Jan. 12, 2007
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Lafayette head softball coach Jeanine Gunther has named her four senior student-athletes as captains for the upcoming 2007 campaign.
Pitcher Megan Averbuch (Centerport, N.Y./Harborfield), outfielder Michelle Ellis (Hillsborough, N.J./Immaculata), first base/designated player Kathryn Longshore (Philadelphia, Pa./Central), and second baseman Jill Masterton (East Brunswick, N.J./East Brunswick) will share leadership responsibilities for the Leopards, who qualified for the Patriot League tournament for the first time since 2000 last season.
"The team voted for its captains, and I was very pleased with the results," said Gunther, the 2006 Patriot League Coach of the Year. "Each of them bring a different leadership style, and as our most experienced players with a young team behind them, we'll be looking to them for guidance this season."
Averbuch is a three-year starter at pitcher for the Leopards, and the only returning player with experience in the circle entering the 2007 season. She has started 62 games in her career, tossing 45 complete games, and came into her own as Lafayette's only available pitcher over the final five games of the 2006 season.
The senior right-hander pitched the Leopards into the Patriot League tournament with a victory over Bucknell in the final game of the regular season, then held opponents to four earned runs over 20 innings in the tournament on May 12. The effort included a four-hit, 1-0 shutout of Colgate in the opening game.
Ellis has held a starting spot in the outfield each of the last two years, moving to left field last season after playing in center as a sophomore. In 2005, she set the school record with 29 walks, recorded a .377 on-base percentage and scored 25 runs. Ellis hit .194 a year ago, with 12 hits in 62 at-bats.
Longshore is returning from a junior season in which she was plagued by a shoulder injury. She had 41 hits, including a pair of home runs, and 27 runs batted in as the Leopards' starting catcher in her first two seasons. Longshore is expected to see most of her action in the designated player slot as a senior.
Lafayette's lone returning All-Patriot League selection, Masterton set the school record with 50 hits and finished in the top 10 in the league in eight offensive categories in 2006. She led her teammates with 12 doubles and 30 runs scored, posted a .327 average, and hit six home runs with 18 runs batted in. Masterton has raised her batting average, on-base and slugging percentages in each of her first three years and will once again be the catalyst for the offense in 2007.
The Leopards will open the 2007 season on March 11 at the Rebel Spring Games in Osceola, Fla., where they will play 10 games over six days. The schedule also includes the Rider Tournament in Lawrenceville, N.J. after the home opener on March 22 vs. Penn. Lafayette will host Holy Cross (April 14-15) and Army (April 28-29) in Patriot League play this season. The league tournament will be held May 11-12 at the highest seed.
