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Rachel Bartholomew, a senior catcher at Providence from Aliso Viejo, was an all-Big East selection after batting .391 with 11 home runs and 41 RBIs. (Providence College / May 17, 2007) |
The NCAA Division I softball regionals begin this weekend with 64 teams taking their first steps for what they hope will be a championship.
Two of the 16 four-team regionals started Thursday, with the others beginning Friday.
As promised, this week we will take a look at selected seniors with local ties, but we will focus only on those schools that weren't fortunate enough to reach the postseason.
Many of these players, however, did end their careers on individual high notes.
Catcher Rachel Bartholomew (Mission Viejo HS/Santa Margarita HS) of Providence was selected to the Northeast Region first team to become the first player in school history to earn the honor in consecutive seasons.
Bartholomew also was a first-team All-Big East pick after leading the Friars (23-24) in numerous offensive categories, including batting average (.391), hits (59), doubles (11), home runs (11), runs batted in (41), slugging percentage (.682) and on-base percentage (.446).
Bartholomew also holds school records in home runs (39), RBIs (152), hits (214) and average (.328)
Outfielder Jeanine Baca (La Habra Sonora HS) closed out her career with another solid season, batting .374 for Bowling Green (33-12), which finished second in the East division of the Mid-American Conference.
Baca has played in nearly every game since her freshman season, when she earned second-team All-MAC honors. She was the only Falcon to play in all 59 games in 2005 and then started 59 of the team's 60 games as a junior.
This season, Baca led the team with 43 runs and 12 doubles, and had six home runs and 19 RBIs.
Pitcher Kelsey Anderson (Lakewood HS) started fast at Eastern Kentucky, earning Ohio Valley Conference freshman of the year honors in 2004, throwing 21 complete games and 10 shutouts.
This season, Anderson closed her career as the Colonels' top pitcher again, making a team-high 34 appearances and posting a record of 12-16 with a 2.83 earned-run average. Anderson had 176 strikeouts in 178 1/3 innings.
Anderson also was third on the team with a .276 batting average, four home runs and 27 RBIs.
Eastern Kentucky finished 24-30 and tied for fourth in the conference.
Lehigh (35-18-1) dominated the Patriot League with a 17-1 record but failed to win the league tournament title for the first time in four years when it lost to Colgate in the championship game.
Still, two seniors with local ties helped the Mountain Hawks to a fine regular season.
Catcher/infielder Lauren Haney (Manhattan Beach Mira Costa HS) was second on the team among starters with a .346 average and led the Patriot League with 41 RBIs. Haney also had four home runs and was a second-team Mid-Atlantic All-Region selection.
Senior pitcher/infielder Heather Hamasaki (Glendale HS) played in 51 games for Lehigh, batting .278 with 24 runs, 29 RBIs and a team-leading 12 doubles. In the circle, Hamasaki made only two appearances and was 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA and nine strikeouts in seven innings.
Michigan State (33-26) finished seventh in the Big Ten Conference and had two seniors with local ties helping lead the way.
Two of the 16 four-team regionals started Thursday, with the others beginning Friday.
As promised, this week we will take a look at selected seniors with local ties, but we will focus only on those schools that weren't fortunate enough to reach the postseason.
Many of these players, however, did end their careers on individual high notes.
Catcher Rachel Bartholomew (Mission Viejo HS/Santa Margarita HS) of Providence was selected to the Northeast Region first team to become the first player in school history to earn the honor in consecutive seasons.
Bartholomew also was a first-team All-Big East pick after leading the Friars (23-24) in numerous offensive categories, including batting average (.391), hits (59), doubles (11), home runs (11), runs batted in (41), slugging percentage (.682) and on-base percentage (.446).
Bartholomew also holds school records in home runs (39), RBIs (152), hits (214) and average (.328)
Outfielder Jeanine Baca (La Habra Sonora HS) closed out her career with another solid season, batting .374 for Bowling Green (33-12), which finished second in the East division of the Mid-American Conference.
Baca has played in nearly every game since her freshman season, when she earned second-team All-MAC honors. She was the only Falcon to play in all 59 games in 2005 and then started 59 of the team's 60 games as a junior.
This season, Baca led the team with 43 runs and 12 doubles, and had six home runs and 19 RBIs.
Pitcher Kelsey Anderson (Lakewood HS) started fast at Eastern Kentucky, earning Ohio Valley Conference freshman of the year honors in 2004, throwing 21 complete games and 10 shutouts.
This season, Anderson closed her career as the Colonels' top pitcher again, making a team-high 34 appearances and posting a record of 12-16 with a 2.83 earned-run average. Anderson had 176 strikeouts in 178 1/3 innings.
Anderson also was third on the team with a .276 batting average, four home runs and 27 RBIs.
Eastern Kentucky finished 24-30 and tied for fourth in the conference.
Lehigh (35-18-1) dominated the Patriot League with a 17-1 record but failed to win the league tournament title for the first time in four years when it lost to Colgate in the championship game.
Still, two seniors with local ties helped the Mountain Hawks to a fine regular season.
Catcher/infielder Lauren Haney (Manhattan Beach Mira Costa HS) was second on the team among starters with a .346 average and led the Patriot League with 41 RBIs. Haney also had four home runs and was a second-team Mid-Atlantic All-Region selection.
Senior pitcher/infielder Heather Hamasaki (Glendale HS) played in 51 games for Lehigh, batting .278 with 24 runs, 29 RBIs and a team-leading 12 doubles. In the circle, Hamasaki made only two appearances and was 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA and nine strikeouts in seven innings.
Michigan State (33-26) finished seventh in the Big Ten Conference and had two seniors with local ties helping lead the way.
