DENTON (5/17/06) The North Texas softball team concluded its 2006 season last Friday night, losing to Troy in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Despite the loss, the Mean Green had a number of highs during the season and returns most of its roster next season.
North Texas overcame its No. 6 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, finishing with a 2-2 record. The 2-2 record ties its finish from last year’s tournament. Both of the wins came against the No. 3 seed Western Kentucky, who swept the Mean Green during the regular season meeting. North Texas held an early lead against FIU, who finished second in the tournament, but the Golden Panthers came back to win. The Mean Green ran out of steam in the fourth game, falling to Troy, 9-0, in five innings.
With its 4-3 win against Western Kentucky in the SBC Tournament, the Mean Green posted its 22nd win of the season, tying the school record for most wins in a season. The Mean Green won 22 decisions in 60 games. The 2004 team won 22 games in 79 games.
In its third year, the Mean Green softball team continued to take steps towards becoming a top program. Its largest step came on the offensive side, where North Texas set a number of individual and team records. In 2006, the Mean Green set or tied eight individual batting game records and four team batting game records. Almost all the players saw their offensive numbers jump dramatically from last year.
Junior Susan Waters was one of the most decorated players in 2006. She set the single-season home run record at North Texas with 18 long balls and is the career record holder with 32. The junior led the team with 18 home runs, 14 doubles, four triples, 53 RBI and 21 walks. She set 10 single-season marks in 2006 and currently holds 11 career records at North Texas. She was named first-team All-Sun Belt and became the first softball student-athlete at North Texas to be named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District.
As a team, the Mean Green hit 44 home runs in 60 games in 2006, almost doubling last year’s total of 23. Sophomore Kristina Fowler hit the team’s 44th home run during the tournament. The three-run home run helped defeat Western Kentucky for the second time. Fowler proved to be a thorn in the Hilltoppers’ side; she posted the game-winning hit in both wins against Western Kentucky. She also picked up both of the wins in the circle in those games. She finished the tournament with a 2-1 record and was named to the all-tournament team. She led the team with five runs batted in during the tournament and batted .400 in the four games.
Classmate Katya Muller joined her on the all-tournament team. She finished the season on a 13-game hitting streak, setting a school record. She posted three two-hit games and led the team with seven hits in the tournament. The shortstop batted .538 in the tournament and finished her sophomore season hitting with a .332 average. The .332 average is a single-season best. Her 69 hits during the season is also a single-season record, surpassing Stephanie Cranmer’s 66 hits set in 2004.
Freshman Kadie Platt also finished the season on a high note by having a great tournament. Platt played stellar defense in the 4-3 win against Western Kentucky. She made five putouts, including two catches that prevented potential runs. She robbed Adrienne Lathrop of a potential home run in the second inning and made a diving catch to end the sixth inning. The freshman finished fourth on the team with a .267 batting average.
The Mean Green started the season by winning its opening game; a first in the three-year history of the program. North Texas defeated Louisiana Tech, 7-4, behind Fowler’s pitching and 3-for-3 hitting at the plate. The team posted a 2-2 record at the Sam Houston State Tournament and had another good performance at the Tulsa Festival Invitational. The Mean Green finished in third place after capturing the title last year but picked up wins against Boston College, Creighton and Louisiana-Monroe.
Waters was named to the all-tournament team at the Tulsa Festival for the second straight year. This year, she hit .333, going 6-for-18 in five games, leading North Texas to a 3-2 record. Five of her six hits were for extra bases, including two home runs. In the comeback win against Creighton, Waters knocked in the game-winning run with a double in the top of the seventh inning. Waters gave North Texas an early 3-0 lead in the win against Louisiana-Monroe with a two-run long ball. She finished the tournament with fours runs batted in and an .833 slugging percentage.
Muller was also named to the all-tournament team after hiting .389 in five games, going 7-for-18 with two home runs and six RBI. She went 3-for-4 in the win against Louisiana-Monroe, including one home run. She knocked in three runs with a long ball against Creighton that tied the game at 4-4.
North Texas went 4-1 in the season series against Louisiana-Monroe, including an 8-0 victory on March 1. Fowler pitched a five-inning no-hitter in that game, recording the program’s first no-hitter.
The Mean Green picked up two more wins at the OU/Worth Invitational and dropped the other two games to nationally-ranked Oklahoma. North Texas was unable to secure a win against a nationally-ranked opponent in 2006, posting an 0-10 record in those games.
North Texas rounded out regular season tournament play at the University of Nevada Tournament in Reno. Platt knocked in the game-winning run in the 4-3 victory against North Dakota State and was named to the all-tournament team. The freshman posted a team-high seven hits in the tournament, including two doubles and two home runs.
The Mean Green struggled in conference play, posting only three wins in 15 games. North Texas recorded one victory against Middle Tennessee and two wins versus Troy. Part of NT’s struggle lay in the lack of depth at pitching. Fowler pitched 238 out of a possible 393 innings in 2006. She won 19 of NT’s 22 wins this season. Freshman Jessica Smith and walk-on Anne Morton were called on to pitch in tight situations in their first seasons with the Mean Green.
Senior Kelei Walker is the lone senior to graduate from the program this year. She was having a solid senior campaign before a knee injury late in the season ended her final year. This year’s junior class will form the backbone of the 2007 team. Heather Bostic, Monica Garcia, Christen Jonse, Maureen Kelley, Dani Rupp and Susan Waters were all freshman in the Mean Green’s inaugural season. They will be the first four-year players to graduate from the program.
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