Bryant University Softball Preview

The Bryant University Softball team heads to Florida on March 17 for six games as they begin their 2006 season. The Bulldogs are coming off the program’s most successful season by winning 29 games and making it to the NCAA tournament for a second straight season. They also won the programs first ever Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Championship.

The Bryant University Softball team led by head coach Lisa-Ann Wallace has had nothing but success in the past five years. Season after season, coach Wallace finds a way to improve her team and set new records. Just five seasons ago, the Bulldogs were 14^th in the conference. The next year they climbed a couple of spots and finished in 8^th place. With improvements every year the Bulldogs completed the 2003 season in 7^th. In 2004, on way to their first ever NCAA appearance, Bryant finished in 4^th place. Last season, once again they moved up in the Conference finishing in 3^rd.

After a stellar 2004 season in which the Bulldogs had a record 26 wins and their first NCAA appearance, Wallace and her Bulldogs proved it was no fluke. Last season they set a new record with 29 wins and made another NCAA appearance, not to mention a Bryant’s first ever Northeast-10 Tournament Championship.

The Bulldogs will look to continue their success and get back to the NCAA tournament for an unprecedented third straight year. Bryant was among the leaders in many categories in the Northeast-10 Conference and led in batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, sacrifice flies, and sacrifice bunts. Although Bryant loses four starters to graduation, they welcome back five starters. The Bulldogs will need some of the younger players to step up this year and help fill the void left by Academic All-American and Woman of the Year Carly Muise and Deidre Kittredge. Kittredge leaves the Bulldogs after placing her name in the record books in numerous offensive categories. This past season she led the Northeast-10 Conference in slugging percentage, on base percentage, total bases, and runs batted in. The Bulldogs remain optimistic with a talented young squad with three freshmen, seven sophomores, seven juniors and one senior.

The Bulldog attack will be led again by juniors Lindsay Connor (West Haven, CT) and Amanda Wilbur (Lakeville, MA), and senior captain Jordan Dargon (Trumbull, CT). Connor, a Northeast-10 Conference First-Team selection, led the team and the Northeast-10 Conference with a .418 batting average and started in all 46 games. She also led the Bulldogs and the league in hits with 69.

Wilbur led the team in steals with 14 and started in all 46 games. She brings quickness to the Bulldogs lineup as well as some power. Wilbur was second on the squad with three homeruns. She has made the All-Northeast-10 Conference team two straight years with a selection to the second-team in 2004 and third-team in 2005.

Senior captain, Jordan Dargon brings plenty of experience and two NCAA appearances to the table this season in leading the young Bryant softball team. Dargon had her best offensive season as a Bulldog hitting three homeruns with 26 runs batted in. She committed only one error last year for a .995 fielding percentage in guiding the Bulldogs to a 29 win season. Jordan was a 2005 All-Northeast-10 Conference second team selection. Has started in all 125 games she has played in her three seasons.

Other starters returning to the Bryant lineup this season are juniors Briana Durborow (Ringoes, NJ) and Amanda Gagne (Wilbraham, MA). Both players are very experienced and versatile. Gagne led the team and was second in the Northeast-10 Conference with 21 sacrifice bunts. She also showed power at the plate hitting two homeruns, a triple, and adding 23 RBI’s. Gagne, an All-Northeast-10 Conference third team selection will be back at shortstop this season anchoring the Bulldog infield. Durborow is a Northeast-10 All-Conference second team selection who had her best season this past year. She committed just four errors and hit .314 starting in all 45 of 46 games. Briana could see some split time in the outfield as well as second base.

 The pitching staff welcomes back two of the important pieces to the NCAA appearance last season in sophomore Janine Enos (Wareham, MA) and junior Nikki Ingalls (Westford, MA). Enos started 15 games last season and has solidified herself as one of Bryant’s top strikeout pitchers. With 69 K’s last year, Enos is already climbing the ranks of the schools top power pitchers and had an incredible Northeast-10 Conference Tournament earning the MVP award. Ingalls has had a stellar two year career thus far currently sitting in third for career earned run average with 1.84. She started in 14 games last season with 10 complete games on her way to a 9-5 record.

Bryant University is proud to have four additions to this year’s roster. The players who will look to contribute to the programs success are freshmen Kate Thomas (Bedford, NH), Kristin Carbonara (Norwalk, CT), Stephanie Mirando (North Haven, CT), and sophomore Michaela Murray (Cumberland, RI).