MEET THE TEAM | SCHEDULE/RESULTS | NEWS | ALMANAC

Feb. 19, 2009

This Week: Saint Louis will be looking for better at bats and more endurance from its pitchers when it travels to Tulsa, Okla., for four games at the Tulsa Select Festival this weekend. The Billikens (1-4) open the tournament against South Dakota State at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20. Then SLU faces Creighton at 3 p.m. On Saturday, host Tulsa awaits the Bills at 1 p.m. Saint Louis concludes tournament action with a 10 a.m. contest against Louisiana-Monroe on Sunday.

Last Time Out: Saint Louis captured its first season-opening win of the John Conway era with a come-from-behind 6-4 victory over Southern Utah at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic last weekend. However, the Billikens were then no-hit by Virginia in an 11-0 decision. SLU suffered three losses - 18-3 at UNLV, 8-3 against Hawai'i and 12-1 to then-No. 6/5 Michigan - to close the tournament on a four-game losing skid.

Coach John Conway: Head coach John Conway owns a 170-121-1 seven-year career record and a 53-70-1 mark in his third season with the Billikens. Conway, who came to SLU after four seasons as head coach at NCAA Division III Fontbonne, led Saint Louis to a program-best 29 wins and its first A-10 Championship appearance in his first year. He is assisted by Glenn Knaebel, Russell Cooper, Kendra McNichols and Christy Ernst.

About the Billikens: SLU (1-4) returns seven position starters and two pitchers from last year's squad that went 23-33-1 overall, 11-9 in the Atlantic 10. The 2009 Billikens are comprised of two seniors, five juniors, four sophomores and seven freshmen. Senior Rachel Heet leads the team with a .250 average, three hits and four RBIs, while junior Nicki Jost paces the club with a .308 slugging percentage and three stolen bases. Sophomore Erin Kelly (1-0) leads the pitching staff with a 0.00 ERA, while rookie Kelcie Matesa (0-3) owns team highs of three appearances, three starts, two complete games, 16.0 innings pitched and nine strikeouts. As a team, Saint Louis is hitting .152 with 2.6 runs per contest. The pitching staff has a 9.87 ERA and allows opponents a .393 batting average.

Scouting the Jackrabbits: South Dakota State (1-8) has dropped its last eight games after winning its season opener against North Dakota 8-3. The Jackrabbits, who also participated in the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic last weekend, went 17-27 overall a year ago with a 9-9 ledger in The Summit League. SDSU returns six position starters and one pitcher from the 2008 squad. Sophomore Ashley Durazo leads the team with a .414 average and 12 hits, while senior Brittany Postma follows with a .370 average and 10 hits. Freshman pitcher Chelsey Evans (0-3) leads the pitching staff with a 5.81 ERA, while rookie southpaw Pam Nicholson (1-1) recorded the team's lone win and has thrown a team-high 19.0 innings. However, senior Jenna Marston (0-4) leads the club with five appearances, four starts, three complete games and 13 strikeouts. As a team, South Dakota State is hitting .258 and scores 2.7 runs per game. The pitching staff has an 8.19 ERA and allows opponents a .358 batting average. Head coach Joanna Lane is 18-35 in her second season with the Jackrabbits and owns a 33-95 career mark in more than three seasons. This is the first meeting between the teams.

Scouting the Bluejays: Creighton (3-2) kicked off the 2009 campaign last weekend at the Corpus Christi Invitational. The Bluejays' two losses were each by one run. CU returns seven position starters and one pitcher from last year's squad that went 43-17 overall, won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season crown with a 21-3 ledger and made its 11th NCAA Tournament appearance. Junior Michelle Koch paces the squad with a .462 average and a team-high tying six hits, while senior Laura Kratochvil is hitting .429 with a team-high tying six hits. Freshman left-hander Kylie Hovinga (1-0) has a team-best 1.08 ERA and Creighton's lone shutout. Junior Tara Oltman (2-2) is the ace of the staff with team highs of four appearances, three starts, three complete games, 25.2 innings pitched and 19 strikeouts. As a team, the Bluejays are hitting .269 and score 4.4 runs per contest. The pitching staff has a 2.12 ERA and allows opponents a .186 batting average. Head coach Brent Vigness is 484-338-2 in more than 15 seasons at Creighton. His 20-year career record is 632-409-3. CU leads the series 4-0 with the last meeting occurring Feb. 23, 2008, in Fayetteville, Ark.

Scouting the Golden Hurricane: Tulsa (7-2) is riding a six-game winning streak after suffering back-to-back losses during its first weekend of action. The Golden Hurricane returns seven position starters and all three pitchers from last year's team that went 34-25 overall, 14-10 in Conference USA and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Junior Jackie Lawrence (4-0) leads the pitching staff with a 0.90 ERA, four appearances, 23.1 innings pitched and 27 punchouts. Senior Katie Lee (2-0) has a 1.19 ERA with 21 strikeouts and a team-high two shutouts. Senior Kailey Yarmer powers the offense with a .393 average and team bests of 11 hits, two home runs and a .679 slugging percentage. As a team, Tulsa is hitting .262 and scores 4.2 runs per game. The pitching staff has a 2.17 ERA and allows opponents a .175 batting average. Head coach John Bargfeldt is 105-79 in his fifth season at the helm of the program. The Golden Hurricane leads the series 2-0 with the last meeting occurring in 2004.

Scouting the Warhawks: Louisiana-Monroe (3-6) is looking to get back into the win column after dropping six of its last seven games. The Warhawks return six position starters and two pitchers from the 2008 squad that finished 22-37 overall, 9-15 in the Sun Belt. Sophomore transfer Sarah Carriger leads the team with a .444 average, 12 hits and five stolen bases. Rookie Jessica Chastka (1-1) paces the ULM pitching staff with a 3.00 ERA, while junior Kandace Causey (1-3) has a 4.01 ERA and leads the team with six appearances, three complete games, 29.2 innings pitched and 27 strikeouts. As a team, the Warhawks are hitting .243 and score 3.1 runs per contest. The pitching staff has a 3.85 ERA and allows opponents a .303 batting average. Head coach Rosemary Holloway-Hill is 613-784-3 in her 26th season at Louisiana-Monroe, 694-865-3 overall. ULM leads the series 3-1 with the last meeting coming during the 2006 campaign.

Chasing History: Senior Rachel Heet needs just nine RBIs to become the program's all-time RBI leader. AshLeigh Williams (2003-06) holds the record with 73 RBIs. Heet is tied for fourth on the career chart with 65.

Freshman Firsts: Six of SLU's seven freshmen earned playing time at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic last weekend. Four rookies recorded their first collegiate hit at the tournament, with Erin Cejka and Liz Jones leading the way with two hits apiece, and Kerri Dockins and Kelly Flanagan each contributing a single. Meanwhile, rookie Kelcie Matesa led the Billikens with three appearances in the circle, three starts, two complete games, 16.0 innings pitched and nine strikeouts.

Rank and File: The Bills will take on six teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll. Saint Louis already played then-No. 6/5 Michigan. The Billikens have yet to face No. 8/4 Oklahoma, No. 15/16 Missouri, No. 23/15 Massachusetts and No. 24/RV Southern Illinois. Tulsa also earned votes in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll. Additionally, eight of the Billikens' 2009 foes participated in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

1-0-0 Barrier: Senior Rachel Heet became the 16th member of the Billikens' 100-hit club in 2008. She is the seventh player to achieve the feat in less than three complete seasons. She ranks 11th on SLU's career hits list with 122.

Career Climbers: Senior Rachel Heet is rapidly ascending the career charts in runs scored (tied for seventh with 61), doubles (tied for 10th with 19), triples (tied for fifth with 6), RBIs (tied for fourth with 65) and stolen bases (tied for ninth with 28). Junior Nicki Jost is listed among the career top 10 in doubles (tied for seventh with 22), home runs (tied for fourth with eight), stolen bases (fifth with 42) and putouts (seventh with 497). Junior Stacy Gillette ranks among the career top 10 in pitching appearances (fifth with 63) and strikeouts (eighth with 143), while junior Rachel O'Connell ranks seventh with 41 career walks. Second-year players Katie Johns and Kristin Nicoletti have already climbed onto the career charts for times hit by a pitch (tied for fifth with nine) and stolen bases (tied for sixth with 36), respectively.

A-10 Preseason Poll: Saint Louis was picked to finish fourth in the 2009 A-10 Preseason Poll in voting conducted by the league's head coaches. Reigning champion Massachusetts was picked to repeat as the 2009 frontrunner, followed by Charlotte and Fordham in second and third, respectively. Last season, the Bills finished in a three-way tie for fourth place.

Bringing it Back: The Billikens return their top four hitters and the majority of their offensive production from the 2008 lineup. SLU returns 86 percent of its home runs, 80 percent of its RBIs, 80 percent of its hits, 83 percent of its runs and 84 percent of its stolen bases from last season.

Topping 20: SLU put together consecutive 20-win seasons for just the third time in school history in 2008. The 2007 squad set the standard with 29 victories, while the 2008 Bills were 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.

Among the National Leaders: Saint Louis finished 2008 ranked sixth in the nation with 2.14 steals per game. Kristin Nicoletti posted 0.60 stolen bases per game to rank 18th individually.

Game Breakers: In 2008, Saint Louis broke the single-game records for home runs with three against George Washington and stolen bases with seven against Eastern Illinois.

Been Caught Stealin': The Bills completed the 2008 season with 122 steals, bettering the standard of 107 established in 2007. Kristin Nicoletti broke the school record for stolen bases in a game (four) and a season (34). Saint Louis led the A-10 with 122 steals in all games and 57 in league contests. Nicoletti also paced the league with 34 steals in all games and 14 thefts in conference contests.

A-10 Honors: Shortstop Rachel Heet became the first Billiken infielder named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference first team after twice earning A-10 Player of the Week plaudits in 2008. Meanwhile, utility player Caitlin Trevillyan earned a spot on the All-Rookie squad, and pitcher Lorena Floccari was named to the All-Academic team for the second straight season.

Season Supremacy: The 2008 Billikens broke the school records for walks (137), times hit by a pitch (27) and stolen bases (122) in a season. SLU's sacrifice hits total (56) tied for the second most in program history.

Rookies Reigned in 2008: Saint Louis' freshmen played a big part in the team's success in 2008. The Billikens fielded an all-rookie outfield in 39 games. Additionally, three of SLU's top five hitters last season were freshmen. Meanwhile, rookie pitcher Erin Kelly led the squad with 10 wins. Kristin Nicoletti and Kelly each picked up a pair of A-10 Rookie of the Week honors, while Caitlin Trevillyan was named to the A-10 All-Rookie squad.

2010 Signees: During the early signing period in November, head coach John Conway secured the services of catcher/third baseman Alyson Brand (Louisville, Ky. / DuPont Manual) and outfielder Jessica Buschjost (St. Thomas, Mo. / Blair Oaks). Both players will have four years of eligibility beginning with the 2009-10 academic year.

Saint Louis Billikens Softball

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