Softball opens season with tough tournament slate

Today, the Terrapin softball team will finally escape the 30-degree weather of College Park for the partly sunny weather of Athens, Ga., and Georgia's Red & Black Showcase.

But just because the team's five-game slate is in warmer weather doesn't mean the games will be any easier. After opening this afternoon against Iowa, which went 25-23 in 2010, the Terps face four teams that were in the NCAA Tournament last year, including No. 3 Georgia, which appeared in the College World Series.

Tomorrow, the Terps will take on Missouri Valley favorite Illinois State and Lipscomb, also a conference favorite in the Atlantic Sun, before finishing Sunday against East Carolina, picked to finish second in Conference USA, and Georgia.

The Terps, picked to finish fifth in the ACC, have struggled in the past two years in season-opening tournaments, going a combined 2-8. Coach Laura Watten attributes this to the team's practice situation compared to that of schools in the South or friendlier climates, which she called a "night-and-day" difference.

"We have to get outside," Watten said.

Though strong pitching with senior Kerry Hickey and junior Kendra Knight looks to be the theme for the Terps' season, they won't be the only team with standout performers in the circle this weekend.

East Carolina's Toni Paisley was named the Preseason Conference USA Pitcher of the Year for the second straight year. She was a Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I Third-Team All-American while also earning the title of Conference USA Pitcher of the Year in 2010. Paisley was second in the NCAA with 22 shutouts, fourth in ERA with a 1.09 mark and 10th in strikeouts with an East Carolina-record 356.

Lipscomb's Whitney Kiihnl was also a third team All-American while taking home the Atlantic Sun Conference's Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year honors in 2010. She went 33-5 with an astonishing 0.95 ERA and 344 strikeouts in 237.0 innings of work. Kiihnl threw five no-hitters, including a perfect game.

Georgia returns four of five pitchers from a staff that went 50-13 with a 2.80 ERA, led by Erin Arevalo's 20-7 record and 2.51 ERA. Iowa's Amanda Zust went 16-11 with a 2.50 ERA, while Illinois State returns its top pitcher from 2010 in Megan Warner, who went 15-11 with a 2.20 ERA and five shutouts, including a no-hitter.

While Watten knows that a strong start to this season will go far in helping her team's tournament chances, she just wants her team to focus when getting down to business and kicking off the season.

"We need to take one day at a time," she said. "We need to work one day at a time and be our best one day at a time and one game at a time. We'll get that down to one inning and one pitch at a time."

dgallen@umdbk.com