PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – After a 25-17 record and an at-large bid into its first-ever NCAA Tournament, the Pace University softball team hopes the experiences from a highly successful season last year will carry over with the young roster into the 2016 campaign. With 11 returning sophomores and juniors who were a part of last year's run, a young Setters roster does not necessarily make it an inexperienced one.
"We have a very positive outlook after last year," said 35th-year Head Coach
Claudia Stabile. "Since we had so many of our freshmen [last year] in the starting lineup, they had a lot of game experience, which will help us move forward this season."
Adding in the two seniors on the roster, 13-of-22 players on this year's team were all a part of 2015's accomplishments. The Setters finished second in the Northeast-10 Conference's Southwest Division after going 24-14 overall during the regular season, and 11-7 in conference play. The Setters defeated Saint Anselm College in the second round of the NE-10 Championship Tournament, but were eliminated by top-seeded Southern New Hampshire University in the semifinals.
After finishing the season ranked No. 8 in the East Region, the Setters earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, a feat the program had never accomplished before. As the No. 8 seed, the Setters drew the East Region's top seed, Caldwell University, in their opening contest. The Setters fell to Caldwell, 6-2, and were then eliminated the next day by No. 5 Wilmington University, 2-0.
"We had a great experience at the NCAA Tournament," said Stabile. "The majority of our players now know what it's like to win and get to the Tournament. It is certainly something that is a long-term goal of ours this year."
Pace has set a series of short-term goals to eventually lead to that long-term goal. Not only do they plan to return to the NCAA Tournament, they also want to do it by winning the Northeast-10 Conference.
"Our goals go in order: each pitch, each at bat, each play, each game," said Stabile. "What's going on right now affects the game outcome. Game outcome affects conference outcome. Conference outcome ultimately affects NCAA bid."
Stabile said that for them to get back to where they finished in 2015, the Setters will need the returning players to play like veterans at the plate to make up for some lost production, as well as in the field. That begins with All-Conference returners, junior catcher
Nikole Larm (Brewster, NY/Brewster) (First Team) and sophomore outfielder
Larissa Labs (Carlsbad, CA/San Marcos High School) (Third Team, All-Rookie). Larm hit .350 with four home runs and 20 RBIs last season, but really shined in conference play, where she batted .465 with three home runs and 11 RBIs (19 games). Labs finished with an average of .306 with 28 runs and 11 extra-base hits, but also stepped up her game against NE-10 opponents, hitting .380 with 14 runs and six extra-base hits in 20 conference games.
Labs is one of four returning outfielders for the Setters. Sophomores
Tara Bernstein (Glen Oaks, NY/Bayside High School),
Jordan Chillinsky (Carlsbad, CA/Carlsbad High School) and
Joyce LaBonte (Bolton, MA/Nashoba Regional High School) all bring something different to the table. Bernstein hit three home runs in 59 at bats last season, and looks to emerge as another power bat in the Setters' lineup. Chillinsky is a stellar defensive player who has shown marked improvement in the fall and preseason at the plate. LaBonte is looking for an increased role after receiving just 14 at bats last year, and has worked hard during the offseason to carve out a bigger spot on this year's team.
The Setters have plenty of depth around the infield, including both returners and newcomers. Junior transfer
Samantha Lima (Brawley, CA/Saddleback College) is expected to take some of the load off of Larm behind the dish, but is also in for a large role as the designated player (DP).
Junior
Haley Hernandez (West Hills, CA/El Camino Real) was solid in limited action last year, and is competing for both the first base and second base positions. Freshman
Annie Carberry (Colorado Springs, CO/Pine Creek) is also in line for a long look at first base, as is freshman
Lindsey Ah Soon (Ena Beach, HI/Kamehameha Kapalama) at second.
Third base will be a battle between senior
Victoria Quinones (Bronx, NY/Cardinal Spellman) and sophomore
Surina Sandhu (Elk Grove, CA/Elk Grove High School). Coach Stabile says both are seeing and hitting the ball very well, and the competition will likely leak into the early portion of the season.
Locked in at the shortstop position is sophomore
Ashley Lew (New City, NY/Clarkstown High School North), who started 40-of-42 games last season. She makes the move from second base to shortstop after making just three errors in 136 chances last year.
"We have lots of depth throughout the infield," said Stabile. "We will have an opportunity to see how the new infield best gels early on, and see who can give us the most offensive production. It's in their hands to take control."
The Setters return all three of their pitchers from 2015, and hope that consistency leads to improvement. Senior
Caitlin McCann (San Mateo, CA/Notre Dame) went 11-5 a year ago, including eight complete games and five shutouts. She tossed a team-leading 118.1 innings, and led the Setters with a 3.12 ERA. Junior
Kaitlynn Nelson (Ojai, CA/Nordhoff) was close behind with a 3.52 ERA and a record of 9-8 last year. She struck out a team-high 58 batters in 92 innings. Sophomore
Jaclyn Flores (Escondido, CA/San Pasqual High School) went 4-4 in 11 starts in 2015. She pitched 62 innings and had four complete games. Coach Stabile says this trio is built to be a successful combination.
"We have tremendous balance among three pitchers who work very well together," said Stabile. "The way they each throw compliments each other well. They all have different pitching styles and throw different pitches, which is very effective when it comes to making changes. The strongest pitch each one throws is different from the others."
As a young team, getting in plenty of preseason work is a great asset for getting the team to mesh well together on the field. After extreme weather wiped out any chance of practicing outdoors the past few seasons, this year, the Setters were able to hold numerous outdoor practices during the early parts of the spring semester, as well as play multiple scrimmages. This represents a huge advantage heading into the season that the team did not have the last couple of years.
The Setters return to Clermont, Fla. to once again open their season down south. Last year, this was the first time the team took the field outdoors. This time around, they have already had the chance to get a real-game feel, and that got them ready to play come first pitch Friday morning in Florida.
"We haven't been outside this many times by this date in recent memory," said Stabile. "That really helps us prepare because we were able to recognize our strengths and work on our weaknesses."
While the trip down south covers the first 10 games of the season for the team, it does more for the Setters than just produce wins and losses. The trip also helps the team bond by bringing the student-athletes out of their comfort zone. This helps them build a relationship both on and off the field, and gain mutual respect for each other's roles. The Setters will also play two conference foes and eight in-region games down in Florida, which will help them better prepare for the rest of the season.
"We're looking to have an exciting season, and we have the ability to do exceptionally well," said Stabile. "We have strong leadership, so now it would only be a matter of a lot of new players gelling together on and off the field as quickly as possible."
The Setters open the new season on Friday, March 11, with their first set of games down in Clermont. They take on Mercy College at 9 a.m., followed by No. 20 Southern New Hampshire University. They follow that up on Saturday by facing off with Assumption College at 9 a.m., followed by an 11 a.m. matchup with Grand Valley State University. On Sunday, the Setters will play Minnesota State University Moorhead at 9 a.m., and then take on Philadelphia University at 11 a.m. Monday will be a doubleheader against Molloy College with games slated for the usual 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. slots. Pace finishes the week with a 9 a.m. contest against Saint Thomas Aquinas College on Tuesday, followed by the week's finale against the University of Bridgeport at 11 a.m.
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