2004 SOFTBALL SEASON PREVIEW Titans Starting From Scratch in 25th
Season Feb. 11, 2004 – Fullerton, Calif.
Twenty-four years ago, the very first Cal State Fullerton softball team
took the field
in search of athletic excellence. Built from the ground up by legendary
Hall of Fame
Head Coach Judi Garman, and fielding a roster that featured seven freshmen
and 11 junior college and college transfers, the Titans went on to finish
ninth in the nation and start a tradition of success which carries on
to this day.
For the past four seasons, Cal State Fullerton Head Coach Michelle Gromacki
has lived up to, and, in some cases, surpassed the accomplishments of
her predecessor, leading the Titans into the 21st century.
Among her accolades: four consecutive Big West Conference titles, four
consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, 37 All-Big West selections,
three NFCA West Region Coaching Staff of the Year awards, and so on, and
so on...
Now, with all of that behind her, Gromacki will need every ounce of her
coaching savvy and know-how as she faces perhaps the toughest season in
her career as a head coach.
“Believe me, the knowledge of our past great athletes will be missed
but it’s very exciting to have some new great athletes that are so
willing to want to have that knowledge in conjunction with their work
ethic,” Gromacki said. “It’s an exciting time and we are
in the business of education. I wouldn’t want to coach if it weren’t
for constant new challenges.”
As Cal State Fullerton takes the field for its 25th season, the similarities
between this year’s team and that very first squad are numerous.
The Titans, who graduated seven seniors following last year’s campaign,
will redefine the phrase “starting from scratch” in 2004 as
Fullerton returns just four letterwinners (two of those seniors) and two
position starters from last season’s squad which posted a 41-15 overall
record and clinched its record-setting seventh Big West crown with a 20-1
mark.
Numerically what does that mean? Cal State Fullerton’s offense returns
just 15 percent of the team’s hits from 2003, 17 percent of the runs
scored, and only 14 percent of the team’s RBI. Adding insult to injury
is the fact that the Titans don’t have a single pitcher on the roster
with Division I experience, boasting a pair of freshmen and a pair of
transfers who will miss a significant part of the year due to injury or
did not play at the junior college or Division I level last season.
“Replacing the offensive numbers that we’ve had in the past
isn’t going to be easy,” Gromacki said. “The game plan
on offense doesn’t change much, that’s how we are able to reach
the levels of production that we have seen from our offense in the past.”
That means plenty of new faces will be gracing the turf at the Titan Softball
Complex... in fact, there will be 11 of them – seven junior college
or Division I transfers and four freshmen.
THE RETURNERS The Titans will be led by a core group of four
players who have seen significant action in their careers, but will need
to produce even more for Cal State Fullerton to be successful this season.
Senior catcher Jennifer Holt has seen the better part of the last two
seasons behind home plate, serving as the backup to the departed three-time
All-American Jenny Topping in 2002 and starting nearly every game behind
the dish for the Titans last season.
“Jenn Holt is our quarterback and a leader on and off the field,”
Gromacki said. “Her presence behind the plate is valuable to this
team. It’s been a pleasure to coach her.”
Holt, most likely the everyday catcher in 2004, will be a steadying force
for Fullerton’s young pitching staff in her final season. Defensively
she was stellar as a junior, committing just five errors in 430 chances
(.988 fielding percentage), while hitting .188 with five doubles, a pair
of home runs and 15 RBI. Her numbers got even stronger in Big West play,
hitting .283 with six runs, three doubles and nine RBI.
She enters the season ranked third on Cal State Fullerton’s career
fielding percentage list at .990.
Outfielder Julie Watson also enters her final season in a Titan uniform
looking to break out of a slump that has plagued her since her freshman
year. Watson, who hit .285 as a freshman, has hit .214 and .222 in the
last two years. A speedster on the basepaths, she did lead the team with
five steals in seven attempts as a junior in 2003.
“Julie has a spark about her that is contagious,” Gromacki said.
“Her spirit lifts this team and at the same time she is looked up
to as a leader.”
Junior Jody Campbell performed well in her first season of Division I
softball, hitting .259 with three doubles and 10 RBI. A physically imposing
hitter, Campbell finished third on the team with 21 walks – drawing
two walks in a game on three separate occasions.
“Jody has the potential to be a power hitter for us,” Gromacki
said. “Her injuries have limited her from those possibilities. I’m
looking forward to having a healthy Jody this season.”
Sophomore Crystal Medina was steady on the infield last season, committing
only two errors in 44 chances (.955). She made only four official at-bats
as a freshman, notching her first career hit against Cal Poly, while appearing
mostly as a pinch runner, adding speed to the Titans’ offensive attack.
“Crystal has had constant challenges because of injury, but it’s
her work ethic that has allowed her to contribute to some of our team’s
wins,” Gromacki said. “I expect nothing less. She has a great
attitude.”
THE NEWCOMERS The old adage, “you can’t tell the
players without a scorecard,” will ring true this season at the Titan
Softball Complex as fans will have to deal with a gaggle of new faces
on the field for the Titans in 2004.
“Our newcomers will be expected to come in and be efficient right
away,” Gromacki said. “We would be lowering our standards if
we expected anything less.”
Cal State Fullerton was dealt an early blow when redshirt freshman Marissa
Marzan, a hearlded transfer from the University of Arizona and expected
to be Fullerton’s No. 1 starter, suffered a knee injury during fall
practice and will miss a significant portion of the season.
Because of that loss, the Titan pitching staff will have to adapt to the
Division I game quickly as it will be comprised of a pair of freshmen
and a player who hasn’t pitched in two years.
“Though Gina Oaks and Jodie Cox were able to hold their own on the
mound, that was a result of the game plan we’ve always had and that
is working together as a staff for one common goal,” Gromacki said.
“That plan is still in place and with the expertise of our pitching
coach, Dee Dee Weiman, I feel we are able to compete at the same level
that we have in the past.”
The other Division I transfer is junior outfielder Lindsey Bashor, a hard-hitting,
athletic centerfielder who will provide tremendous range and a solid bat
at the top of Fullerton’s lineup. Bashor, who played her first two
seasons at the University of Iowa, hit .323 with eight doubles and four
home runs as a sophomore, and was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team.
She also scored 26 runs and drove in 25 more.
“Lindsey has brought talent, leadership, and an attitude of wanting
the ball to be hit to her and wanting to be at the plate to win the game.
You can’t replace that,” Gromacki said.
Gromacki also brought in a talented group of four freshmen and three walk-ons
for the 2004 campaign – all of whom will be expected to compete right
away.
The freshmen are led by pitcher/infielder Candice Baker, who was selected
as one of 20 at-large selections for the 2003 Junior Women’s National
Team tryouts last summer. She is a four-time All-Empire League selection
and an All-CIF selection from Cypress HS and will form one-third of the
Titans pitching staff to begin the year.
Infielder Tiffany Hoff will battle for playing time after hitting better
than .350 for all four seasons for Vacaville HS. She is a four-time All-Monticello
Empire League honoree and helped her team to a CIF title in 2003.
Pitcher Brooke Weekley makes up another third of the Titans’ pitching
staff this season after earning All-South Coast League honors all three
years at Capistrano Valley HS. A two-time All-CIF pick, Weekley was 20-6
with a 0.84 ERA as a sophomore and 17-9 with a 0.68 ERA as a junior while
also hitting .321 at the plate.
Infielder Jenna Wheeler was a four-time All-Empire League honoree at Loara
HS in Anaheim, Calif., while also earning All-CIF honors for three seasons.
The Titans also brought in five junior college transfers – three
of those coming from their own backyard. Junior walk-on Carolyn Bullard
twice earned All-Orange Empire Conference honors at nearby Fullerton College,
hitting .317 as a freshman and .257 last season. Bullard brings a tremendous
amount of speed to the lineup after stealing 35-of-38 bases for the Hornets
in two seasons.
Her teammate, infielder Marisa Trevino, hit .248 with a home run and 15
RBI as a freshman last season, hitting .286 in OEC play.
Catcher Melissa Hughes is a junior transfer from nearby Mt. San Antonio
College where she won a state championship last season and was coached
by former Titans’ assistant Kelly Ford. Hughes hit .330 for the Mounties
with 30 runs scored, five doubles and 20 RBI as a sophomore in 2003.
The final transfer is junior outfielder Monica Tantlinger, a two-time
All-Foothill Conference honoree at Antelope Valley College, who also walked
on this season. She hit .282 as a sophomore with 28 runs scored and 12
RBI. She ranked 12th in the conference in hits (40), eighth in runs, and
tied for 22nd in RBI.
Senior Porsha Draper played two seasons at Tallahassee Community College
and signed to play at the University of Tennessee, but decided not to
attend. The Southern California native (Lakewood, Calif.) did not play
softball anywhere in each of the last two years.
Draper is a multi-faceted player who was an outfielder, infielder, and
pitcher for TCC in 2000 and 2001. She was named the 2001 Panhandle Conference
Player of the Year after hitting .349 with six home runs, 50 RBI and 32
runs scored while going 15-2 in the circle with a 1.27 ERA.
THE SCHEDULE Even with the new-look Titans in 2004, Cal State Fullerton’s
schedule will be no less daunting. The Titans, who were picked to finish
second in the Big West Conference this season behind Long Beach State,
will face 14 teams ranked in the preseason ESPN.com/USA Softball poll
top 25 (including seven of the top 10), along with seven other teams receiving
votes in that poll. In addition, 13 of Fullerton’s opponents this
season are ranked in the NFCA Preseason Coaches top 25, with six other
teams also receiving votes.
