May 22, 2009
SOFTBALL CLOSES OUT INAUGURAL DIVISION I SEASON WITH 11 WINS
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Playing in their first season at the Division I level, the Bryant University softball team finished with a very respectable 11 wins overall, including posting a 5-5 record against future Northeast Conference opponents. The record does not tell the whole story however, as the Bulldogs showed tremendous improvement throughout the season, playing tough against some of the top teams in the Northeast region.
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| Ashley Coon '10 |
Bryant was involved in 14 one-run contests this season, including each of the last four games, and very rarely were taken out of games.
"We were one of the smallest teams in Division I, but we also might have been the toughest," said head coach Lisa-Ann Wallace of her gritty bunch of ballplayers.
These Bulldogs never backed down from a challenge, and they knew that this season would be full of those as 28 road games awaited Bryant in its inaugural DI season. The team started the season with three-straight tournaments, traveling to Shreveport, Louisiana, Fort Myers, Florida, and Kissimmee, Florida.
After falling in their first seven games, the Bulldogs grabbed their first Division I win on
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| Samantha Houseal '11 |
February 28 when they took down Saint Francis (Pa.), 2-0, as part of the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament in Fort Myers, Florida. Starting pitcher Samantha Houseal (Mount Joy, Pa.) threw a complete game shutout, scattering four hits and striking out six to get her first win of the year.
Houseal had a phenomenal season, one that will be remembered in the Bulldog record books for a long time. The sophomore set the record for most strikeouts and innings pitched in a single season, striking out 180 batters while throwing in 249.2 innings, doing it all against DI competition. She finished with 11 victories and a 3.03 ERA, throwing 29 complete games and four shutouts. Houseal now ranks third all-time in strikeouts with 259, third in innings pitched with 386.1 and sixth in wins with 21.
HOUSEAL'S RANKINGS AMONG DI INDEPENDENT PITCHERS
- 6th in ERA- 3.03
- 1st in strikeouts- 180
- 6th in wins- 11
- 1st in innings pitched- 249.2
- 1st in games started- 37
- 5th in fewest home runs allowed- 8
From the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament, the Bulldogs went on to play in the Rebel Games, where they came up with three more victories, beating IPFW, Bucknell and Youngstown State. Finishing the tournament with a 3-5 record, it was a loss that showed exactly what kind of character this team had. Battling Southern Illinois-Edwardsville for the second time this season, Bryant took the 2007 Division II National Champions to extra-innings before falling 6-2 in nine. SIU-Edwardsville finished this season with a 40-10 record, by far the best record by all Division I Independent schools and had beaten Bryant 14-0 earlier in the year. But, the Bulldogs stepped-up, especially Houseal who held the Cougars scoreless over the first seven frames.
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| Lauren McCart '12 |
During the Rebel Games, Bryant saw the emergence of freshman center fielder Lauren McCart (Vorhees, N.J.), who led the team with a .350 average in the eight games of the tournament while knocking in three runs. McCart became a staple in the outfield, appearing in 40 of Bryant's 42 games while starting in 38. She finished third on the team with a .248 average, hitting five doubles and driving in nine runs. McCart was also solid defensively in the outfield, recording 31 putouts and two assists without committing a single error.
After the Bulldogs swept Bucknell and Youngstown State in the final day of the Rebel Games, the team finally returned home to Smithfield for their home opener against Holy Cross on March 17. It took some late inning heroics by senior first baseman Anne Dobemeier (Buffalo, N.Y.), who crushed a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead in Bryant's first ever Division I home game. The Bulldogs went on to take the 3-2 win, claiming the first DI victory at the Bryant Softball Complex.
Dobmeier had a great senior season, leading the team in just about every major offensive category which earned her an All-Independent Honorable Mention selection as voted on by the 13 Independent coaches and administrators. She led the team in batting average, hitting .291 on the year to go along with a team-best five home runs and 16 RBI. The five home runs tied her for 11th among all Independent players, while her 338 putouts put her second. The senior was also solid at first base, committing just six errors in 363 chances, good for a .984 fielding percentage. One of the most clutch hitters on the team, Dobmeier also came up big against URI on March 28 with a two-out home run in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extra-innings in a game that Bryant would eventually lose, 3-2, in nine innings.
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| Anne Dobmeier '09 |
After the tough loss to URI in extra frames, the Bulldogs lost back-to-back one-run games to Wagner. The team would then snap their six-game losing skid in exciting fashion, beating Central Connecticut 4-0 on April 1. The win gave Wallace 200 career wins at Bryant, as she is the all-time winningest coach in the history of the program. An almost perfect victory, Houseal threw a one-hitter in the contest, with the only blemish to her perfect game coming on a single with two outs in the seventh inning.
"To me being a part of the team that helped Coach Wallace to her 200th win is something very special. Coach Wallace works hard day in and day out, constantly thinking of new drills and new ways to bring the team to the next level. Bryant softball has always had a tradition of hard work and a sense of pride. Coach Wallace has built this program into something to be proud of," said Dobmeier of the win.
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| Lindsay Martin '12 |
That victory was part of a sweep of a doubleheader for the Bulldogs, as McCart had two hits and two RBI in game one, while Dobmeier had three hits and three RBI in game two.
The Bulldogs continued their winning ways, gaining a split against Quinnipiac on April 5 and giving them their first three-game winning streak at the DI level. Freshman Lindsay Martin (Methuen, Mass.) helped power Bryant to the win, going two-for-three with four RBI, including her first career home run in the bottom of the second. Martin finished the season second on the team in batting average while appearing in 38 of Bryant's 42 games, starting 34 of those in left field. The freshman hit .250 for the year with one home run and seven RBI while playing solid defense in the outfield.
Another freshman, Laura Bowen (Hudson, Mass.), also played an integral part on the team, starting 41 games at second base. She made just seven errors all year, good for a .958 fielding percentage while hitting one home run and seven RBI for the season.
Bryant fell in a pair of close contests following the split with Quinnipiac, dropping a 2-1 decision to UConn before losing to URI, 4-3, once again in extra frames. In the midst of these close contests, senior Stephanie Mirando (North Haven, Conn.) put together a seven-game hitting streak, the longest for any Bulldog on the season. Mirando hit .333 in that stretch, with one home run and four RBI. The one long ball came against URI in the top of the fifth, tying the game at 1-1 at the time. Mirando finished the year with nine RBI, and helped the team to 11 wins with her tremendous leadership.
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| Laura Bowen '12 |
The Bulldogs would finish the season with three wins in their final eight games, including grabbing two signature wins over Brown and UConn. Bryant had their best offensive game of the season against Brown on April 23, beating the Bears 11-3. McCart had her first career four-hit game in the victory, also collecting three RBI. Ali Chouinard (Swansea, Mass.) put together two hits in the game, along with Ashley Coon (Levittown, Pa.) and Regina Burdo (Wayne, Pa.). Burdo had two doubles in the game with four RBI. The sophomore was a stone wall at third base, making great plays at the hot corner all year and finishing by committing just four errors in 112 chances.
Chouinard hit .308 over the final eight games of the year while knocking in three runs. She finished with a .215 batting average with two home runs and ranked third on the team with
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| Ali Chouinard '10 |
12 RBI. Chouinard was solid at shortstop, committing just nine errors while setting a single-season record with 116 assists. Her 12 career home runs ties her for second on the all-time list at Bryant.
Coon finished the year second on the team with 14 RBI while leading the team with eight doubles. She hit .220 for the year with two home runs. The junior started all 42 games behind the plate, throwing out 17 runners stealing and committing just 12 errors.
Coon had one of the biggest hits of the year the Bryant's 1-0 upset win over UConn, hitting an RBI single in the first inning to help the Bulldogs to the victory. Houseal threw a complete game shutout in the contest, helping the program to one of their best wins of the season.
The team finished the year with three close losses, including two more one-run defeats. It was obvious to see the improvement throughout the year, as the team battled and competed day-after-day against some of the best DI competition in the Northeast. Coach Wallace will have to look to replace the leadership of seniors Dobmeier and Mirando, but will be in good hands with 15 players returning. The team gained valuable experience in 2009, and will look to build on their success as they get ready for their second year of Division I play in 2010.
