Softball Opens 2011 Season At Home
2/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Tournament Central | Complete Release in PDF Format 
The Baylor softball team will open the 2011 season at home for the first time since 2008 as it hosts the 10th annual Getterman Classic.
The Lady Bears will open play on Friday against No. 24 Illinois at 3:00 p.m. then face McNeese State at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Bears will finish up with UTSA at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday before the tournament seeds for semifinal and championship round play.
All games can be heard live on baylorbears.com as Derek Smith and Alex Colyer bring you all the action. Sunday's Baylor game will broadcast on 1660ESPN.
Scouting The Getterman Field
No. 24 Illinois returns eight starters returning, including the entire infield, to a team that earned the second-highest winning percentage in Division-I with their 45-8 overall record in 2010 and advancing to the NCAA Regional final against Missouri. The Illini welcome back first-team All-American, Meredith Hacket at first base after leading the Big Ten with a .418 batting average.
McNeese is coming off its most wins in school history after posting a 38-25 record and a SLC Tournament Championship as wells as an NCAA Regional appearance in Baton Rouge. McNeese returns 14 letterwinners from that team, including six starters and its entire pitching staff. McNeese State was picked to finish third in the 2011 Southland preseason polls.
UTSA returns nine letterwinners from last year's squad that finished with 23 wins overall and in seventh place in the Southland Conference at 15-15. The Roadrunners return 75 percent of their offensive production from a year ago, highlighted by junior Caitlyn Ivy, a preseason first-team all-conference and 2010 second-team National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region selection.
Let's Get It Started... At Home
The Lady Bears will begin the season at home for the first time since 2008 after opening on the road the last two years. This season will mark the third-straight year Baylor has opened with a ranked opponent, losing at No. 1 Florida (3-0) in 2009 and falling 4-1 to No. 21 Louisville in eight inning in 2010.
Getterman Classic Success
Baylor has been successful at the Getterman Classic, with an overall record of 42-5 in the tournament's nine-year history, racking up five titles. This will be Iliinois' third trip (2005, 2006) for the tournament, with an overall record of 5-5. UTSA is 2-5, making its only appearance in 2009. This will be McNeese Stae's first ever appearance at the Getterman Classic.
Tough Schedule
Just take one look at the 2011 schedule and you will see what a gauntlet it is. The Lady Bears will face eight teams ranked in the preseason top-25, including No. 1/2 UCLA and No. 2/1 Arizona. Additionally, BU will face four other teams that are receiving votes. The 54-game schedule features 27 home games and 24 games against 14 teams that were selected to the 2010 NCAA Championship, including six contests against 2010 Women's College World Series programs.
Lady Bears Picked Sixth In Big 12
The Baylor softball team team was picked to finish sixth in a pre-season vote conducted by league coaches,. The Lady Bears were picked to finish sixth in 2009 and ended up in third place, advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals. Oklahoma (79 points) received seven of 10 first-place votes for the second straight season. Missouri (71) had two tallies while Texas received one vote. The Longhorns (69) ranked third in the preseason poll, as Texas A&M (54) edged out Oklahoma State (50) for fourth place. Texas Tech (33) and Nebraska (26) finished in seventh and eighth, respectively, while Iowa State (15) and Kansas (13) rounded out this year's preseason poll.
Canion Returns
Redshirt sophomore, Whitney Canion returns to the circle for the Lady Bears after pitching just 11 games in 2010. She went 5-3 with a 1.58 ERA and had 79 strikeouts in 48.2 innings. She finished up one of the best seasons in Baylor softball history in 2009, as the lefty set new records in season strikeouts and most 10-plus strikeout games in a career. She finished 27-17 with a 1.80 ERA, registering 10 shutouts and 415 strikeouts. She not only led the league in strikeouts, but was third in the NCAA. In addition, Canion picked up the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and Pitcher of the Year honors. She was only the second freshman to lead the Big 12 in strikeouts, with the only previous being Cat Osterman.
Canion Climbing The Charts
Canion sits in fourth all-time in career strikeouts at Baylor with 494. With three seasons to play, she needs 265 to tie Cristin Vitek's career record 759.
Who's Back
Baylor returns 12 letterwinners and seven starters off of last season's squad. The Lady Bears have two-time first-team all-conference and two time first-team all-region outfielder Kayce Walker back in right field to go with center fielder, Kathy Shelton. Around the infield, BU welcomes back third baseman Megan Turk, shortstop Dani Leal and second baseman KJ Freeland. Senior Jordan Vannatta returns at first and designated player, while Canion returns to the circle. Vannatta led the team with 38 RBI in 2010, while Leal was the team leader in home runs with nine.
In addition, Baylor returns two players (Sydney Wilson and Kelsi Kettler) who started at least 10 games last season and welcome back Meagan Weldon from a medical redshirt after being the starting second baseman in 2009.
Vs. Ranked Opponents
Baylor opens 2011 against No. 24 Illinois and will be looking to improve off its 2-14 mark against ranked opponents in 2010.
