It will be strange not seeing Kathy Cox at the hot corner this spring for the Boise State softball team. The fixture and Regional All-Star won't be positioned at third base, but the returning members of the Bronco team are anxious to prove they can carry the load for Coach Erin Thorpe.
Boise State surprised the WAC a bit last year in the conference tournament, taking third place. But Thorpe isn't one to sit on her laurels. The first thing she did was go out and schedule 13 games against nine NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago. It isn't easy to build a team from scratch, but Thorpe first attracted powerful bats to Boise State to generate fan excitement. Then, she went after versatile players that could take the field at multiple positions. Now, with the program in its third year, Thorpe is bringing in recruits that are specialists.
The Broncos are looking at a schedule that features Tennessee (49-18 a year ago and a College World Series semi-finalist), two NCAA quarterfinalists (Washington, which compiled a 50-9 record, and fellow WAC member Hawai'i, which was 50-16 last season), NCAA Super Regional teams BYU (46-13), Oregon (36-21) and Arizona State (44-17), and NCAA Regional teams UC-Davis (26-29), Saint Mary's (30-23) and Fresno State (41-21). Unfortunately, most of those games are on the road, so it's a brutal road schedule that also includes games against Long Beach State and Loyola Marymount. Boise State will open against the two latter teams this Saturday in the Long Beach State Kickoff Tournament this weekend.
Cox isn't completely gone; she will serve as Student Manager for the team. But with her big bat out of the lineup, you have to figure that junior Christina Capobianco will be counted on to produce big numbers. Realistically, Capobianco should have been an All-WAC choice last year; she hit .301, had a .398 on-base percentage, a .551 slugging percentage, blasted 11 home runs and drove in 42 in 51 starts at first base for the Broncos.
Junior pitcher Allie Crump was singled out by the WAC for preseason honors after keeping Boise State in numerous games last season. Crump started 29 games last year, winning 16 of them, and struck out 130 in 170 innings of work. Aubray Zell paced the team with a 3.16 ERA last year, started 23 games and pitched three shutouts. Sophomore Lela Work has the perfect name for a relief pitcher, and really came into her own at the WAC Tournament. Lela worked eight innings at the championships, surrendering just two hits and allowing zero runs in three games. Boise State would not have finished third without her.
"Lela did a great job in the relief spot," Thorpe said. "We expect her to be used much more in that role this season."
Ashley Collier was a spot starter and produced a complete-game victory in her first career start vs. Wichita State. Newcomer Morgan Barnes is a promising prospect who compiled a 78-11 record with 884 strikeouts in helping Grants Pass, Oregon to two consecutive state championships.
Junior Maghan Yurek is a defensive specialist at catcher, finishing 2010 with a .974 fielding percentage. Sophomore Megan Harvey will be counted on offensively.
Junior Kellie Caplan was a second-team All-WAC selection last season at shortstop but can play several positions. Caplan hit .293 and was a .364 hitter in conference games. In addition to being part of a great double play combination (Boise State was sixth in the country in 2009), Caplan also set the school record with 16 stolen bases. Kellie reached base at a .343 clip last season and was third on the team with 33 runs scored. Freshman Devon Bridges has good power potential as a backup to Capobianco and Crump can also play first.
Several contenders are battling for the right to step into Cox's shoes at third base: junior Kelly Sweeney, sophomore Jessica Kraft and freshmen MacKzenie Whyte, Trisha Nobriga and Jessica O'Donnell. Vanessa Alvarez, who started 45 games as Boise State's clean-up hitter, and Holly Bourke should see plenty of action at second base. Bourke hit .316 last year with most of her starts in right field, but both Bourke and Alvarez can get the job done at the plate--they tied for the third on the Bronco team with 66 total bases.
Six Broncos with starting outfield experience return for Thorpe this spring. The sextet accounted for 46 of 51 stolen bases for Bronco outfielders in 2010. Boise State shot up from 14 stolen bases in 2009 to 77 last season and the Broncos look to continue their mastery on the basepaths this year. Sophomore Brittany Barcellos and freshman Natalie Kelley look to be regular starters, with Bourke, Bridges, Caplan, Collier and Tazz Weatherly also seeing time.
With eight returning starters and the fantastic schedule, it will be an exciting year for Thorpe and the Broncos as they continue to build the program. Things to watch will be if the team can continue their incredible consistency throughout the lineup that they displayed last season and if the pitching staff can bear down to keep games close, especially against the NCAA Tournament teams.
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