2007 Season Preview

                 Madison, SD (2/1/2007) – After coming off of a mixed 2006 season the Trojans look to climb back into the regional rankings and become a fixture as a dominate team in the region.

   The Trojans will have plenty of new faces this season as well as some familiar favorites. The Trojans return seven players from the 2006 squad.

   Offensively the Trojans will need to fill some big holes in the line up with the departure of 5 players who all hit over .300 and totaled 119 RBI’s.

   With the departure of seven players total, the coaching staff hit the recruiting trail hard and have added seven new faces to the Trojan line-up.

The strength of the 2007 squad should be its pitching and defense.  In the circle the Trojans will be led by senior Steph Brakel  who recorded 16 wins for the Trojans in 2006. She will be joined by junior Sara Gibson who was a JUCO All-American last season going 23-6 while posting a minuscule 0.97 ERA.  Joining Brakel and Gibson will be freshman Dakota Novotny, Dakota came on very strong late in the fall and the coaches expect great things from her during her career.

   On the dirt the Trojans will see three new faces while the hot corner will be anchored by senior Jessie Klingenberg. Klingenberg hit .326 for the Trojans last season. Joining her will be junior college transfers Emily Pyle and DeDe Siehndel along with Reba Sabo who medically red shirted last season for DSU.

   Behind the plate the Trojans will see senior Ashlee Kirschenman, “Myrtle” as she is known by her teammates. Ashlee  hit .298 last year and saw action in 44 of the Trojans 46 games. Backing up Kirschenman will be sophomore Jamie Becker, Becker saw action in 26 games last season and was used as a utility player.

   The outfield will be patrolled by two returning starters senior Lori Olen and sophomore Jessica VanLoy. Competing for the third spot in the outfield will be newcomers Angie Gottsleben, Tressa Wheeler and Chantelle Casper.

   The 2007 Trojans have a solid mix of speed and power and look to be aggressive at the plate and on the bases. Last season the Trojans hit .334 as a team, scored 239 runs and stole 82 bases.

   “I expect us to be a solid offensive team, however I feel our greatest improvements from last season will be in the way we play the game defensively and the quality of our pitching staff. Last season we finished last in the conference in fielding percentage and had to rely heavily on our offense to win games for us. I expect us to be a much improved team especially in terms of defensive and pitching production.” stated head coach Ken Prorok.