2002 Softball Roundup

The Warriors scored impressive wins during the softball season, beating IUP and Lock Haven in an opening tournament and gaining home victories over Shippensburg and Bloomsburg. The team finished with a 20-24 record under Coach Jeanine Gunther. Pitcher Tina Morak hit two doubles and pitched a complete game as the Warriors opened with a 6-2 victory over IUP, which was ranked 11th in the NCAA Division II pre-season poll. Morak then tossed a four-hit shutout in a 7-0 win over Lock Haven.

The ESU team broke a 20-game losing streak to Shippensburg with a 4-2 win in the second game of a doubleheader. Pitcher Monica Sobolesky tossed a complete game victory and struck out eight. Second baseman Deana Geist's two-run double and outfielder Wendy Witmer's triple were the key hits. For the third straight year, the Warriors stunned eventual PSAC and NCAA Regional champion Bloomsburg in a home game. They scored two runs in thre seventh inning for a 4-3 win. Sobolesky allowed only five hits while outfielder Tara Buckley was 2-for-2, first baseman Nifer Shaw 2-for-3 and second baseman Geist 2-for-4.

Catcher Erika Lee was the team's most honored player as she made the NCAA All-Mid Atlantic Region first team and the All-PSAC Eastern Division second team. She belted 10 doubles and one homer and hit .271. She made only two errors in 231 attempts for a .991 fielding average. Geist made the All-PSAC second team for the second straight year. Buckley led the team in batting with a .318 average. She had eight doubles, a triple and three homers, scored a team-high 21 runs and drove in 14. Centerfielder Jill Higgins was next at .281, which a 90-point improvement over her 2001 average. Witmer hit .273 with five doubles, two triples and three homers and was the team leader in runs-batted-in with 17.

Morak posted an 11-12 record with a 1.90 earned-run average and five shutouts. She now 33 wins and 13 shutouts for her career and is close to the school records of 37 wins and 14 shutouts by Marnie Koch from 1994-97. Sobolesky was 9-12 with three shutouts. Other starters included four-year regulars Nifer Shaw at first base and Tara Greig at shortstop and third baseman Jodi Buffington, a freshman.

Sports Information Maintained by Laura Statler

ESU Home... Pete Nevins, Sports Information Director Updated 6/1/00