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Softball Year in Review
May 19, 2006
From the outside, the 2006 softball season would not be considered a success. But not to the players on the roster. Not to the coaching staff. Not to anyone who paid attention and was close to the team. Yes, the team’s 19-21 record was not quite what they wanted, but what was accomplished with such a young team is what truly makes this season a victory.
A number of things attributed to the team’s record being the last thing they will look at heading into next season. The team, which was the sixth youngest in the country, had just one senior and no juniors. They also played some of the top teams in the country. The squad also played in nine extra-inning games on the year, of which they fell in six of those by a combined nine runs. Overall, Allegheny out-scored its opponents 194-to-134, and out-hit them .276-to-.236.
“The schedule that we had this season was very strong, and that was done purposefully,” said head coach Sandra Sanford, now 63-55 in three years at the helm of the program. “We’re at a point in the development of the program that we intentionally scheduled some of the top programs in the country. In doing that, we set the stage for us to know the level we have to play at to be a nationally competitive program – which is where I think we are headed.”
The Gators fell behind to start the season, as the team was 2-7 through nine games of the season. However, of those seven losses, five of the seven losses came from teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, and four of those had been ranked at some point in the season by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. The team came back to Pennsylvania with a 6-10 record, before a pair of losses to nationally ranked Mount Union, and a game to Case Western Reserve put the Gators at their low point of the season at 6-13.
After the loss to Case Western, the Gators went on a tear, winning 13 of the final 21 games, including putting themselves in a position to make the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. The Gators tied for third place in the league, but fell to the fifth place due to tiebreakers, with only the top four seeds advancing to the post-season tournament.
“We had a tremendous amount of growth as a team from the beginning of the season through the end,” said Sanford. “With how we progressed, we almost looked like we had an entirely different group of people out on the field. The improvement that I saw, and the experience that the players gained, is exciting as we head into next season.”
Leading the way for the team in post-season honors was the team’s only senior, Giannina Coccaro (Miami, Fla./Palmetto), who was named the NCAC Pitcher of the Year, finishing the season with an 8-9 record and a 1.81 earned run average. She struck out 137 batters, giving her 516 for her career. She held batters to a .193 batting average, while walking just 30 batters for the year.
“Giannina was a significant contributor for us,” noted Sanford. “She has been an impact player for us over the past three seasons. Although she will be missed, the exciting part is that we also had two very solid freshman pitchers who got a lot of playing time. The kind of experience that Brittany Rechtin (Spring City/St. Pius X) and Becca Rich (Gibsonia/North Allegheny) got in the circle this year as freshman is invaluable. As is the case with all of our young players, their experience playing at such a high level will only make them better next season.”
Earning league Freshman of the Year honors was shortstop Rachel Ryan (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern), who led the team with a .423 batting average and three home runs. She led the team by scoring 39 times on the year, hitting nine doubles and five triples, and hitting a slugging percentage of .650. Brittany Rechtin (Spring City/St. Pius X) also earned First Team All-League honors for her utility role, going 4-5 from the pitchers circle while also batting .252 with 14 runs batted in as a first baseman.
Crystal Ptacek (Allison Park/North Allegheny), a catcher, was second on the squad with a .344 batting average, while second baseman Abby Bodenlos (Pittsburgh/Shady Side Academy), the new NCAC single season steal leader with 22, hit at a .315 clip with a team-high four home runs and 29 runs batted in. Ptacek was named to the All-NCAC Second team, while Bodenlos and Sarah Piranian (Mars/North Allegheny), an outfielder, were named to the Honorable Mention squad. Bodenlos and Ryan added to their season accolades by being named to the All-Central Region Third Team.