October 5, 2009 - In her third year as the Hillsdale College softball coach, Jamie Meyers has put her stamp on the program. A first step in solidifying that stamp in the sport of softball comes during its fall season, which wrapped up on Sunday.

Meyers and the Chargers were on the road for three weekends-worth of games, and the coach said she was pleased at several things she saw from her team.

"Our pitching is greatly improved," Meyers said. "I can't say enough about the way Laura Homan (pictured) has thrown this fall. She wants the ball, she's throwing inside to hitters, and has shown confidence in all of her pitches. If she pitches that way during our season, she has a chance to be all-conference.

"I saw a lot of good things from (junior) Kellie (Hirst) too. (Freshman) Taylor Schulty throws with a lot of power, and at times, was nearly unhittable in the fall."

Schulty is one of nine freshman on the 2010 Charger softball team. With such a large class, expectations are high for this group, which showed its athleticism and competitiveness throughout the team's fall season practices and games.

Meyers also compliment the play of freshman catchers Becca Strother and Chelsey Jacobson, saying she saw fewer passed balls this fall than any other since she's been here.

Hillsdale finished the 2009 season with a 17-27 overall record, and 7-19 in the GLIAC. The team missed qualifying for the GLIAC Tournament for a third year in a row. Meyers' goals are much greater for this team than just making it back to the conference's postseason tournament.

"I want us to be GLIAC champions," she said. "We have the ability to play with anybody. In order for us to be good and to reach our potential, we will need some of our freshmen to step up. We have nine of them, so some of them are going to be on the field no matter what the situation is. The sky is the limit with our ability. Our challenge is going to be to improve every day. If we can do that, I think we're going to be pretty good."

Despite the presence of so many younger players, one player the Chargers have who is already pretty good is senior outfielder Devon Trimmer. In 2009, Trimmer became the first Hillsdale College player to be named First-Team All-GLIAC since Ashley Wolff earned the honor following the 2005 season.

Trimmer led the team with a .320 batting average and led the team in runs, hits and doubles. She is the only senior on the team, and carries with her much of the team's leadership and experience.

Trimmer and sophomore Jen Berlet will be co-captains of the 2010 team. Berlet is a player who surged at the end of last season with the bat, and figures to be one of the anchors in the batting lineup.

Sophomore Allison Hetrick gained plenty of experience in the infield last year and has improved in all facets of the game according to the coach.

Joining Hetrick in the infield will be freshman Miriam McKay, who according to Meyers, grabbed a hold of the second base position and doesn't want to let it go. McKay comes to Hillsdale from one of the best prep softball programs in the state, New Baltimore Anchor Bay.

The improved pitching staff Meyers referred to includes junior Kellie Hirst, sophomore Laura Homan and freshmen Taylor Schulty and Brittany Hulett. Both Homan and Hirst will help the team offensively in addition to their work on the mound.

Last year's team clubbed 29 home runs, and power hitters like Berlet and sophomore Jessica Guertin return for what they hope is a repeat of that performance.

Meyers said baserunning and communication will be two main points of emphasis in her individual work with the players between now and the start of the season.

"We have a raw outfield and it's a group that just needs more on-the-field experience," Meyers said. "At times, we are way too critical of ourselves. Our freshmen are great athletes, maybe the best class of athletes we've had in our program in a long time. They need to take it easy and just let themselves play the game.

"This is a humbling sport, where one pebble can be the difference between a routine ground ball, and a bad hop that leads to a big inning. We just have to try and make sure to turn everything into a learning experience."

Please click on the links below for the 2010 Charger softball roster and schedule.

2010 Roster

2010 Schedule