Feb. 1, 2010
FAYETTEVILLE, NC - Last April, the Fayetteville State softball team won the CIAA's Western Division, but fell two wins short of taking home the conference's title and finished as Runner-Ups. This season, third-year head coach Miguel Justiniano and the Broncos are determined to bring the conference's crown to Fayetteville. The first step in that lofty goal begins with a doubleheader on Saturday (Feb. 6) when FSU hosts Lees-McRae at Seabrook Park -- located behind Smith Recreation Center at 1520 Slater Ave. First pitches are set for 1 and 3 p.m. The Broncos have 14 games - all at Seabrook Park and all doubleheaders - over the next five weeks. FSU hosts Coker on Feb. 13, Bluefield State on Feb. 14, St. Andrews on Feb. 15, Concord on Feb. 21, Chowan on March 2 and Glenville State on March 6. "We hope to understand what kind of teams are out there, especially in North Carolina and Division II," said Justiniano. "We want to see what kind of caliber program they have and how we match up with them. That's part of our recruiting. We have to matchup with everyone from North Carolina to South Carolina in recruiting, so our schedule gives us an idea of where we're at." FSU will participate in the Rebel Games in Kissimmee, FL, beginning March 7 before the CIAA Softball Roundup which starts on March 12. Tracy Brighter (Sr. - Spring Lake, NC) is one of the top returning pitchers in the CIAA and will be at the top of the Broncos' rotation. In 2009, Brighter pitched 14 complete games en route to an 11-6 record and had 147 strikeouts in just 95 innings pitched. She started 16 of 18 appearances with three shut-outs and a 4.64 ERA. FSU had a total of ten no-hitters last season with three pitchers.
"I just want her to throw more than five no-hitters this year," Justiniano said with a smile.
Offensively, Justiniano expects FSU to be solid all-around. "We're going to be good," he said. "I have a lot of confidence in my pitchers, so we only need three or four runs per game."
Also returning are outfielders Lugenia Beatty (So. - Atkinson, NC) and LaTonia Gatling (So. - Suffolk, VA) and shortstop Demarius Pankey (Jr. - Laurinburg, NC). Beatty and Gatling combined for 43 hits, 29 RBI's and 14 stolen bases last year while Pankey tallied 19 runs, 23 hits and 24 RBI's in only 94 at-bats. The other returnee is Donecia Ebron, an outfielder from Belhaven, NC. Ebron is coming off a junior season in which she hit .294 and had a perfect fielding percentage. Justiniano, also known as "Coach Who", led FSU to a 26-25 overall record in 2009. He believes his freshman class can contribute right away. "We kind of had a setback this year because we lost some players during the off-season," he said. "But we have picked up some players and they are going to help us out a lot. The freshman class is going to be very good." Ashley Wlezen, a freshman from Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, NC, will play third base for the Broncos while Rita Diaz will catch and play outfield. Diaz is a graduate of Fayetteville's Jack Britt High School. Still, there's another newcomer that Justiniano feels can greatly improve FSU's chances at making it back to the CIAA championship series. "Misty Huber (a sophomore transfer from Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, FL) is a pitcher and second baseman," he said. "She's going to be a nice one-two punch with my senior pitcher (Brighter)." The CIAA softball championships begin April 15 in Petersburg, Va. |
