slight to fellow seniors Megan Durrant and Brittany Ribeiro, but Haberl and Riske have unquestionably been two of the Clan’s most valuable players. Riske is one of the team’s best all-round players, shining both offensively and defensively. Quick and agile, she plays the shortstop position well, but can also play a power game, leading the team in homeruns last year. Meanwhile, Haberl lead the team in almost every other statistical category, including hits and RBIs, while playing what head coach Mike Renney called an “overlooked, outstanding defensive game.” If the Clan hope to improve on their 6–12 record from last year, Haberl and Riske, along with Durrant and Ribeiro, will need to continue their strong play and use their experience to move the Clan forward.
It won’t be entirely on their shoulders, however. The walk-on phenom Cara Lukawesky will likely lead the Clan’s pitching staff again, and being the leader in most pitching categories, she’ll have to maintain, if not improve her game to keep the Clan afloat should the bats dry up. Coming out of the blue just two years ago, Lukawesky has steadily improved her game, and that’s not likely to change in her third year.
Fellow junior Lauren Mew returns to second base, where she shone so brightly last year. Steady as a rock defensively, her offensive game showed signs of breaking through last year and it very well could do so this year. Extra offensive contributions will be needed from everyone and if Mew’s offense heats up this year, it could prove quite a boon for the Clan. Two other juniors, both from Pickering, Ontario had quietly productive years last year, and could be poised for the same in 2012. The duo of Carly LePoutre and Rosie Murphy combined for 17 runs (with the former leading the team in the category), and, like the other returners, have the experience needed to help improve the team, now and in the future.
In just one year, the Clan went from a young and relatively inexperienced team to one full of practiced veterans. With the extra playing time under their belts, a team that was erratic at times last year, on both sides of the plate, will surely calm down and should be much more productive.
Given SFU’s provisional status as a member of the NCAA, the team unfortunately cannot play in post-season action. However, that will give tham more opportunity to focus on each game rather than looking too far ahead, which could prove invaluable when playoffs are an option.
Having already played a few out of-conference games to get warmed up, the Clan are poised to turn a few heads once GNAC play commences on February 25. And come that time, the Clan have the talent and the experience to keep right in the thick of conference play.
