There may still be snow on the ground but springtime is in the air and that means Saint Xavier University’s women’s softball team has begun their 2014 campaign.
Last year was a historic season for women’s softball, finishing the year with an amazing 50 wins and a final top-10 ranking.
The Cougars got right back to their winning ways when they took the annual trip down to Florida to open the season. Behind great defense, clutch hitting, and a no-hitter the Cougars went 14-2 while on the trip.
The pitching and incredible defense helped the Cougars dominate opponents last season and so far nothing has changed this year.
The team won their first eight games on the trip and were finally upended by Ave Maria University 1-0 in a game where the Cougars only registered four hits.
They lost another close one-run game to Marian University (Ind.) but got revenge a couple days later on the last day of the trip by beating them 10-0.
SXU’s pitchers have a combined ERA of 0.58 so far and the fielding percentage of the team, .966, is almost as high as last year’s record-breaking percentage of .981.
Senior pitcher Megan Nonnemacher and her younger sister, sophomore pitcher Nicole Nonnemacher, have been phenomenal for the Cougars.
Megan Nonnemacher has a great win-loss record of 6-1 to go along with a staggering 0.77 ERA and Nicole also has a 6-1 record along with a jaw dropping 0.27 ERA on the season.
At the peak of this hot start for the team, Nicole Nonnemacher threw a no-hitter in a 7-0 victory against Lourdes University (Iowa). She struck out 13 and had a grand total of zero walks on the day.
It has not just been great pitching that has carried the Cougars to this fantastic start.
The Cougars have been swinging the bats well even though they do not have any home runs, yet they still have a .344 on base percentage.
Offensively the Cougars are led by sophomore second basemen Kasey Kanaga, who has a .395 batting average, which is the highest on the team, and a .481 on base percentage.
Junior first basemen Amanda Hainlen leads the team with 11 RBIs and has an on base percentage of .412. Star pitcher Nicole Nonnemacher also contributes offensively, putting up a .348 average this season.
This season, the Cougars will look to make it back to the NAIA National Tournament where they fell a few wins shy of a national title after a historical season.
The Cougars will continue their regular season this Thursday, March 20 against No. 10-ranked Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) in Bourbonnais, Ill.
Damone Griffin
Sports Editor
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