Softball 2/9/2017 11:25:00 AM

Stars look to defend their title

No. 1-ranked OCU returns wealth of talent from 2016 national championship team

The defending national champion Oklahoma City University softball team return a plethora of talent from a team that only lost three games last season in attempting to win back-to-back national titles for the first time since 2001-02.
OCU will begin the 2017 season as NAIA softball's top-ranked team and the favorite to repeat as Sooner Athletic Conference champion.
"I really didn't see it coming last year," OCU head coach Phil McSpadden said. "This year's team is the one I thought we were gearing up to win a title with. This year we'll have a lot of veteran leadership starting with five seniors all somewhere on the field. Expectations are high because this is the team. We know we can't duplicate [last year's record] 67-3, but we still have very high expectations for this season."
Oklahoma City opens the campaign 11 a.m. Friday against Columbia (Mo.) in the Cowtown Classic at Gateway Park in Fort Worth, Texas. The Stars will also take on Tabor (Kan.), No. 18 Houston-Victoria, Doane (Neb.) and William Woods (Mo.) over the course of two days.
Last year, the Stars went 67-3 and 27-1 in conference play to win the regular-season conference championship, but fell to Texas Wesleyan in the conference tournament. OCU swept through the NAIA Championship Opening Round Oklahoma City Bracket to make its 24th World Series appearance in 25 years. OCU has won NAIA titles in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007 and 2016.
The Stars are led offensively by all-Americans Madison Ellis and Kali Pugh. They also return two all-American pitchers from last year's staff in Abby Meador and Georgia Wall.
Ellis, a senior from Yukon, Okla., hit .431 last season with 13 home runs and ranked eighth in the NAIA with 68 RBIs. She banged out 84 hits on the year, 37 of which were for extra bases.
"Madison has had a great career here," said McSpadden, who was NAIA coach of the year for the ninth time. "She is a really good player first of all, but every single year, she has improved and has really become a leader for us."
Pugh, a senior from Vista, Calif., hit .417 with 68 RBIs and 15 homers last season. She also led the NAIA in both at-bats (240) and runs scored (84).
"We've got a lot of offensive weapons," MsSpadden said, "but we probably go as Kali goes. She's our leadoff hitter who hits for high average with good power as well. She sets the tone for us for sure."
Meador, a junior from Midwest City, Okla., posted a 24-1 record inside the circle last year with a 0.99 earned run average, while striking out 216 batters. The reigning SAC pitcher of the year led the country in opponents' batting average against at .110 as well as hits allowed per nine innings at 2.54.
"She is a power pitcher who can rack up the strikeouts," McSpadden said. "She's been working hard on her off-speed stuff, and we're expecting her to have a better year this year than the two previous, and she's definitely had two pretty good years leading to this one."
Wall, a sophomore from Marlow, Okla., was also dominant last year for the Stars, posting a 28-1 record with an NAIA-leading 0.44 ERA. In 192.1 innings last season, Wall struck out 169 batters and didn't allow a home run all year. She took World Series most valuable player honors after going 6-1 with a 0.61 ERA in the tournament.
"I did not foresee her being as effective as she was last season," McSpadden said. "This sounds weird, but she can't throw the ball straight so people don't square up anything she throws. She's got great velocity and good command, but the unique thing is her ability to throw a fastball and it not be straight."
Here's a position by position breakdown of the rest of the team.

Pitching

Joining Meador and Wall in the circle will be Jaden Shores, a freshman out of Blanchard, Okla. Shores was an Oklahoma Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association all-state performer her junior and senior seasons.
"Jaden has pretty good velocity and really good curveball," McSpadden said. "She's also a good athlete and at some point in her career I would think she could play in the field somewhere for us as well.
"Both Abby and Gigi had great years last year, but I really believe our pitching is even better this year. We rode both of them last year in the postseason, and both of them have worked really hard. I truly believe both of them are better this year than they were a year ago."

Infield

While Pugh and Ellis will hold down the left side of the infield defensively, McRae Cayton, Laci Joyner, Jaci Smith and Bailey Whitmore will vie for the other two positions.
Cayton, a senior from Irvine, Calif., took a redshirt season last year after earning first-team all-SAC honors in 2014. She hit .419 with 62 hits, 48 RBIs and nine home runs, while scoring 37 runs and looks poised for a return.
"McRae was probably our best clutch hitter two years ago," McSpadden said. "We're still determining where she'll play in the field, most likely first or outfield, but we have to get her bat in the lineup."
Joyner, a junior from Mustang, Okla., spent most of last year as the starting first baseman, hitting .352 with 38 RBIs, 70 hits and four homers. The second team all-SAC first baseman was also effective on the basepaths last year, swiping 19 bases in 22 attempts.
"Laci is an extremely versatile athlete," McSpadden said. "While she was our everyday first baseman last year, she's good enough to play in the middle infield or even the outfield so she gives us flexibility to put her at different spots."
Smith, a sophomore from Godley, Texas, played both outfield and catcher for the Stars last season. The all-American started every postseason game for OCU behind the plate and expects to be a key contributor there this season. Smith hit .365 last season with 47 RBIs, 73 hits and nine bombs.
"Really good athlete," McSpadden said of Smith. "Good arm, good foot speed, good power and can do a lot of things behind the plate. We really love how versatile she is as well."
Bailey Whitmore will also be competing for a spot on the diamond either in the infield or at catcher. Whitmore, a junior from Oklahoma City, hit .360 with 45 hits and 31 RBIs in 42 games last season.
"She's a good hitter with good power at the plate," McSpadden said of Whitmore. "She's also got great leadership qualities and great mechanics behind the plate which is what you want from a catcher."
Newcomer Raeven Clark will also help fill out the rest of the diamond.
Clark, a junior transfer from Oklahoma City, will look to give Smith competition behind the plate. She hit .272 with seven homers and 33 RBIs in her second season at Seminole State (Okla.). She became a first-team all-SAC choice as a freshman with Oklahoma Baptist.
"Raevan has actually been with us for a year," McSpadden said, "but we had to redshirt her last year because of an injury. So she knows how we do things around here and she'll be beneficial to us this year behind the plate to give Jaci some rest."

Outfield

Sha Ingram, Amanda Ingram, Stephanie Koishor and Samantha Stallbaumer return to occupy the outfield at Ann Lacy Stadium.
Last year, Stallbaumer, a sophomore from Haven, Kan., was second in the conference with a .437 batting average with 80 hits. She also ranked 13th in the NAIA with 40 stolen bases in 43 attempts.
"Sam is one of the fastest kids we've ever had at OCU," McSpadden said. "In fact, she's possibly the fastest we've ever had here. If she can get a bunt down or slap the ball in play, she's usually going to get on base, and that's where that high average come from."
Koishor, a senior from Valley Center, Calif., started in 42 of 47 games played in last season. She hit .284 with eight home runs, 47 RBI and a .515 slugging percentage. Additionally, 13 of her 38 hits last year went for extra bases.
"Stephanie is very solid for us defensively," McSpadden said. "If she gets a hold of one, she can hit for power and hit it over 275 feet easily."
Amanda Ingram, a senior from Oklahoma City, also figures to play a key role in the outfield. She started 37 games for the Stars last season, and was the only OCU player not to commit an error last year. At the plate, she hit .364 with 16 hits and 26 runs scored.
"Amanda is a tremendous athlete who has continued to get better every year she's been here," said McSpadden. "She's hard to keep out of the lineup because she is a leader and one heck of a defensive player."
Sha Ingram also provides a unique option for OCU with her speed. She appeared in 42 games last season, mostly as a pinch runner. She was 9-for-9 on stolen bases last year and hopes to contribute in the same way this season.
"Sha has battled arm problems since she's been here," McSpadden said, "but she will play a key role as a pinch runner for us. She's also a good bunter, and we can use her in different situations this season."
Newcomers Kayla Gallagher and Montana Price will help fill out the outfield.
Gallagher attended Mount St. Mary High School in Oklahoma City, where she hit .353 her senior season with six RBIs and three triples.
"She'll be a quality option off the bench for us to either pinch run or pinch bunt," McSpadden said of Gallagher. "She's a really great kid and will be a great influence for the rest of the team this season."
Price, a freshman from Bethel, Okla., was a named to The Oklahoman's little all-city second team as a prep junior.
"I think Montana is a good athlete," McSpadden said. "She can do a lot of different things for us. We actually recruited her as a third baseman, but she has the ability to play in the outfield for us this season."

The final regular-season standings will determine the seeds for the conference postseason tournament scheduled for May 4-6 to be co-hosted by OCU and St. Gregory's. The winner of the SAC Tournament will receive an automatic berth into the NAIA Championship Opening Round which runs May 15-17.
"We expect to be there at the end," McSpadden said. "We've got the pieces to be able to make another run and hopefully we can repeat."

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Players Mentioned

#6 McRae Cayton: OF; 5' 7"; Senior; R/R

#16 Madison Ellis: INF; 5' 8"; Senior; R/R

#9 Amanda Ingram: INF; 5' 9"; Senior; R/R

#3 Sha Ingram: INF; 5' 5"; Sophomore; L/R

#7 Laci Joyner: OF; 5' 9"; Junior; R/R

#11 Stephanie Koishor: OF; 5' 10"; Senior; R/R

#12 Abby Meador: P; 5' 7"; Junior; R/R

#19 Kali Pugh: INF; 5' 5"; Senior; R/R

#20 Jaci Smith: C/OF; 5' 8"; Sophomore; L/R

#1 Samantha Stallbaumer: OF; 5' 3"; Sophomore; L/R

#18 Georgia Wall: P; 6' 1"; Sophomore; R/R

#14 Bailey Whitmore: C/INF; 5' 4"; Sophomore; R/R

Players Mentioned

#6 McRae Cayton
: 5' 7"; Senior; R/R
: OF

#16 Madison Ellis
: 5' 8"; Senior; R/R
: INF

#9 Amanda Ingram
: 5' 9"; Senior; R/R
: INF

#3 Sha Ingram
: 5' 5"; Sophomore; L/R
: INF

#7 Laci Joyner
: 5' 9"; Junior; R/R
: OF

#11 Stephanie Koishor
: 5' 10"; Senior; R/R
: OF

#12 Abby Meador
: 5' 7"; Junior; R/R
: P

#19 Kali Pugh
: 5' 5"; Senior; R/R
: INF

#20 Jaci Smith
: 5' 8"; Sophomore; L/R
: C/OF

#1 Samantha Stallbaumer
: 5' 3"; Sophomore; L/R
: OF

#18 Georgia Wall
: 6' 1"; Sophomore; R/R
: P

#14 Bailey Whitmore
: 5' 4"; Sophomore; R/R
: C/INF