“I think all coaches go into the fall season with the same thing in mind, and that is to get an idea of where your team is,” said Phelan. “I will definitely be using different lineups and throwing all of my pitchers to see where we are at this point in the year.”
The Hilltopper pitching rotation will be without the services of sophomore Adrienne Lathrop, recovering from off-season surgery, so Phelan will look to gauge the progress of senior all-Sun Belt Conference selection Allison Silver, sophomore Natahsa Sevco and junior-college transfer Ashley Schwartz. WKU lost only one full-time starter off last year’s team, senior outfielder Kristalyn Smith, and Phelan expects freshman Lindsay Gatti to complete the outfield corps.
“I’m hoping to find what combinations work best together,” said Phelan. “We have more depth than we did last year and we have a few true utility players who can play three or four positions, so I’m looking to see where they fit best.”
This weekend’s games will mark a return of sorts for two Toppers. Senior Riley Garcia, who earned all-Sun Belt honors the past two seasons in the outfield, will move back behind the plate, where she was an all-conference selection as a freshman. Fifth-year senior Jessie Richardson, who suffered a season-ending injury after the first weekend of the 2003 season, returns to the field after having to watch all of last year from the dugout.
“It (moving back to catcher) has been like riding a bike for Riley, you never forget how. She’s picked up right where she left off. She was very capable to catch all along, it was just that the needs of the team had her in the outfield the last two years,” said Phelan. “Jessie had some time off, so she’s still working out the kinks. But she is definitely a motivated player and I expect her to work hard during our winter and individual workouts.”
The Hilltoppers have two games slated for Saturday, a noon meeting with TSU and a 6 p.m. contest with NKU. Western will face Austin Peay at noon (CST) on Sunday, with seeded bracket play to follow. The classic’s championship game is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Sunday.
