MONROE – Returning eight starters from a club that qualified for the conference tournament last season, the Northwestern State softball team gears up to make another big run in the 2012 campaign, beginning Friday with a contest against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the ULM Mardi Gras Classic hosted by Louisiana-Monroe.

The Lady Demons made their first Southland Conference Tournament appearance in five years in 2011, and posted their first winning season (32-25, 15-17 SLC) since 2005. NSU returns seven of its eight starting position players from that team, and its top three pitchers.

 

Seniors Kelee Grimes, Samantha Roberts and Tiffany Ward look to lead the team to even greater success this season, as the Lady Demons will eye their first conference championship since 2000.

 

Grimes, from Pineville and Pineville High School, led the pitching staff last year with a 1.51 ERA and 154 strikeouts. She was named to the 2012 Preseason All-SLC Second-Team after a 2011 season that was filled with accolades and achievements. Grimes tossed the 11th no-hitter in NSU softball history while earning back-to-back Pitcher of the Week awards.

 

“Kelee is definitely going to have a big presence on the mound this season,” said fourth-year head coach Donald Pickett. “If she carries over the momentum that she had from last year, she's going to continue doing a lot of good things.”

 

Also returning in the rotation are juniors Kylie Roos and Brooke Boening. The two combined for a whopping 245 strikeouts in just 232 innings.

 

“We believe that our pitching is as good as anyone's in our conference. They will continue to lead us and work hard to improve,” Pickett said.

 

Roos also got it done at the plate, smashing a team-high eight homers and hitting for a .289 average.

 

Roberts, a hometown hitter who grew up in Natchitoches, was the lone Lady Demon to be selected to the 2011 Preseason All-SLC team, at first base. She missed the first 17 games of the year with a concussion, but came back to homer in the final series of the season to lift NSU into the conference tournament.

 

“Sam has been healthy all year and finished really strong for us at the end of last season,” Pickett said. “She's definitely going to have a big year at the plate and lead us offensively.”

 

Ward, a native of Bulverde, Tex. and Smithson Valley High School, started 46 games at third base for the Lady Demons last season, crushing three doubles and a homer. She posted a .934 fielding percentage, committing just eight errors at third in 51 appearances.

 

“Ward has been solid for us at third base her entire career,” Pickett said.“It definitely helps to have her around some of the younger players on the team because of her experience and leadership qualities.”

 

Also returning for NSU is sophomore Cali Burke, a second-baseman from Mesquite, Tex. and Dr. John Horn High School, who earned her name on the 2012 Preseason All-SLC First Team. Last season, she hit for a .302 average and 16 RBI, and earned honors on the 2011 All-Louisiana Collegiate Softball Team and the All-SLC Second Team. She also led the team in hits with 51.

 

“Right now we just have to focus on going out and getting better every single day. We have a lot of talent, and if we go out with a lot of energy and the right approach then we will put ourselves in a lot of good positions to win games season,” Pickett said.

 

At the ULM Mardi Gras Classic, the Lady Demons will also take on UL-Monroe, IUPUI, Southeast Missouri State and Grambling on Saturday and Sunday.