Vermont Softball Outlook 2009
The 2009 University of Vermont softball team will feature a young squad that will be made up of 10 underclassmen this season. Vermont returns only four student-athletes from a team that finished the 2008 season with an overall record of 14-27 and went 7-14 in America East play. The seven wins in league play were the most for the Catamounts in school history, while they also defeated two Big East teams on the year.
The Cats will be led this year by a pair of seniors in Alison Daggett and Jeanine Connolly. Daggett is the Catamounts' top returning pitcher from last season, as she sported a 3.30 earned run average in 18 appearances. She earned America East All-Rookie Team honors as a freshman after posting a 3.27 ERA, striking out 78 and recording two shutouts. That same season she hit .292 at the plate with four doubles, five home runs and tied for fourth on the team with 11 RBI.
Connolly made 28 starts last year as a junior finishing third on the team in batting average (.288) and runs batted in (17). She hit .352 (19-54) over the final 18 games that she played in and led the America East in sacrifice flies with five. As a sophomore she finished second on the team in doubles (4) and fourth in runs batted in (9).
Three in-season tournaments and eight opponents that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season highlight a 47-game schedule for the Catamounts this year. The Catamounts open America East play on March 28 with a doubleheader at Hartford. Vermont will host conference rival Binghamton (April 4-5) in its first home action of the season to open a five-game homestand that also includes a doubleheader with Albany.
Last modified February 26 2009 12:05 PM
