OREM, Utah - For the last six seasons, the possibility of playing in the NCAA Tournament was not an option for the Utah Valley University softball team because the University was making the unprecedented move up from junior college athletics to NCAA Div. I.
Now with that journey complete in becoming a full NCAA Div. I member last year, the Wolverines now have a shot at an automatic bid to the postseason softball tournament through their membership in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference.
"We are incredibly excited about it. There is no other way to put it," UVU softball coach Todd Fairbourne said. "We are in a conference that is a good fit for us and we have the chance to make it to the postseason. Will we step in and knock off the powers? I don't know. But we are in a situation right now where we can find out the areas in which we need to improve to get to the NCAA Tournament."
In the PSCS preseason poll, the Wolverines were selected by the coaches to finish fourth in the Mountain Division.
The Wolverines are entering the Pacific Coast Softball Conference on a high note, having made improvements in the fall in pitching, hitting and defense.
Utah Valley ranked sixth in the nation last year with a .320 batting average. The Wolverines lost their top hitter and best infielder in Magan Niemann and second-best hitter Kylee Steadman, but the rest of the team has made great strides in filling those vacancies.
"We have a lot of kids back. We did lose our top two hitters and even though we lost those two we feel like we have plugged in a couple of other kids that can make us just as solid offensively," Fairbourne said.
Most notably, the Wolverines added junior college transfer Megan Zimmerman Gardner, who led the NJCAA in homers last year with 24 and was third in RBIs with 85.
"She has all the tools," Fairbourne said of Gardner. "If she can do what she did at the JC level I will be thrilled."
Also, Fairbourne added freshman Heather Bacon, who threw two perfect games in the fall, and JC transfers Kyli Flanary and Mandy Tapia, to strengthen the pitching staff.
Jessica Martin, who threw 141 1/3 innings for the Wolverines last year, will be coming out of the bullpen this year. Amanda Perez and Amber Sackett, who both pitched last year, will not pitch this season.
Defensively, Fairbourne said his team has made great strides.
Jessica Anderson has become automatic at third, while Samantha Telarroja has stepped up her game at short and will fill the shoes left by Neimann. Gardner will play second, and Fairbourne calls Cherylyn McGraw the best defensive first baseman he has ever coached.
Shaylyn Jenkins Varney, a senior transfer from BYU, and Maggie Christianson, who saw a lot of time last year as a freshman, will share the catching responsibilities.
In the outfield, junior Meghan Woodworth will patrol center and lead off for the Wolverines. Woodworth hit .364 last year with 13 doubles, two triples, a homer and 21 RBIs. She also scored a team-high 36 runs.
"It's an overused cliché in softball, but Meghan is our little engine. She makes us go," Fairbourne said. "If she get on base we score."
Sackett, who pitched and played a little second and right field last year, has moved to left field and she is settling in nicely. The Wolverines will be counting on her offensively as well. She hit .371 last year with 10 doubles, two homers and 21 RBIs.
"She has emerged not only as one of our most consistent hitters, but she came though in the clutch all the time," Fairbourne said.
Right field is still a question mark right now with Charlee Cisneros and Allison Barr battling for the starting spot.
The Wolverines open the season Friday afternoon when they take on Maine at 1:30 p.m. in the Red Desert Classic in St. George.