Boston College Athletics
1999 Softball Outlook
June 21, 1999 | Softball
Jan. 18, 1999
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - With nine returning letter winnners and the return of BIG EAST strikeout leader Mary Dietz, the Eagles have their sights on winning their third straight BIG EAST Championship.
The Eagles return all but one player from last season's team that won the BIG EAST Championship and finished with a record of 38-14-1. Boston College top returnees are junior pitchers Mary Dietz and Lauren Fischetti. Last season Dietz set a BIG EAST season record for strikeouts with 101;was named All-BIG EAST First Team Pitcher, first team regional All-American and finished third in the nation in strikeouts per game. Fischetti was named All-BIG EAST Second Team Pitcher as well as first team regional All-American. She led the league in wins with a record of 16-5 in 29 appearances.
Boston College will waste no time in seeing where they stand, as they start the season versus No. 1 Fresno State at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Tournamemt in Georgia on February 26th. With the addition of the "bubble" that encloses the football field, head coach Jen Finley has had more oppurtunity to get her team in shape for upcoming season.
Coach Finley looks for another strong season out of her pitching staff with Dietz and Fischetti as her starters and junior Gretchen Thompson in relief. "Our pitching staff is not going to surprise anyone, Mary and Lauren just have to stay focused and do the job the know they are capable of doing," says Finley.
BIG EAST Rookie of the Year Jen Perrotta, along with juniors Chris Vicari and Lauren Fischetti will be called upon to lead the Eagle's offensive attack , as BC will look to improve last years team batting average of .268. Perrotta smacked 42 hits last season leading the Eagles with a .321 average at the plate. Vicari, who earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors along with second team regional All-American, batted .310 leading the BIG EAST in home runs with 11. Mary Dietz, Cristin Brown and Summer Jarratt will look to add balance to the BC line-up and improve on last year's average.
In the outfield are Gretchen Thompson and juniors Julie Ulbrich and Cristin Brown. Ulbrich is entering her second season in the outfield and Finley calls her "one of the most improved players on the team," showing good speed in the field with great reaction to the ball off the bat.
Head coach Jen Finley, in her fourth season will be looking to earn her third straight BIG EAST Championship and third consecutive trip to the NCAA's. Finley has a record of 102-48-1 with the Eagles and led them to their first NCAA appearance in 1997.
