Texas Tech University Athletics
2012 Softball Preview: Taking the Next Step
February 03, 2012 | Softball
The Red Raiders return 15 players from last year's postseason squad.
Feb. 3, 2011
Just moments after wrapping up the 2011 season with a 10-2 loss to Arizona, Shanon Hays' thoughts were already 12 months down the road.
Staring at a team that boasted no seniors, Hays challenged the group to not just find its way back to the postseason the following year, but take it to the next step forward - a Super Regional.
"Even with a young team last year, we thought we had a chance to win the regional," Hays said of last season's postseason appearance. "With the group we were going to have back, I felt after the Arizona game that we needed to instill that just making a regional was no longer the goal. We needed to take the next step, and this group is capable of that."
Not bad expectations for a team that was only 15-42 the prior to Hays' arrival in 2010.
To further emphasize his point, one of the first topics discussed at the fall team meeting was the expectations for the coming season.
For an established veteran like Ashley Hamada, winning a regional is not just something Hays wants to accomplish, but instead a feat that all of Tech's eight seniors want to end their career on.
"Winning a regional is definitely reachable," Hamada said. "It's something we want to do. We made it to a regional the last two years, and the next step is to make it to a super regional. We're seniors now and we'd like to make it that far." Not every member of Tech's 2012 squad happened to be in Arizona last June, though.
For a freshman such as Katelyn Williams, hearing of such high expectations is one of the reasons she signed with Texas Tech last spring.
 | "Winning a regional is definitely reachable. It's something we want to do. We made it to a regional the last two years, and the next step is to make it to a super regional. We're seniors now and we'd like to make it that far. |
"It's an honor to play here at Tech with those expectations," the Cedar Park, Texas native said. "We have a lot of responsibility as freshmen to help these seniors, and I think we will do really well this year."
With eight position starters and the squad's four pitchers among the 15 letterwinners returning from a year ago, high expectations may be valid for the Red Raiders.
Tech wrapped up the 2011 season with one of the top offenses in the country, ranking fourth nationally in both batting average and scoring output, as its .361 average at the plate also set a new Big 12 record.
Of Tech's school-record 363 RBI last year, only 24 of those came from players no longer with the program, giving Hays an experienced lineup once Big 12 play opens up March 6 at Texas.
The conference is coming off a record year where eight teams made an NCAA Regional with four eventually advancing to the eight-team Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.
The league also boasts several of the country's top pitchers, including two members of the U.S. National Team and several others who have try-out invitations, making experience throughout the lineup even more important to Hays.
"We return most of our lineup from last year in what ended up being one of the top offenses in the country," Hays said. "We've also added a couple quality bats in Melisa Ryba, Adriana Perez, and Katelyn Williams, so we have plenty of depth and experience which we will need against the quality of pitching we face game-in and game-out in the Big 12."
In the circle, Hays and pitching coach Aly Sartini will be leaning on freshman newcomer Cara Custer to help provide support to the lefty tandem of Brittany Talley and Kelsey Dennis, who combined for 27 wins last season.
Hays said Custer, a Spanaway, Wash. product, will provide Tech better matchups in the circle as her fastball consistently reaches the upper 60s
"Brittany and Kelsey last year were very similar," Hays said. "They both had great years, but they are both left-handed and throw several similar pitches. With Cara, we hope to keep the opposing teams off balanced a little bit more as she has more velocity than anyone we've had. I hope she can become a dominating presence in the circle."
Whether it is additional depth in the circle or the same dominant offense, Hays still sticks by his postgame speech from last June.
Eight months have gone by but the third-year head coach still believes this group has the potential to take that next step and advance to a super regional.
It's all about taking care of business beforehand, he says.
"I think this group definitely has the ability to break that barrier," Hays said. "Now, we've just got to go lace them up and set ourselves up with the opportunity."
