Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Owls Softball Season-in-Review
5/31/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 31, 2006
BOCA RATON, FL - The tradition of excellence returned to Florida Atlantic University softball in 2006, as the Owls claimed the program's seventh berth into the NCAA tournament.
Florida Atlantic, which won 16 of its last 18 games heading into the postseason, finished the year at 35-25 overall, its 11th consecutive season of 35 wins or more. FAU went 15-5 in Atlantic Sun Conference play, finishing in a tie for second place, and then knocked off no. 1 seed Stetson twice in winning the A-Sun tournament.
"We finished up the season very well," stated head coach Joan Joyce. "I think the hardest thing about this season, especially at the start of the year, was having so many injuries. Around the end of March, we started to get some players back. A lot of the freshmen learned how to hit Division I pitching better. And, in a broader sense, we were just playing better softball."
The Owls' success down the stretch included the first no-hitter in nearly two years, thrown by freshman Kathryn Stauffer (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) in an 8-0 win over Mercer on April 22. Stauffer ended the season 11-14 and was the team's leader in appearances, starts, complete games, shutouts, innings and strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Junior Jen Musillo (Tequesta, Fla.) nearly matched Stauffer's feat in the A-Sun tournament, allowing just an infield single in a 5-0 win over Stetson in the winners bracket final. Musillo ended the year as the Owls' go-to pitcher, going 2-0 in the conference tournament, starting three of four regional games and leading the team in wins (12) and strikeouts (127).
In the NCAA tournament, the Owls surprised top-seeded Florida 2-0 in the opening round and also beat the Gators 1-0 to reach the championship game. Only tough losses to South Florida in round two 1-0 and in the finals 7-4 kept Florida Atlantic from claiming its first regional crown.
The team said goodbye to two seniors whose contributions were integral in helping them overcome the disappointment of missing the postseason in 2005. Jessica Sachs (Chestnut Ridge, N.Y.) and Danielle Arriaga (Miami, Fla.) started together on the left side of the infield this season and carried the Owls' offense back to the top of the conference.
In conference games, Florida Atlantic hit .311 as a team - 25 points higher than its nearest competitor - and scored 105 runs, the only team to surpass the 90-run plateau. Sachs finished third in the league with a .392 average and first with 19 runs scored, while Arriaga hit .381, the fifth-best average in conference games, and was second with 17 RBI.
Sachs concluded her career among the top 10 in program history in 12 statistical categories, including a school-record 842 at-bats. She started for four seasons, including the last three at third base.
Both Sachs and Arriaga were awarded with Second Team All-A-Sun honors, joined by juniors Shauna Corso (Seal Beach, Calif.) and Jenna Lopez (Orangeburg, N.Y.). Corso, along with freshman Amy Bukovich (Boca Raton, Fla.), also finished among the conference's top-10 batters, as eight Owls hit .333 or higher in A-Sun games.
The freshman that made the biggest impression on the A-Sun coaches was Kala Guy (Hollywood, Fla.). Guy was an easy selection to the First Team All-Conference as designated player, hitting .333 and recording a conference-best 18 RBI during league play.
"We have replacements for Jessica and Danielle," noted Joyce. "That starts with Kala, who is the leading candidate to take over at third. We'll have Blair (Bodenmiller) back from injury; she and Amy (Bukovich) will both compete at shortstop.
"Ambar Jones and Hailey Broyles, two recruits from Pembroke Pines Charter, have the potential to step in right away and play. Both have infield experience, as does fellow freshman Amber Jones, who we will look at closely as a pitcher. Mix them in with second-year players like Christine Houghtaling (Miami, Fla.), Becky Brandies (Madison, Fla.), Kala Guy and Amy Bukovich, all of whom have a lot of experience and are very good ball players, and we should be as good, if not better, next year."
Florida Atlantic's .265 batting average overall ranked as the best in the last four years. The Owls set records for home runs in a game with four at Lipscomb on April 15 and hits in a postseason game with 12 in the regional final with USF.
After battling youthfulness and injuries to Musillo, Arriaga and no. 1 pitcher Meghan Doonan (Wallingford, Conn.), Florida Atlantic went into the heart of the A-Sun schedule ready to play, and it showed during the final month of the season. The turnaround started with a 6-0 conference road trip to Tennessee and ended with the Owls reaching the regional final for the first time.
"It's kind of scary to not have your no. 1 pitcher and go out to play the teams that we play," commented Joyce. "We went into the season with two pitchers that had never faced that level of competition before. That creates a lot of pressure on our offense, especially for the returnees who know what is coming when teams like Alabama and Auburn are on the schedule.
"It was a huge learning experience for these kids, to overcome all of those injuries and obstacles. They now know what winning a conference championship is all about, what playing in a regional is like. That is going to do nothing but help us next season."
With Doonan and the entire pitching staff expected to be back and healthy, and experienced players for all nine spots in the batting order, Florida Atlantic softball is ready to join the Sun Belt Conference in 2007 and carry forward a dominance that garnered it nine A-Sun titles in the last 10 years.
"This conference will compare fairly well to the Atlantic Sun," concluded Joyce. "Besides Louisiana-Lafayette, the best teams in there are on the level of Stetson. We have played Troy before when they were in the A-Sun. Some of the teams, like Western Kentucky, are up-and-coming programs. Top to bottom, the Sun Belt will probably rank higher than the A-Sun, but within the core of the best five or six teams, when excluding Lafayette, the conferences are very similar. We expect to compete for the Sun Belt championship next year."
