The 2007 Softball Season In Review

The 2007 North Texas softball team could not sustain the momentum after knocking off nationally-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette in the opening round, falling to Troy and then to Western Kentucky in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The Hilltoppers avenged last season’s elimination by sending the Mean Green home with a 5-0 loss in the elimination game of the conference tournament.

The Mean Green finished its fourth campaign with a 22-36 record, tying a school record for most wins in the program. The 2004 and 2006 teams each posted 22 wins. The 2007 team recorded its 22^nd win in high fashion; defeating the Ragin’ Cajuns, 6-5, in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The seventh-seeded Mean Green gave ULL its first-ever conference tournament loss, while NT won its first-ever victory against the Ragin’ Cajuns. Coming into the game, the Mean Green was 0-16 in the all-time series.

At the annual conference banquet prior to the Mean Green’s big win, North Texas placed two players on the All-Sun Belt First Team. For the first time in the history of the program, two players were named all-conference. Susan Waters was named to the first-team All-Sun Belt for the second year in a row, while Katya Muller received All-Sun Belt honors for the first time.

Waters and Muller led the Mean Green in most offensive categories. In her final season, Waters set four single-season season records. The third baseman finished the season batting a school-record .341. She also set records with 45 run scored, 23 walks and an on-base percentage of .422. In total, she holds 13 single-season records.

Waters was one home run shy of tying her single-season mark of 18. She finished second with 17 and holds three of the top five single-season marks. She leads the program with 49 career home runs. She leaves the program holding 12 career records. Waters was also listed among the nation’s leaders statistically. She was ranked 19^th in home runs per game (.30) and 46^th in slugging percentage (.707) through games of May 13.

Muller had another stellar season for the Mean Green. She led the team with 63 hits, 13 doubles and two triples. She finished just behind Waters with a .332 hitting percentage, matching her sophomore year mark. She posted seven home runs, three of which were hit against Louisiana-Lafayette during the regular season.

As a team, the Mean Green continued to put up impressive offensive numbers. NT recorded 42 home runs, two shy of last year’s school record. In 2007, the Mean Green set or tied seven single-game individual records and five single-game team records.

The Mean Green also continued to be a national leader in double plays. Throughout the season, North Texas was ranked first or second in double plays per game. Through games of May 13, the Mean Green moved up to first with .60 average. NT recorded a season-record 35 double plays in 2007.

While the Mean Green graduates six seniors that helped build the young program, a group of underclassmen performed well in 2007. Junior Taylor Johnston led the team in the conference tournament with a .444 batting average. She posted a home run in the win against ULL and had two hits against Western Kentucky. She finished third on the team with a .242 average. Sophomore Kadie Platt was one of three players to start all 58 games and was the only starter to go errorless in the field. She posted her third home run of the season and gave North Texas an early lead against Troy in the conference tournament.

The Mean Green started its season with a win, a 6-3 victory against Colorado State. After picking up three wins in its first six games, North Texas lost its next 14 games, a school record. Three of the losses came against nationally-ranked opponents and eight came versus Big XII opponents.

The turning point came with a three-game sweep at home against Sun Belt Conference opponent Louisiana Monroe. The sweep gave the Mean Green confidence with NT taking four of the next seven games. Six of those wins came at Lovelace Stadium, the new home of Mean Green softball. Located at the Mean Green Village, NT practices and plays at a brand-new stadium built on campus. The Mean Green finished with a 12-11 mark at home.

Amidst its conference schedule, the Mean Green picked up one of its biggest wins in school history; a 4-1 victory against Texas Tech on the road. Prior to the game the Mean Green had gone 0-9 in 2007 against Big XII opponents. North Texas has only won three games against Big XII teams in the four-year history of the program.

North Texas finished its conference schedule with a 10-14 mark. Although it was unable to sweep another team besides ULM, NT picked up at least one win against every conference school except Louisiana-Lafayette. The Mean Green held early leads in two of the three games against the Ragin’ Cajuns but was unable to hold them.

In addition to its offense, the Mean Green also made strides in the circle. The pitching staff lowered its ERA from the year before and struck out a school record 221 batters. Newcomer Ashley Lail tied the school record for lowest ERA (3.18) in a season, tied for third all-time with 11 wins in a single-season, finished third with 118 strikeouts and set the school record for holding opponents to the lowest batting average (.261).

The 2008 softball team returns 13 letterwinners and seven starters.

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Players Mentioned

Taylor Johnston

Ashley Lail

Katya Muller

Kadie Platt

Susan Waters

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