Buck ushers in new era for CSUB softball
| Thursday, Feb 09 2012 08:21 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Feb 09 2012 10:58 PM
CSUB softball roster
1 Amy Paolercio, INF, Fr, Fresno
2 Laura King, OF, Jr, Camarillo
3 Karlee Rodgers, OF, Jr, Clovis
6 Bree Sandoval, OF, Fr, La Verne
7 Taylor DeSilva, P-INF, So, Sunnyvale
8 Shay Fryer, INF, So, San Diego
9 Sara Smith, C-INF, Sr, Northridge
10 Kristina Gonzalez, INF, So, Liberty*
11 Emily Bliss, INF, Jr, Northridge
12 Adrianna Cardoza, INF, Fr, Santa Ana
13 Nicole Sanchez, OF, Fr, Frontier*
14 Karissa Veiga, OF, So, Hemet
16 Ashley Nahale, Ut, Sr, Fremont
17 Marissa Hiller, P, So, Cypress
21 Amy Ricciardi, INF, So, Chino Hills
22 Sarah Hoag, P, So, Salinas
23 Mel Martinez, OF, Fr, Orange
24 Ashley Carter, C-INF, Fr, Tehachapi
25 Tera Macias, C, Sr, Los Banos
Head coach: Crissy Buck
Assistants: Aja Scheuber, Ryane Petersen
Note: * -- from Bakersfield
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New CSUB softball coach Crissy Buck emphasizes a point during a recent Roadrunner practice.
The one constant for 26 of CSU Bakersfield's first 27 softball seasons was head coach Kathy Welter.
Now it's Crissy Buck's team.
Welter retired last spring after 26 years as the Roadrunners' coach. She finished her career No. 8 all-time in wins among NCAA and NAIA coaches with 1,139 -- 990 of those at CSUB.
Buck, a former UCLA player, landed the Roadrunner job after nine years as an assistant coach at Oregon State. This is her first collegiate head coaching position. CSUB's season starts today at the Las Vegas tournament.
"I'm ready to do it," said Buck, 32. "It's been interesting because you take a philosophy that you believe in your heart it can work and now it's time to see if it comes to fruition."
Most of this season's players are returnees from the squad that went 17-35 last season, including 5-15 in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference.
The left fielder and leadoff batter will be Karissa Veiga, a sophomore from Hemet, the team leader among full-time players in batting (.313) and also the team leader in runs scored (51), hits (51) and stolen bases (10).
The center fielder and probable No. 2 batter is junior Laura King, who hit .338 in part-time play a year ago, with senior Ashley Nahale (.224 in part-time play) also in the mix.
The right fielders are returnee Karlee Rodgers (.250 in part-time play) and freshman Bree Sandoval from La Verne-Bonita High School.
Two transfers will handle the right side of the infield: senior first baseman Sara Smith from Biola in La Mirada and sophomore second baseman Taylor DeSilva, who played as a freshman at Pacific. Adrianna Cardoza, a freshman from Santa Ana, is also competing at second.
Shay Fryer, who Buck said is a very strong defender who hit .176 last season, will play shortstop, and Buck said she expects Fryer's all-around game to be vastly improved this season.
The third baseman will be Amy Ricciardi, a second baseman last season who figures to be a middle-of-the-order hitter. Ricciardi batted .282 last season while tying for second on the team in hits (46) and RBIs (26).
The catchers are senior Tera Macias and freshman Ashley Carter from Tehachapi High School.
The No. 1 pitcher figures to be Sarah Hoag, a sophomore from Salinas who was 6-9 in 26 games last season.
"She's changed her motion a little bit and I think her velocity has gone up and her movement has gone up," Buck said.
The other two pitchers are Marissa Hiller, a sophomore who threw only 122â3 innings in eight games last season, and DeSilva.
Buck said this year's squad has good overall speed.
"Adding a strength and conditioning coach has helped our girls tremendously," Buck said. "They are very strong athletes and that has actually helped their speed increase down the line."
Buck referred to it as "deceptive speed."
"I think that's our type of speed, where we catch somebody off-guard," she said. "If we have the chance, we'll take it (the extra base). We'll have that type of game this season."
Another emphasis has been on-base percentage.
"I had never seen the movie 'Moneyball,' and I never knew what it was about," Buck said. "(Athletic director) Jeff Konya had our whole department go and watch it and our philosophy is very similar to 'Moneyball.'
"We're going to try and get on base any way we can, whether that's hit by pitches, working a count, walking, getting hits, getting on by errors, moving runners along. We're going to try and live by that philosophy."
One notable omission from this year's squad is Jazmine Lee. A freshman last year, Lee led the team with seven home runs and 30 RBIs.
She was dismissed from the team for a an unspecified violation of team rules, Buck said, and will not be reinstated.
"At this time we are moving forward without her," Buck said. "That was a decision I made knowing the hit we would take but knowing where we're trying to go with this program and the changes we're trying to make."
