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2006 Texas Softball: Taking a Swing at a National Championship

The Texas softball team is armed and ready for the 2006 campaign. Head coach Connie Clark’s team is loaded with talented veterans and promising newcomers, and the Longhorns have only one goal in mind in 2006: lofting the program’s first NCAA Championship trophy overhead.

Texas is known, and always has been known, for having world-class pitching. In fact, a Texas pitcher has been on the medal stand – wearing gold around her neck – in each of the last three Olympic Games. This season, UT’s success will again go through the pitching circle.

The Longhorns return two-time national player of the year Cat Osterman for one last go-round as a senior. As a sophomore, Osterman won her first national player of the year award in 2003 before playing with Team USA in 2004 to win gold at the Athens Olympics. She returned last year to carry the Horns back to the Women’s College World Series, where the team earned its second third-place showing in three years. Joining her is sophomore Meagan Denny who, as a freshman in 2005, ranked 13th nationally in both earned run average and strikeouts per seven innings while providing the thunder and power to Osterman’s lightning.

Calling the pitches for both throwers is junior captain Megan Willis, who as a sophomore earned All-Big 12 honors in 2005 while establishing herself as one of the nation’s best defensive catchers. She also proved to swing a big bat in key games, leading the team in batting average against ranked teams and coming up with clutch hit after clutch hit. Adding depth behind Willis is freshman Kacie Gaskin, who was a three-time all-state performer at Texas A&M Consolidated High school in College Station. Gaskin comes in with a very strong bat, speed and a mind for the game.

Offensively, Texas returns seven of its nine starting batters from 2005, all of whom will benefit from the team’s new hitting coach – assistant coach Corrie Hill. Hill arrived in Austin from UT San Antonio where, as head coach, her Roadrunners led the nation in home runs in each of the last three seasons while sitting at or near the top of every offensive power category nationwide.

Anchoring the lineup will be a trio of players who have proven offensive talent: sophmore Desiree Williams and seniors Tina Boutelle and Chez Sievers. As a freshman in 2005, Williams led the team in home runs, doubles, walks, runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and collected 13 stolen bases.

Boutelle and Sievers have been stalwarts for the Horns since arriving at Texas in 2003. They have already been to a pair of Women’s College World Series, and as seniors will look to further climb up the UT career lists in a multitude of categories. Last year, Sievers led the team in batting, hits, triples and runs batted in. As a second baseman, Sievers anchored the middle of the infield with Williams and led the team to the nation’s second-best field percentage with a program record .978 mark.

Boutelle, who has held down a starting outfield spot since her freshman year and is one of three team captains, has proved to be one of the Horns’ most versatile players. She was slotted in one of the top three batting spots while finishing second on the team in doubles, walks and third in batting, hits, slugging percentage, total bases, on-base percentage and stolen bases.

Though UT lost four-year starters at first and third base, Clark is confident she has the student-athletes to fill in the role. At the hot corner, freshman Kelly Melone – southern California’s career leader in home runs and one of the top incoming power hitters in the nation – has secured the starting role. Melone can also move to shortstop if Williams is called on to lend depth in the pitching circle. In that case, freshman College Station product Crystal Saenz can step in at third if she’s not already playing in the outfield. Seanz was a two-time all-state player who, as a senior at Bryan last year, claimed national All-South Central region honors. Freshman Brittany Reliford will also lend depth at third, or as a pinch hitter or runner.

Junior Jacqueline Williams and sophomore Rachael Cook have moved from catcher and outfield, respectively, to hold down the first base job. Both players also bring solid bats to the lineup, with Williams a feared power hitter who drove in three game-winning runs in five games of the 2005 NCAA Regional and Super Regional at McCombs Field.

Team tri-captain Amber Hall, who as a sophomore batted just under .400, also returns in the outfield after starting the majority of the year in right, along with sophomore MicKayla Padilla, who led off the batting order while playing center field most of 2005. Speedster Shannon Thomas, a freshman from northern California, comes in as the team’s fastest player with the ability to play outfield or middle infield. Senior Jaclyn Daniels also returns for a final season, where she can lend depth to the outfield, step in as the designated player or, as she did last year, be the team’s go-to pinch-hitter where she knocked in three pinch-hit home runs.

With all the excitement surrounding the Texas softball team, Longhorn fans are encouraged to make their way to McCombs Field to catch a game or two…or three, or four or more. Individual tickets are $5-$8 and can be purchased at any Texas Box Office location, or by calling the charge-by-phone line at 1- 800- 982- BEVO or 512-471-3333.