SELINSGROVE, PA — After winning the first regular-season conference championship in program history last season, the Susquehanna University softball team was bounced from the conference playoffs following two losses.

With nine starters and one pitcher returning from a club that finished 16-12-1 overall and posted a 10-4 league mark in 2001, hopes are high that the Crusaders’ postseason journey will last much longer than 24 hours.

Second-year head coach Cheri Swineford will rely on an offense that averaged 3.76 runs per game and ranked second in the conference with a .296 batting average. The Crusaders also excelled on defense, with a .948 fielding percentage that also ranked second in the eight-team Commonwealth Conference.

“Our defense should be strong, but we will concentrate on hitting and pitching,” said Swineford. “The team has worked hard in the off-season, and it will come down to getting healthy and staying injury-free.”

The biggest challenge for Swineford this year will be to replace four-year starter and the career leader in wins (44) and strikeouts (442) in graduated right-hander Kristen Hogan. However, two freshmen will joining incumbent starter Amy Kleman to form a pitching staff that should help the Crusaders improve upon their team earned-run average of 2.71.

THE INFIELDERS

With all four starters returning from last season, the Crusaders have little to worry about from this veteran unit. As a group, the infielders started all but two games together last year and combined for just 18 errors in 29 games during the 2001 season.

Senior co-captain Shelly Zimmerman (Denver, PA/Garden Spot H.S.) will anchor the quartet from her third-base position. A four-year starter and the team’s lone senior, Zimmerman is coming off an outstanding junior season in which she was named as a Commonwealth Conference first-team All-Star after batting .381.

Zimmerman led the Crusaders in doubles (six), triples (three), home runs (three), runs batted in (18), total bases (58) and slugging percentage (.598) and ranked second on the team in hits with 37. A Verizon Academic All-District honoree, she posted the team’s longest hitting streak of the season by hitting safely in 19 consecutive games from March 24 to May 4.

In the middle infield, juniors Shana Lalo and Erin Nittinger are back for their third seasons as starters at shortstop and second base, respectively.

Lalo (Bethlehem, PA/Northampton H.S.) batted .228 with one home run and eight runs batted in last season, and tied for fourth on the team with eight walks. In the field, Lalo posted a .921 fielding percentage with eight errors in 101 chances.

Nittinger (Montoursville, PA/Montoursville H.S.) batted primarily out of the leadoff and number-two positions in the lineup. She finished the season with a .267 average and six runs batted in while leading the team with 16 walks and 21 runs scored. Defensively, she made just two errors in 111 chances (.982 percentage) and posted two streaks of 11 consecutive games without a miscue during the season.

At first base, junior Gretchen Anderson (Southington, CT/Southington H.S.) is back for her second season as a starter after finishing second on the team with 12 runs batted in and first with 10 sacrifice bunts last season.

Anderson was noted for her clutch performances during the year, with three game-tying or game-winning hits in the seventh inning. She picked up four hits in nine at-bats with the bases loaded and led the team with seven two-out RBIs.

In the field, Anderson committed just one error in 205 chances (.995 percentage) and played errorless ball in the team’s last 21 games.

Freshmen Heather Litzebauer (Red Bank, NJ/Middletown South H.S.) and Heather Thomas (Reading, PA/Reading H.S.) will see action in reserve roles in their rookie seasons.

THE OUTFIELDERS

With one junior joined by three sophomores, the Crusaders have a young but talented crew in the outfield.

Junior left fielder Teresa Ely (Montrose, PA/Montrose H.S.) is the lone left-handed batter on the roster and used her speed out of the box to lead the Crusaders with a .388 batting average last season.

A Commonwealth Conference second-team All-Star, Ely finished last season with a team-best 38 hits – the fifth-highest single-season total in school history.

Ely also led the team in stolen bases with five and on-base percentage at .423 and was second in runs scored with 15.

She hit safely in 17 consecutive games from March 24 through April 30 and led the Crusaders with 12 multi-hit games – including four three-hit games.

In center field, sophomore Kelli Thompson (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin H.S.) will look to build upon a solid freshman campaign in which she batted .297 with nine runs batted in.

Thompson ranked second on the team with four steals in six attempts and tied for fourth on the squad in RBIs.

Sophomores Melissa Bird and Becky Mann will share time in the outfield and at designated hitter for the Crusaders this season.

Bird (Catawissa, PA/Danville H.S.) made 19 of her 23 starts at designated hitter and batted .323 with nine runs batted in to rank fourth on the team in both average and RBIs.

She was third on the squad with nine walks and picked up at least one hit in 16 of the 25 games in which she played.

Mann (Williamsport, PA/Williamsport H.S.) was used primarily in a pinch-running and pinch-hitting role last season and compiled a .257 batting average in 19 games.

THE PITCHERS

Looking to follow in the footsteps of Hogan is sophomore right-hander Amy Kleman (Locustdale, PA/Cardinal Brennan H.S.).

As a freshman, Kleman posted a 3-7 record and a 2.33 earned run average in 13 games (10 starts) for the Crusaders. She tossed 78 innings and allowed 26 earned runs while striking out 31 and issuing 22 walks.

Opponents batted just .246 against Kleman, who completed all 10 of her starts with one shutout – a 1-0 two-hitter against Moravian on April 22 that secured the Commonwealth Conference regular-season title.

Vying for the number-two role will be Litzebauer and fellow freshman Shannon Nagy (Bangor, PA/Bangor H.S.).

Both right-handers, Litzebauer and Nagy were each the aces of their respective high school teams and will be factors on the hill for the Crusaders this season.

THE CATCHERS

Junior Alli Ackerman (Morris Plains, NJ/Parsippany Hills H.S.) will enter her third season as a starter as one of the top two-way catchers in the Commonwealth Conference.

Last season, Ackerman played all 199 innings behind the plate and batted .329 with one home run and 10 runs batted in to rank third on the team in both batting average and runs batted in.

Defensively, she threw out six of 32 attempted base-stealers and helped Crusader pitchers hold the opposition to a .254 batting average.

Both Thompson and freshman Deanna York (Lanoka Harbor, NJ/Lacey Twp. H.S.) will back up Ackerman, but both are more likely to see action in the outfield.

THE SCHEDULE

Susquehanna will open the 2001 season with nine games in eight days in North Carolina, including five games at the season-opening Methodist Early Bird Classic.

The Crusaders will play a challenging league and non-league schedule upon returning from North Carolina, with four straight doubleheaders against teams that qualified for either the NCAA or ECAC playoffs last year.

In all, 11 of Susquehanna’s final 16 doubleheaders are against teams that won 19 or more games last year. The home opener is slated for March 19 against York College.