Softball Season Review: The Good, the Great, and the Phenomenal
5/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
MACON, Ga. – With the regular season behind them and a #4 seed awaiting them at the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament, let's take a look back at the phenomenal season that was 2014 for the Mercer University softball team.
Mercer (34-17, 16-8 A-Sun) tallied the most wins in program history in a 51-game regular season schedule. The Bears win percentage of .667 is second best in program history, next only to the 2009 team that went 37-18 in 55 games. The win-loss record is just the tip of the iceberg, as far as record breaking is concerned.
REWRITTING THE BOOKS
Individual performances aside, the 2014 installment of Mercer softball stretched the bar at the top of the program record books in a plethora of categories. The third year of the DeFeo Era saw the hitting transform into a machine. 2013 wasn't a bad year, and had already set the bar high, but the 2014 team built on those numbers.
They set new bests in batting average (.296), runs (290), home runs (55), RBIs (260), total bases (638), and slugging percentage (.480). Despite attempting 20 less steals than the record setting base-swipers of 2011, the 2014 Bears were 8 steals away from setting a record in that category (they had 66 in 78 attempts compared to the 74 in 98 attempts in '11). The team really gelled together into an effective unit in the batter's box.
"It's been a very successful season and great turn-around from last year," sophomore Kaytlin Haney said, "We all embraced our roles and owned them, as a team."
Haney set the Mercer single season record for most RBIs with 58 this year. She has stepped up in clutch situations all season, but the one that sticks out the most has to be the walk-off against Kennesaw State here at home.
Down seven with three innings to play, the Bears had cut the lead to one in the bottom of the seventh when Haney stepped up to bat with two runners on and two outs. After the count ran to two strikes she laced a double to right-centerfield to plate the game-tying and game-winning runs on one swing.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
An overarching theme to 2014 was the production received from brand new Bears. Whether freshmen or transfers, newcomers played a massive part in the success of this team.
"We had a lot of new people added to the team and we had to gel together to be successful," freshman Taylor Miller said, "Good teams come together despite their differences and that's something we have done real well this year."
Currently second on the team with a .350 batting average, Miller has been a spark for the team as, basically, a second lead-off hitter. Hitting out of the nine-spot would afford her the opportunity to spearhead a lot of offensive rallies right in front of senior lead-off specialist McKenzie Woody, and she delivered. Miller got a hit 68% of the time as the lead-off hitter of an inning and got 24 hits when batting with the bases empty. Those numbers, more than anything, led to her 28 runs scored in just 123 at-bats.
Miller was joined by fellow stand-out freshman Caroline Taylor. Manning first base for the entire season, Taylor clobbered 14 home runs, the second most in a season by a Bear, and knocked in 46 runs. Her 24 total extra-base hits led the team as well as her .646 slugging percentage. Taylor's best game of the season came in Macon against in-state rival Georgia Southern when she belted not one, not two, but three big flies.
It wasn't just the freshman that contributed, though, as Mercer was strengthened by two transfer juniors: Kaylynn Sloat and Riley Carter.
Sloat stepped into the third base role after an early injury and came up big. She hit .321 on the year with nine homers and 32 RBIs. For the final six games of the season she has gone 7-for-13 (.538) with a homer, five RBIs, six runs scored, and a player of the week award. Despite not having records to back this up, it's a good bet that her 20 hit-by-pitches are a Mercer softball single season record.
The multi-talented Carter could hit, field, and pitch for the Bears this season. To go along with her five home runs and ten steals, she also has a 5-2 record in nine appearances with a tiny 1.69 ERA. She notched 40 strikeouts in just 37.1 innings of work while holding opponents to a .164 average. Carter tossed a no-hitter at home against NC Central on Mar. 2nd, just one hit batsmen away from a perfect game.
BEASTS OF THE CIRCLE
The Bears weren't all hitting, though, as they received some inspiring performances from their pitching staff as well.
Freshman Kirsten Stevens led the staff this season and looks poised to have a strong career in orange and black. Before earning pitcher of the week for the final week of Mercer's regular season, she posted a 13-4 record with a 2.02 ERA. Stevens has struck out 89 hitters, compared to walking just 26. During a stretch in March she pitched four straight games without allowing an earned run and then for the last four games of the season she allowed just one run in each game.
Stevens is joined by freshman Anna O'Neill as this team's pitching backbone for the next three years. O'Neill had a ridiculous February with five wins and an ERA of 1.73 for the month. She finished the year with a 3.48 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 66.1 innings pitched. Her magical month of February was capped off with a no-hitter against NC Central on Feb. 28th.
Leaving the pitching staff after this season but finishing strong is senior Julia Rice. Rice led the pitching staff in conference ERA (2.12) and had 40 strikeouts on the season. She had a 9-4 record in 20 appearances and pitched a shutout against Delaware on Feb. 21 in Orlando, Fla. She finished the regular season off on a terrific note as she allowed no earned runs (one unearned) at FGCU in six innings of work.
The season isn't over yet, though, as Mercer travels to Nashville for the A-Sun Tournament. The Bears earned the #4 seed, overcoming the preseason prediction of second-to-last, and will play the #5 seed Kennesaw State on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
"A lot of people underestimated this team," co-head coach Stephanie DeFeo said, "They really stepped up and have a shot to show everyone just how far they've come next week."
As always, follow @MercerUSoftball on Twitter to get your Bears softball fix.
