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March 29, 2000
Swinging awayBy BOB VARMETTE Journal Sports Writer NEW ULM -- It wasn't all sun and fun when the Martin Luther Knights were in Florida. Really. MLC coach Barb Leopold and her players had on-field plans as well, playing in the University of West Florida Spring Fling XIV softball tournament. The Knights returned from Pensacola, Fla., with a 2-9 record, but also a step or two ahead of where they were at this time last season. "Oh, definitely," Leopold said. "And not just because of the Florida trip, but because the weather has been so nice. We've been able to be outside for the last two weeks, so yes, definitely, we are beyond where we have been in previous years." It was a hectic week, though, for MLC. The Knights took the field in their first game without benefit of any on-field practice. MLC then had to readjust to playing with each other, and had to learn to play with new faces. And there are quite a few. Five freshmen and a sophomore are new to the roster as the Knights travel to play a doubleheader with Macalester at 3:30 p.m. today. Leopold thinks three freshmen could contribute immediately. Erin Gray will see time at first base, Jen Hafenstein at third, and Jill LaViolette in the outfield and at second. For one of the familiar faces -- junior infielder Kelly Gawrisch -- the Florida trip was nearly a nightmare. Gawrisch hit only .143 (4-for-28) on the Florida swing and was hitless in her first seven trips to the plate. In 30 games last season, Gawrisch led the Knights with a .511 average -- good for eighth-best in Division III. "I had not practiced at all with the team before going down there," Gawrisch said. "It showed. I expected a lot more out of myself. I was frustrated with the way I played." Leopold isn't worried about her top-returning hitter. "I think she's already back -- or near -- where she was at mid-season last year," Leopold said. "You're thrown in a situation where you've not had a chance to even hit off a machine much less a live pitcher. Just getting that eye-hand coordination back, and timing back, I think was part of it." A couple of Knights did play well in Pensacola. Senior pitcher/outfielder Gena Schwartz went 12-for-33 (.364) with four RBI and nine runs scored. Schwartz, who figures to be the Knights' No. 1 pitcher this season, made three appearances on the mound with two decisions, dropping both. Schwartz allowed seven earned runs in 13 innings, striking out three and walking 10. "I pitched better at the end of the week," Schwartz said. "The first couple of games I was getting really frustrated. I was throwing a lot in the dirt. The last game I thought it went a lot better. The more that I threw the more control I had." That makes her optimistic on the rest of the season. "I'd just like to build upon (the trip) and keep it going for the rest of the year," Schwartz said. "When the season's over, I want to know that I've improved over the past four years." Renee Schiller -- a sophomore outfielder - had a productive trip. Schiller hit .536 with seven runs scored leading off for the Knights. Infielder/pitcher Jenny Nommensen -- another sophomore -- hit .346 with six RBI and seven runs scored. On the mound, Nommensen earned one of the two wins for MLC. In two decisions, she pitched eight innings, allowing 10 earned runs and 19 hits. Sophomore pitcher/infielder Sarah Scharf went 1-3 on the Florida trip and worked the most innings of any Knight pitcher -- 21 2/3. Scharf gave up 18 earned runs, but in her victory pitched 3 2/3 shut-out innings, giving up only a pair of hits. The Knights used five pitchers in Florida. Leopold said all five will continue to be looked at and added she hopes to narrow the rotation to three. "The nice thing with having five pitchers is that I think there will be some of them that will be able to come in as relief pitchers whether it's middle relief or as a closer," Leopold said. And along with their head start, that has the Knights thinking optimistically about the rest of the season. "We played 11 games and we won two of the them," Gawrisch said. "The record wasn't the greatest, but we improved so much as a team throughout the week. ... We got to know each other as players, we became better friends. I thought it was a very good experience."
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