Bills Reach 20 Wins for Sixth Time in Program History
May 21, 2008
2008 RECAP: Second-year Saint Louis softball coach John Conway led the Billikens to a second consecutive 20-win season and their second appearance in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship in 2008. SLU, which counted just two upperclassmen among its regular position starters, finished the season with a 23-33-1 overall record and an 11-9 ledger in A-10 action. TOURNEY TIME: The Billikens qualified for their second straight A-10 Championship in 2008. However, sixth-seeded SLU was eliminated from the tournament after dropping consecutive games to third-seeded host Charlotte, 1-0, and fifth-seeded Saint Joseph's, 4-1. TOPPING 20: With 23 wins in 2008, SLU put together consecutive 20-win seasons for just the third time in school history. The 2007 team set the standard with 29 victories. The 2008 Bills are just the sixth softball team in school history to achieve 20 wins. The 2001, 2002 and 2003 squads are the only other teams to reach the 20-win plateau in consecutive seasons with 25, 24 and 21 victories, respectively. BEEN CAUGHT STEALIN': The Bills completed the 2008 season with 122 steals, bettering the standard of 107 set just last season. Individually, Kristin Nicoletti broke the school record for stolen bases in a game (four) and a season (34). RECORD BREAKERS: Saint Louis broke the single-game records for home runs with three against George Washington and for stolen bases with seven against Eastern Illinois. The Bills also eclipsed the season standards for walks (137) and batters hit by a pitch (27). 1-0-0 BARRIER: Junior Rachel Heet became the 16th member of SLU's 100-hit club in 2008. She is just the seventh Billiken to achieve the feat in less than three complete seasons. She finished the season with 119 career hits, which ranks 12th on the Billikens' career list.
HEAD OF THE CLASS: Pitcher Lorena Floccari was selected as one of 30 candidates for the 2008 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The accolade, which is presented annually to NCAA Division I student-athletes in eight sports, focuses on the "Four C's" of classroom, character, community and competition. COACH John Conway: Head coach John Conway owns a 169-117-1 career record and a 52-66-1 mark in two seasons with the Billikens. Conway, who came to SLU after four seasons as head coach at Division III Fontbonne, led Saint Louis to a program-best 29 wins in his first year. His staff is comprised of assistant coach Bill Rosner, pitching coach Russell Cooper, volunteer assistant Dr. Terry Moore and graduate assistant Kendra McNichols. SISTER KRISTAIN: Freshman infielder Kristain Burger (Chaffee, Mo. / Notre Dame) finished the season with nine hits and two RBIs after missing much of the early part of the season due to injury ... tallied a team-best 12 putouts against George Washington ... recorded a season-high three hits in the Army game. PHOTO FINN-ISH: Sophomore pitcher/infielder Morgan Finn (Ogden, Ill. / Lake Land College) completed the season with two hits and four runs in eight games. EBB AND FLO: Senior pitcher Lorena Floccari (Tallmadge, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit) earned a spot on the A-10 All-Academic team for the second-straight season ... is the Billikens' career leader in saves (7), appearances (144), starts (100) and innings pitched (642.2) ... ranks second in career wins (36), third in shutouts (8) and fourth in strikeouts (417) ... led the team with a 3.15 ERA and 151.0 innings pitched, finishing with a 7-14 record ... started 26 games, recording two saves and 100 strikeouts ... ranks 27th in the NCAA in fewest walks allowed per seven innings (1.25) ... struck out a season-high seven vs. George Washington. CLOSE SHAVES: Sophomore pitcher Stacy Gillette (Palatine, Ill. / William Fremd) posted team highs of 37 appearances, two shutouts and 107 strikeouts en route to a 6-14 ledger ... had a 3.57 ERA with 26 starts and 149.0 innings pitched ... fanned a career-high eight batters against Iona ... her 37 appearances rank third on SLU's single-season list. TURN UP THE HEET: Junior infielder Rachel Heet (St. Louis, Mo. / Mehlville) was named to the All-Conference First Team ... ranks sixth on the career RBIs chart with 61 ... led the team with a .347 average, 58 hits, nine doubles, three triples, three homers, 33 RBIs, a .491 slugging percentage, three sac flies, 86 assists, 15 multi-hit games and nine multiple-RBI games ... was one RBI shy of tying SLU's single-season standard (34) ... her 58 hits tie for the third most by a Billiken in a single season ... in conference play, had a team-high .413 average, 26 hits and 18 RBIs ... selected A-10 Player of the Week twice ... ranked second in the league with 26 hits in A-10 contests ... tied the school record for hits in a game with four vs. Alcorn State and Temple and the single-game RBI standard with four against George Washington. IT'S HERBIE HANCOCK: Senior infielder Jody Herbert (Moline, Ill. / Alleman Catholic) tallied four hits and three runs ... played in 24 games with nine starts on the infield. TORA, TORA, TORI: Freshman outfielder Tori Holland (Columbia, Mo. / Hallsville) missed a large portion of the season due to injury ... finished the 2008 campaign with two hits and drove in two runs ... played in 14 contests with nine starts in the outfield. HIPPITY HOP-KE: Freshman outfielder Allison Hopke (Vandalia, Mo. / Van-Far) finished the season with a .241 average, 26 hits, 11 runs, 11 RBIs and 12 walks ... played in 51 games with 45 starts in the outfield ... had a season-high three hits and three RBIs at Dayton. JOHNNIE ON THE SPOT: Junior catcher/first baseman Katie Johns (The Dalles, Ore. / Wash U) recorded a .234 average, 34 hits, 21 RBIs, 11 runs and 16 walks ... played in all but one of SLU's 57 games with 55 starts ... drove in four runs in game one at Dayton, tying the school record for RBIs in a game ... had a career-high three hits at Temple ... was hit by a team-high seven pitches, which ties for third on SLU's single-season chart. JOST IN THE NICK OF TIME: Sophomore catcher/outfielder Nicki Jost (St. Louis, Mo. / Oakville) ranks fourth on the career home runs list (8) and fifth in stolen bases (39) ... batted .250 with 40 hits, 20 runs, eight doubles, three homers, 20 RBIs, 19 walks and a team-best 242 putouts ... 22 stolen bases tie for third on the Bills' single-season list ... started 56 of SLU's 57 contests ... her grand slam vs. Northern Colorado tied the SLU standard for RBIs in a game (four) ... swiped a career-high three bases vs. George Washington. KELLY GREEN: Freshman pitcher Erin Kelly (River Forest, Ill. / Fenwick) led the squad with a 10-5 record ... posted a 4.67 ERA in 36 appearances with two saves and 67 strikeouts in 75.0 innings pitched ... named A-10 Rookie and Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 25 ... also selected A-10 co-Rookie of the Week on May 5 ... struck out a season-best eight batters vs. Alcorn State. NICOL AND DIME: Freshman outfielder Kristin Nicoletti (St. Louis, Mo. / Oakville) ranks 18th in the nation in stolen bases per game ... batted .272 with 44 hits and 13 RBIs ... her 33 runs scored tie for second on SLU's single-season list ... broke the school records for stolen bases in a game (four) and in a season (34) ... her 34 thefts rank seventh on the career chart ... earned two A-10 co-Rookie of the Week accolades ... led the conference with 14 stolen bases in A-10 contests ... drove in a season-high three runs at Temple. THE O.C.: Sophomore infielder Rachel O'Connell (Arlington Heights, Ill. / Hinsdale Central) is seventh on SLU's career walks list (40) ... collected 23 hits, 14 runs, seven RBIs and 19 walks ... started 48 of the 52 contests in which she played ... posted a season-high two hits and two RBIs vs. Saint Joseph's. OKEE DOKEE: Freshman outfielder Keri O'Keefe (Tremont, Ill. / Tremont) finished her rookie campaign with three hits, three runs scored and drove in one run ... played in 34 games with eight starts. POL POSITION: Freshman outfielder Jenna Polacek (Omaha, Neb. / Marian) completed her first collegiate season with four hits, three runs and two RBIs in 25 games played. I WANNA BE RICH: Sophomore utility player Shana Richard (Hoyleton, Ill. / Nashville) compiled five hits and drove in six runs in 30 contests ... tallied a season-high two RBIs against Missouri State. JUST A LITTLE BRIT: Sophomore infielder Brittney Schmidt (Columbia, Ill. / Columbia) tallied 16 hits, eight runs, seven RBIs and a team-high 10 sac bunts ... played in 49 games with 47 starts. CT SCAN: Freshman utility player Caitlin Trevillyan (Grayslake, Ill. / Carmel) was named to the A-10 All-Rookie squad ... batted .268 with 37 hits, 28 runs, three home runs, 19 walks and 12 stolen bases ... as a walk-on, played in 53 games with 49 starts ... tied SLU's single-game standards for home runs (two), RBIs (four) and walks (three) ... swiped a season-best three bases against Charlotte. |
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