University of North Texas Athletics
2007 Softball Preview: The Outfield
2/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
DENTON (2/6/07) - The North Texas softball team has four days until its season opener on Friday, Feb. 9 at the Las Cruces Hilton Invitational. The Mean Green will play Colorado State in the first of two games on Friday.
Each day this week, MeanGreenSports.com will breakdown the outlook of the 2007 season, continuing with the outfield on Tuesday. The Mean Green opens its home portion of the schedule on Wednesday, Feb. 14 against Oklahoma State at 5:30 pm. The team will be playing on its new field, Lovelace Stadium, which is located in the Mean Green Village on Bonnie Brae in Denton.
For the second year in a row, head coach Kelly Burns will once again have many options with the outfield. She has a pool of 10 players to choose from for a lineup. Her biggest question mark is out in center field, replacing graduated Kelei Walker.
"Center field could very well come down to who is getting the job done at the plate," said Burns.
One of the options to fill that position is junior Taylor Johnston, who saw quality time at center field late in the season last year when Walker went down with a knee injury. She brings experience, speed and a good arm to the position. Burns is also looking at freshman Sierra Scott, who is fundamentally sound and has good speed and arm strength.
Senior Monica Garcia returns to left field after starting the majority of last year there. Burns says she is the most fundamentally sound out of all the outfielders and brings a lot of leadership to the position. She is also capable of robbing hitters of home runs. At the plate, Garcia posted season bests in 2006 and will likely be the lead-off hitter this eason. Junior Jonna Williams saw time last year in the outfield, and freshman Caitlyn Luetge looks to see action when she is injury free.
Sophomore Kadie Platt returns for her second year at right field. She has a new level of confidence after a solid freshman campaign. She finished the season on a high note by having a great conference tournament. Platt played stellar defense in the 4-3 win against Western Kentucky. She made five putouts, including two catches that prevented potential runs. The freshman finished fourth on the team with a .267 batting average.
Junior college transfers Bethany Rose and Lauren Bergstrom could also see time at right field. Burns has been impressed with their speed and eagerness to learn. The two juniors will be two of her top pinch runners. Burns will also have a pool of pinch runners to choose from this year as well as pinch hitters.
