With the season only one week away, the Washburn Lady Blues softball team hopes to improve on last years solid 36-21 overall record and fourth place MIAA finish. The Lady Blues only key loss from last season was senior catcher Kayla Huske. Huske was an all-MIAA first team selection, as well as being selected to the all-North Central Region first team, while leading the Lady Blues with a .343 batting average.

“We only lost two players from last year’s team, but we added a lot of new faces that should help the team,” said Kelly Swygert, Lady Blues junior pitcher. “Overall I think our team has a lot of talented players and we should have a really good year.”

The Lady Blues softball team also won 10 out of 12 games during their non-traditional schedule last fall. After the completion of the fall schedule, Washburn head softball coach Lisa Carey commented she felt the Lady Blues will be a top three team in the MIAA this year. Carey also feels this year’s team is the most talented and athletic team she has had in her four seasons coaching the Lady Blues. Carey (a former Big 12 Player of the Year and first team and All-American for the Oklahoma Sooners) has an overall record of 132-86 while at Washburn.

The Lady Blues open the 2007 season Friday, Feb. 9 in Weatherford, Okla., as they face Southwestern Oklahoma State.

The Lady Blues will also play in two upcoming tournaments, playing four games in the West Texas A&M tournament Feb. 23-24 in Canyon, Texas, and playing six games in the Central Oklahoma Classic March 2-4 in Edmond, Okla.

After playing their first 13 games on the road to open the season, the Lady Blues play their first home game March 6, against Pittsburg State. The Lady Blues will spend a lot of time traveling this year, playing 46 of their 54 regular season games on the road.

Incoming freshmen

Jessica Batres, third baseman, was an all-state, all-region and all-metro pick as a senior at Oak Park High School in Kansas City, Mo.

Michelle Converse, outfielder, was named a first team all-state pick as a junior playing at Mission Valley High School in Harveyville, Kan.

Danielle Hodge, first baseman, was named a second team all-league selection as a junior at Shawnee Mission West High School in Lenexa, Kan.

Megan Kimerer, pitcher, was named second team all-state as a senior at St. Pius X High School in Kansas City, Mo. She had a .464 batting average with four home runs.

Kayla Long, pitcher, was named the district most valuable player her junior year at Princeton High School in Princeton, Texas.

Kendra Roles, pitcher, was named first team all-league, first team all-area and first team all-state as a junior at Thomas More Prep High School in Hays, Kan.

Whitney Tapp, catcher and third baseman, was named to the USSSA all-World Series team in 2005. She played at Blues Spring South High School in Blue Springs, Mo.

Monica DeLaGarza, outfielder, joins the team from Freer High School in Freer, Texas.

Nicole Perkuhn, pitcher and outfielder, played for Washburn Rural High School.