The
Golden Grizzlies Head Into Unfamiliar TerritoryOakland University begins the new millennium
with a new varsity program in Division I athletics. OU has added softball and the Golden
Grizzlies begin competition 2000.
The addition of softball brings OU’s
grand total to 14 varsity sports and the 2000 season marks OU’s first as a Division I
program. The Golden Grizzlies are a member of the Mid-Continent conference, a league that
is comprised of seven teams. The seven teams will battle for four spots in the Mid-Con
tourney and a chance to win the conference tournament and receive an automatic bid to
regionals.
The Golden Grizzlies replace the reigning
Mid-Continent Conference champion DePaul. The Blue Demons went 22-0 in the Mid-Con last
season and lost to UCLA in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament.
Oakland has big shoes to fill in replacing the
national powerhouse and looks to make an immediate impact in the league.
"DePaul made it to the semifinals last
season as the Mid-Con champion and with them leaving, the conference is up in the
air," head coach Steve Ogg said "I expect us to be competitive against all the
teams we face in the 2000 season. We have devised a schedule that pins us against a lot of
tough teams such as Notre Dame, Central Michigan and Michigan State which all ranked in
the top 10 in the Mideast region last year."
The competitive non-conference schedule should
provide experience for the younger players on the Golden Grizzly squad. Oakland’s
roster is devised of 10 freshmen, two sophomores and five juniors.
"We have a lot of young players, so I
expect us to make a lot of mental mistakes early in the season," Ogg said "these
girls have not played together before so we are not very fluid right now."
Oakland will look to the seven transfers to
provide leadership for this year’s squad. Sophomores Mary Kate McGowan (St. Andrews
Presbyterian College) and Corinne Spanke (Central Michigan) and juniors Crystal Ruddock
(Victor Valley CC, California), Keri Sedgley (Solano JC, California), Jennifer Morgan
(Oakland Community College), Sarah Watters (Oakland CC) and Danielle TerHaar (Oakland CC)
will fill leadership roles.
"We have some junior college transfers
and two four-year college transfers that will provide the experience our team needs to
start the season."
The Golden Grizzlies have selected two of the
three captains for the inaugural season...Keri Sedgley and Ericka Burns. Burns is a
freshman who participated on Canada’s junior Olympic team in 1999 and Sedgley, a
transfer from Solano JC in California, brings maturity and a power hitting swing to the
Golden Grizzlies.
Oakland will not be entering the new
millennium completely blindfolded as the Golden Grizzlies played in two tournaments in the
fall of 1999. OU traveled to Mount Pleasant to participate in CMU’s tourney (10/3)
and to Ann Arbor to play in Michigan’s fall classic (10/9-10) .
Oakland defeated Northwood University 6-4 in
the first game of the CMU tourney and was scheduled to play the Chippewas in the
championship game when mother nature delayed the match-up between the two teams.
At the Michigan tournament, Oakland opened up
play with a victory over Eastern Michigan 1-0. The Golden Grizzlies then faced the Rockets
from Toledo and escaped with another one run victory 3-2. OU then suffered its first loss
of the fall at the hands of the host Mcihigan 8-0.
The Golden Grizzlies finished the fall
tournaments 3-1 and with an attitude that they can compete at any level of competition.
"The kids played hard but timid"
said Ogg. "We were a little intimidated against Michigan and instead of playing up to
our abilities, we were standing in awe of Michigan."
Oakland is looking forward to getting its feet
wet at the Division I level. The Golden Grizzlies do not know what determines a successful
inaugural season and what reasonable goals should be set, but Coach Ogg puts things in
perspective for the 2000 season.
"Our goal is to compete against every
team we face this season. We want to build a foundation, evaluate it, and then look at the
areas we need to improve on. After some conference games we will get an idea of what we
are up against and where we need to be at the end of the season. If we finish in the top
four in the conference and have a shot at qualifying for the nationals by winning the
conference tournament, I would call that a successful season."
Pitching
Crystal Ruddock (Jr., RHP, Apple Valley, CA),
Julie Anderson (Fr., RHP, Lane Portland), Linnea Utecht (Fr., RHP, Oshkosh, WI) and
Tiffany Evans (Fr., RHP, Larue, OH) will handle the bulk of pitching in the 2000 season.
Ruddock pitched in 11 of the 36 innings in the
1999 fall tournaments. She compiled a 0.64 ERA in the fall with five strikeouts, five
walks and a 2-0 record.
Anderson handled most of the closing duties
for the Golden Grizzlies. She had three appearances in the fall and recorded two saves.
She pitched in 7.33 innings, struck out four, walked two and gave up seven hits.
Utecht should be the go to pitcher for the
Golden Grizzlies in 2000. She went 17-1 in her senior season at Oshkosh West High School
with 179 strikeouts in 117 innings pitched and posted a 0.36 ERA. Utecht pitched in 11.66
innings this fall and struck out seven, walked five, had a record of 1-1 and an ERA of
4.18.
Evans pitched sparingly in the fall throwing
six innings for the Golden Grizzlies. She gave up four earned runs, had one strikeout, six
walks and recorded a 3.5 ERA.
"We have a very young pitching
staff," said Ogg. "They are young, but talented. They throw hard and have a good
mix of pitches in their arsenal."
Catching
Corinne Spanke (So., Ortonville) will be the
starting catcher for Oakland in the 2000 season. Spanke comes to Oakland from Central
Michigan where she played a season for the Chippewas under head coach Margo Jonker. She
batted .395 her senior season at Brandon High School and recorded 47 RBI. Megan Piar (Fr.,
Lancaster, OH) will also see time behind the dish this year. Piar led Bloom Carroll High
School in Lancaster, Ohio to a district championship and a sweet 16 finish.
First Base
Tiffany Evans, Jennifer Granger (Fr., Troy)
and Utecht will share duties at first base when they are not pitching for the Golden
Grizzlies. Granger, a transfer from Michigan, led Troy High School to the quarterfinals in
1999. Utecht hit .396 her senior year at Oshkosh West High School in Oshkosh, Wisconsin to
lead the Indians to a 17-1 record.
Second Base
Ruddock, Jennifer Morgan (Jr., Rochester),
Laura Plunkitt (Fr., Imlay City) and Bozenna Johnson (Fr., Louisville, OH) will all battle
it out in spring training for the starting job at second base. Ruddock is a junior college
transfer from Victor Valley Community College in Apple Valley, California. Morgan is a
junior college transfer from Oakland Community College who hit .362 and knocked in 19
runners in 1997. Plunkitt attended Imlay City High School in 1999 and led the Spartans to
a 26-7 record.
Third Base
Keri Sedgley (Jr., Napa, CA) is a junior
college transfer from Solano JC in California, and is one of the captains for OU. Sedgley
hit .440 under head coach Jennae Lambon on her way to lead the team in singles, doubles
and homers.
Short Stop
Ericka Burns (Fr., Clinton, Ontario) is the
other captain for Oakland and will head up the position at short stop. Burns played on the
Canadian junior Olympic Team in the summer of 1999. Danielle TerHaar (Jr., Macomb Twp)
will see some time at short stop along with in the outfield.
Outfield
TerHaar, Sarah Watters (Jr., Marine City),
Mary Kate McGowan (So., Fredericksburg), Lauren Seffens (Fr., Ortonville) and Katie Snyder
(Fr., Troy) will vy for the three spots open in the outfield. TerHaar played for Macomb CC
and Oakland CC before coming to Oakland. Watters took the same route as TerHaar before
Oakland and helped Macomb CC place seventh in the nation in the NJCAA Division III.
McGowan, a transfer from St. Andrews
Presbyterian College, hit .296 and swiped 20 bases for the Knights. Seffens attended
Brandon High School in 1999 where she hit .333 and led the Blackhawks to the state
playoffs. Snyder will bring her .327 Troy High School batting average to the playing field
in 2000.
"We have a lot of speed in the outfield
and some really good arms" Ogg said. "This will be our deepest part of the bench
and it will be fun to watch all these outfielders compete."
