DEPTH PERCEPTION – SOFTBALL SEASON PREVIEW

WITH SIX VERSATILE PLAYERS JOINING THE 2013 ROSTER THE TEXAS SOFTBALL TEAM SETS ITS SIGHTS ON THE ELUSIVE NATIONAL TITLE.

FOR SENIOR pitcher Blaire Luna, the most important Longhorn tradition that incoming freshmen need to uphold is placing the Texas name above their own.

“The name on the front of your jersey is more important than the name on the back,” she said.

With six new players filling empty roster spots left open from last year’s seniors, the 2013 softball team is full of

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raw talent eager to establish themselves.

In its 16-year history as a varsity sport, the Texas softball program has fielded a lengthy list of players whose exploits could, and have, elevated them to national stardom. But within the Longhorn locker room, only one identity matters. Alongside Luna, seniors Taylor Hoagland, Tori Schmidt and Kim Bruins are all lock-step in their goals and approach to this season. And under one identity, the players share a hunger to see the name “Texas” attached with a national title.

Discussing the upcoming season without one factoid from 2012 is impossible. When speaking with any one of the four Longhorn seniors, the players bring up one point immediately — the team was one game away from the College World Series. Texas won the first game of the Super Regional against Oregon, only to fall in the next two and miss the trip to Oklahoma City. In the eyes of head coach Connie Clark, the team was closer than one game.

“We were just half a game away from the World Series,” she said.

If any individual’s name was synonymous with Texas softball, it would be Clark’s. As Texas’ one and only head softball coach, Clark built the program from its infancy into a national powerhouse. Her journey includes three trips to the World Series, all of which ended sooner than expected. Under her guidance and armed with last year’s experience, the team can take a reassuring step forward into this year’s season.

“We know how to do it this season,” Clark said. “The returning players know what it’s like to make the harder push to Oklahoma City — how it smells, feels and tastes.”

The exit of Lexy Bennett, Courtney Craig and Nadia Taylor at the end of last season stirred rumors that the Longhorns would use 2013 as a rebuilding year. “They were so significant in offensive production,” Clark admits. “We’re starting to joke that we had to bring in six freshmen to fill the three spots left behind — two deep in each spot to cover the players that left.” Pushing the chatter aside, the players are keeping their focus on the game and their end goal.

“Expect us to play hard and succeed,” Schmidt said. “We’re going to go far.”

“We’re ready to win,” adds Bruins.

And she’s right. Take one look at the statistics and the players who left last year become less of an issue — it’s all about this season’s roster.

“People say that we’re starting over, but I think we’re keeping our momentum going strong,” Hoagland said. “We don’t care what anybody thinks of us.”

Going into her senior season, Hoagland already holds the Texas career home run record at 44. Last year she set the single season home run record at 18. When asked about her numbers, she bluntly answered, “I’m not a person who’s about the numbers.” Hoagland is more about winning games for Texas.

Luna has two All American titles from both the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association and Easton, making her one of two players to receive an All-American title last season. She also played on the 2010 USA National Futures Team. She’s tied for first with career saves at seven, and is in second place in almost every other Texas pitching category.

Last season Schmidt recorded a .358 batting average and earned All Big 12 first team honors. “Torie tore it up as a junior,” Clark commented.

Bruins is the only pitcher in Texas history to hit a grand slam in the same game she pitched in. Her five RBIs in one game was the highest mark recorded for a single game last season.

This season isn’t about starting something new, but finishing old business. And around Red McCombs Field, the talk is more about the squad’s depth than about upcoming challenges. “We have players who can play more positions than any team I’ve ever played on,” Hoagland said.

Depth may be the key to the Longhorns’ success this season. With winning as the main team goal, having a roster full of players willing and able to take over at any position gets the job done. The six incoming freshmen will do more than just fill three empty spots — they’ll need to use their versatile talents to help Texas capture the national title.

“The biggest question mark for this season is the influence of the freshmen,” Clark explained. “Will they step up to fill the spots the seniors left behind?”

The freshmen are already stepping up to the plate.

Without one person taking on the mantle of leadership, everyone on the team has assumed the role, including the new players. “The freshmen are making themselves heard,” Hoagland said. “It doesn’t fall to one single person to lead.”

Clark is watching as a new dynamic is born between a senior class coming into its own and a freshmen class determined to lead them to victory. “It’s like a new novel each year,” Clark said. “You don’t know how it’ll turn out, but it gets more exciting as the weeks go by like the chapters of the novel.”

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