After finishing seventh in the country last spring, the NIU women’s softball team has a big task ahead of them this year. With 14 of last year’s 18 players returning, the prospects look good. Their one-month fall season will definitely help fill in the vacated positions, as well as give coach Dee Abrahamson an idea of what the future holds for her younger players.

“A lot of things have to go right for us to do as well as last year. We were very fortunate to stay healthy. We never had two injuries at the same position all season,” said Abrahamson.

The returning players are led by two-time All-America senior Jill Justin, who has also led the country in hitting over the last two seasons; and senior hurler Beth Schrader who last year set a school record with 24 victories.

The fall season opens Sept. 16-17 at the College of St. Francis, followed the next weekend with the National Invitational Championships. On Oct. 8-9, the squad will host the eight-team Huskie Invitational, and will travel to Iowa on Oct. 16 to face Iowa, Nebraska, and Drake.

“The fall season is mainly used to assemble the pre-season polls for the spring. For us, though, the fall helps us find out which players are best suited for a certain position, and which players can perform under a pressure situation. For instance, if we have a tie game and the winning run on base, I would normally pull a younger hitter for someone with more experience. But in the fall, I can leave the younger one in to see if she can do the job,” said Abrahamson. “It also gives us an idea of what to work on during the winter. If our bunting is good but our hitting is below par, we will know to spend more time practicing our hitting.”

There are three recruited freshmen this season, and also 12 walk-ons. Of the walk-ons, perhaps only two will make the team, due to the fact that so many players are returning from last year.

Senior pitcher Beth Schrader has a very positive attitude about the season. “I think if we hit as well as we did last year, the defense will fall in place. We worked real hard last year, and this year we will have to work just as hard,” said Schrader. She also had some thoughts on her pitching, “Most of my success was due to my catcher. If I feel as comfortable with the new catcher, I will do just as well.”

Abrahamson said that last year the team had a few breaks and were lucky enough to take advantage of them. “Some people won’t admit it, but you have to be lucky and you have to take advantage of every break given to you,” said Abrahamson. “We easily have as much talent as last year, but a lot rides on whether or not we stay healthy and whether or not we get some good breaks.”

The team’s spring season opens on March 12 and Abrahamson hopes to have her lineup set. “There are a lot of possibilities. We will have to wait and see how well our players perform,” she said.