Posted by NoleCC

By Bill Kristoph

The 2006 Seminole Softball Campaign had more hills and valleys than the typical FSU season. Coming into the season, many fans and critics looked at the young pitching trio of Tiffany McDonald, Melissa May and Kayla Collins as the weak point of the Seminoles. Take a look at stats of the two main starters for FSU, McDonald and May. McDonald sported a 2.27 ERA, 5 shutouts and opponents batting average of .204. While that may not be Jessica van Der Linden (Jessica Boulware), it certainly should have fewer than the 19 losses McDonald was credited. The same case can be made for May, with a 2.90 ERA and 3 shutouts in her Freshman campaign. The future at pitcher is solid for the ‘Noles, and look for Kayla Collins to improve next year.

So where did the ‘Noles go wrong?

The first stat that stands out is the overall .951 fielding percentage. Opponents fielded slightly better than the ‘Noles with a .953 average, and had 8 fewer errors on the season (108 – 100). Defense wins ballgames, and at times the Seminoles kicked the ball around like they were on the other side of the walkway in the Seminole Soccer Complex. 30 errors at shortstop (Alicart), 20 at third base (Snyder) and 19 at second base (Wootson) are brutal when trying to win tight games. The elite teams of the NCAA tournament has less than half the amount of errors that the ‘Noles put up. In defense of Alicart and Wootson, both finished in the Top 4 of batting, combined for 19 home runs and accounted for nearly 40% of FSU’s RBI. Imagine if the defense had been a bit better. Another big question mark next was catcher, the platooning situation between BillieAnne Gay and Mo Wood seemed rough on both players, never allowing one or the other to get in a groove. With Gay’s graduation, will Wood settle in next year? Or, will Coach Graf look for another catcher this offseason?

The second glaring problem of the 2006 season was the offense, which sputtered at inopportune times. While four Seminoles managed to hit over the .300 mark, everyone else was under .275 for the season. With a few more hits, 1-0 losses become 2-1 wins. A clinic on how to bunt / slap for the team, held by Natasha Jacob would also go a long way for the future ‘Noles. Living and dying by the long ball is never the way to go.

Even with some glaring problems, the ‘Noles managed to rise up to the occasion in the playoffs. Although FSU did not make it out of the Super Regionals, they did better than most fans expected. Beating #8 national seed Georgia twice in the Regionals, proves that this very young team can aim high next season. How high? With the only major player lost being Natasha Jacob, anything less than a WCWS birth should be disappointing.