With just four days remaining until the softball team opens its season in Clermont, Fla. against Plymouth State, the lineup is still not set in stone. The Jumbos continue to search for the right plug to fill the gaping hole left by the graduation of shortstop Casey Sullivan (LA '10) at the end of last season.
"We definitely have a lot of changes," coach Cheryl Milligan said. "Right now, I am thinking the only person we have in the same spot full−time is [junior co−captain infielder] Lena [Cantone]."
Sullivan was a two−time All−American, including Second Team honors in her senior year. She hit 0.425 in her final year at Tufts and finished her career as the all−time program leader in runs scored, second in runs batted in and total bases, and third in home runs.
She did this all while simultaneously excelling at the toughest position in softball: shortstop. As a senior, Sullivan made only one error in 23 regional games. She finished overall with a 0.975 fielding percentage, the best in the NESCAC among shortstops.
"Casey was kind of the star of the team last year, and the numbers she put up are almost irreplaceable from any one person," sophomore Emily Beinecke said.
As the season kicks off for the Jumbos, the quest to fill Sullivan's role on the team begins. Defensively, Milligan is likely to go with either junior Mira Lieman−Sifry, who played third base much of last season but has experience playing shortstop, or Beinecke, who manned second base but also played shortstop for two years in high school.
Lieman−Sifry would appear to be the simpler player to convert, having logged innings both behind the plate and at the hot corner in 2010 — two positions that require consistently long and accurate throws. Beinecke, on the other hand, may have become more accustomed to the shorter throws over to first from a season at second base.
"We are very similar players," Beinecke said of herself and Leiman−Sifry as a double−play tandem. "I think Mira is one of the most fundamentally sound players on this team, and she is very easy to work with. We both know the [second base and shortstop positions] well, and the chemistry is definitely there."
Both Lieman−Sifry and Beinecke were strong defensively this past season, compiling fielding percentages of .953 and .958, respectively, but understand that it takes a lot to play at the level that Sullivan did in her final years on the Hill.
Offensively, the fix may not be quite as simple for the Jumbos. Sullivan — along with classmate Stephanie Tong (LA '10) — hit 14 of the team's 22 home runs last season. Add in the four dingers last season off the bat of junior catcher Julia Silberman, who will not play this season, and there is undoubtedly the potential for a power outage in Medford.
While Beinecke impressed offensively in her freshman year, leading the team in batting average (.467), RBI (30) and on−base percentage (.487), she managed only two home runs, a far cry from Sullivan's 10. This was evident in her slugging percentage, which was more than 200 points below Sullivan's.
"I've always just focused on being a contact hitter since I was six or seven and playing baseball," Beinecke said. "It's great to consider yourself a slugger, and I did work a bit more on my upper body this off−season, but I'm mainly focused on improving my skills whatever way possible."
Milligan is confident in the ability of this year's hitters to still generate runs.
"We definitely still […] have some big hitters," Milligan said. "I think we will do just fine in that category."
Milligan has a history of creating power hitters out of seemingly nowhere, most recently working her magic with Tong. As a senior entering last season, Tong had not made a single plate appearance since her freshman year and did not go deep as a rookie. But after moving from the mound to the outfield as a senior, she found her groove, pounding four long balls, including a game−winning two−run shot that just cleared the fence in a key matchup with NESCAC East rival Trinity.
"We play on a little bit of a smaller field, so it will be interesting to see if surprise people come out and start hitting home runs like Stephanie Tong did last year," senior co−captain pitcher Izzie Santone said. "That's always fun to see, but I don't think it's exactly what we need. What we need is more execution of plays and strategies."
The Jumbos will also benefit from a strong incoming class that includes junior third baseman Katherine Darveau — a likely potential replacement for Lieman−Sifry at the hot corner — and freshmen catchers Jo Clair and Chrissie Massrey, Silberman's likely replacements behind the plate. Clair definitely has the ability to bring some power into the lineup.
"The freshmen class is extremely talented, and that makes me very happy," Santone said. "We have strong players behind the plate, Katherine Darveau — our junior rookie — has been doing very well at third base, and we have a couple positions in the outfield that are filled in for the first time in a while."
In four days, the Jumbos will take the field without Sullivan for the first time in four years. But they are confident that they are every bit as good, if not better, than the team they were 10 months ago.
"Overall, everyone is on a very even level this year," Beinecke said. "We have an especially strong core, and every player on the team is just as talented as the next. It's tough to fill Casey's shoes, but this team is a lot stronger player to player."
