WELCOME 2015

CELEBRATE SAFELY & RESPONSIBLY 

"GREAT THINGS AWAIT"

Fireworks art cropped from Nicole Beaulac photos

YEAR IN REVIEW

Winning record on horizon
Wolverines look to build on 
2014 for exciting season ahead

Though all the stats from last season that are published below have been posted here before, it seems appropriate to review them one more time before 2014 comes to a close.

It should be an exceptional team that the Wesley Wolverines will field in 2015.  

Go Wolverines!

■ WOLVERINE SOFTBALL 2014

The Wesley Wolverines' ended the 2014 season with a 17-17 record, which is the team's most victories since the 2005 and the first .500 season since 2001.

Wesley, second smallest college in the Capitol Athletic Conference (CAC) – e.g., most school's are 2-1/2 to 5 times its size in undergraduate population – still found themselves under Head Coach Juli Greep among the leaders in many statistics.

■ TEAM STATS

Though the Wolverines played just 34 games (#5 among the conference's 8 teams), Wesley ► led the league with 18 triples (which also was #12 NCAA national D3 rank), finished ► #3 with 205 runs scored in the CAC (which also was #84 NCAA national D3 rank), again ► #3 with 297 hits, yet again ► #3 with a .331 batting average, and still again ► #3 with a .403 on-base percentage. 

junior #2 OF Sarah Saunders
(Wayne, NJ)

Wesley was 1 run short among conference teams for ► #3 in the RBI category, as well. The team ► slugged .449 for a CAC #4 place (which also was #92 NCAA national D3 rank).

■ INDIVIDUAL STATS
 
Among about 120 conference players or more, Wolverines stood out as individual leaders in stats, too.

Junior #8 OF Steph Caracozza's (Melbourne Beach, Fla.) impressive ► .427 batting average ranked #6 in the conference. Junior #2 P/OF Sarah Saunders (Wayne, NJ) finished #15 in batting among CAC leaders.

Steph's speed ensured ► 37 runs scored for a #7 CAC place (which also was ► #44 NCAA national D3 rank).

The team last year was no stranger to triples. Sophomore #18 catcher Nina Marcano's (Townsend, DE) amazing ► 5 triples ranked #2 in the conference (which also was ► #31 NCAA national D3 rank).

Junior #22 C/UT Morgan Seymour (Smyrna, DE)

Steph held the CAC's #3 position in three base hits with four and Sarah, right behind her, finished #4 with three. Senior OF Brook Creighton (Rock Hall, MD) slugged another two triples for a #7 placement.

Nina's always thrilling ► 5 home runs ranked #11 in the conference, while her ► 10 stolen bases ranked #5 in the league. Steph and junior MI Breanna Hartman (Red Bank, NJ) raced into a #13 CAC tie.

Junior #25 1B Samantha Mahoski's (Schenectady, NY) splendid ► .981 fielding percentage at first base should be recognized as a conference leader amidst stats difficult to rank.

The pitching duo of freshman #12 P/MI Lindsay Siok (Milford, DE) and freshman #9 P/OF Lily Engel (Dover, DE), accounted for all 17 Wolverine wins, ► ranked #7 and #9 in the CAC for individual games won.

Lindsay's superb ► .315 ERA awarded her the CAC's #7 ranking. Lily pitched to a CAC earned run #12 slot. 

Sliding, junior #32 C/3B Kayla Fromal (Middletown, DE)

Lindsay's tireless arm threw ► 106.2 innings for #6 in the league. Lily finished #10.

Lindsay also ranked #5 in the CAC with ► 17 games started and ► 12 games completed. Lily pitched to ranks of #9 and #8 respectively in these categories.

Lily, catching the plate's corners with pitches, gave up just ► 10 walks issued, which captured the CAC's #1 post for the least BB allowed (among CAC pitchers throwing 40+ innings.) This also was the ► #23 NCAA national D3 rank for least walks per seven innings. 

■ NINA MARCANO NAMED WOLVERINE MVP 2014

 Sophomore #18 C/3B Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE) was named the softball MVP as a freshman for her prodigious production in the 2014 season. 

 Sophomore #18 C/3B Nina Marcano 
(Middletown, DE) accepting MVP Award 
from Head Coach Juli Greep.

Nina ranked on team:  

● #1 with 8 doubles 
(12th in conference),  
● #1 with 5 triples 
(2nd in conference), 
● #1 with 5 home runs 
(11th in conference),
 ● #1 with 25 RBI 
(15th in conference),  
● #1 with 10 SBs
 (5th in conference),  
● #1 with .683 
slugging percentage  
(6th in conference)... 

● #2 with 101 at bats 
(25th in conference),   
● #2 with 29 runs scored (15th in conference),  ● #2 with .440 on base percentage (11th in conference), ● #2 with .971 fielding percentage (27th in conference)...

 ● #3 with 36 hits (20th in conference), ● #3 with .356 batting average (16th in conference).


Looking back at D3 title battles
Sea Gulls, Captains duel 
over championship titles

It was a topsy turvey free-for-all atop the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) this past year where the Wesley Wolverines compete against the best in the nation. 

__________

Photos below from Wesley versus Salisbury 2014 games.

____________

The Salisbury Sea Gulls ranked #1 among the nation's D3 schools for most of the season, according to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).  

Wolverine sophomore #18 C/3B Nina Marcano (Middletown, 
DE) smashes a line drive against Salisbury. In the 
Christopher Newport game, Nina slammed a two-run home 
run in her first at bat. Wolverines play Salisbury away in 2015 
on Wednesday, March 25, and take on the Captains at home 
on Wednesday, April 8.

CAPTAINS ARE CAC CHAMPS

Despite the rankings, Salisbury lost the CAC division crown to the Christopher Newport Captains who ultimately defeated the Sea Gulls three times on the season's schedule, including a pinch hit single in an extra innings game that delivered the CAC championship to the Captains and ended Salisbury's 17 consecutive year record of conference titles. The Sea Gulls had only three losses on the season and all were at the hands of the Captains.

SEA GULLS PLAY FOR NATIONAL TITLE

Wolverine sophomore #21 C/3B  
Whitney Dibb (La Mesa, CA) 
was a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate 
when Wesley played Salisbury.

Salisbury's loss to Christopher Newport also meant the Sea Gulls had to accept an at-large bid in the NCAA playoffs that would determine the D3 national champion. 

However, the Salisbury made the most of it, striking back to beat the Captains twice in the super regionals on their way to 11 straight victories that placed them in a three-game series against the Tufts Jumbos with the winner earning the USA's #1 title. There, Salisbury would win game one, but lose game two (in 14 innings!!), and settle for national runner-up (for the third time in their history) in the end. 
_________________
CLICK HERE for a video summary of the national championship series (2:24 minutes). CLICK HERE to watch the entire final game (1 hour, 55:47 minutes.) CLICK HERE for the current national D3 rankings. 

Photos from the Wolverines vs Sea Gulls games...

WBSC Facebook post
Japan repeats as
world champions

Brief and photos below posted at WBSC page...  

CLICK HERE for the Facebook album and slideshow with 42  photos from Woman's Softball World Championship.

Puerto Rico, Russia, New Zealand, photos cropped, flags added, more at WBSC Facebook page

China, Great Britain, Japan, photos cropped, flags added, more at WBSC Facebook page

Italy, Czech Republic, New Zealand, photos cropped, flags added, more at WBSC Facebook page

PROPER CATCHING

Found on Facebook
at the Stacie Mahoe page (website @ http://staciemahoe.com)

Wesley Wolverine glove excellence...
 

OPENING DAY

-- 8 WEEKS AWAY --

OPENING DAY: Wesley Wolverines vs. Gallaudet Bison, doubleheader, 1:00 PM & 3:00 PM, Sunday, February 22, 2015, DuPont Softball Field, 500 Mary Street, Dover, DE

PICTURED ABOVE: left-to-right, junior #8 OF Steph Caracozza (Melbourne Beach, FL), junior #2 OF Sarah Saunders (Wayne, NJ), sophomore #9 P/OF Lily Engel (Dover, DE), sophomore #19 OF Casey Beall (Severn, MD).

SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

New Year's resolutions
Mahoe's success principles
for fastpitch softball players

Stacie Mahoe

Here is a summary of Stacie Mahoe's rules for softball success. Pick one, two, three or all 15 as a New Year's softball resolution for 2015.

CLICK HERE to downloaded the rules in their entirety as a PDF file, which also contains comments from Ms. Mahoe. (These rules borrowed from Coach Graig Harper's “The Fifty Success Habits”!) 

SUCCESSFUL SOFTBALL PLAYERS...

1. FIND OPPORTUNITIES where others see nothing.

2. SEEK LESSONS while others view problems.

3. BECOME SOLUTION FOCUSED.

4. CREATE SUCCESS, where others hope success will find them.

Wesley Wolverines sophomore #18 C/3B  
Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE) at bat; 
junior #22 C/UT Morgan Seymour 
(Smyrna, DE) on deck.

5. STAY FEARFUL, BUT NOT CONTROLLED OR LIMITED by fear.

6. ASK QUESTIONS – the ones that create a productive, positive mindset and emotional state.

7. RARELY COMPLAIN. All complaining does is put the complainer in a negative and unproductive state.

8. DON’T BLAME. Take responsibility for actions and outcomes (or lack thereof).

9. MAXIMIZE POTENTIAL. Get more out of yourself. Use what you have more effectively.

10. STAY BUSY, PRODUCTIVE AND PROACTIVE. While others lay on the couch, planning, over-thinking, sitting on their hands and generally going around in circles, you are out there getting the job done.
             

Wesley Wolverine junior #32 C/3B  
Kayla Fromal (Middletown, DE).

11. ALIGN WITH LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE. Understand the importance of being part of a team. Create win-win relationships.

 12. BE AMBITIOUS; Want to be amazing – and why shouldn’t you? Consciously choose to live your best life rather than spending it on auto-pilot.

13. POSSESS CLARITY AND CERTAINTY about what you want (and don’t want) for your life. Actually visualize and plan the best reality. Don't be merely a spectator of life.

14. INNOVATE rather than imitate.

15. DON’T PROCRASTINATE and don’t spend your life waiting for the ‘right time’.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

MATT LISLE

Hitting the ball farther
Generate forceful swing
w/ leg power in hip rotation
 

 
SWINGING WITH POWER: Wesley Wolverine 
sophomore #12 P/MI Lindsay Siok (Milford, DE).
 

In the video posted below ... Matt Lisle, hitting coach and MLB scout, shares the importance he places in delivering more force when at bat by tapping into power from the lower half portion of a swing

As an example... He points to a collegiate softball player who, after using his drills, went from a year of 130 at bats and 1 HR to deliver in the next season: 14 HRs from 134 at bats, which earned her a 1st Team All-Conference award! 

Softball hitting drill...

HOLIDAY DINING

Taylor Hoagland advice
Don't skip holiday foods,
just try a healthier version

Thumbnail summary about healthy dining at holiday meals from a much larger article in Balls and Strikes Online Magazine by Team USA's Utility/ R/R #6 Taylor Hoagland (Flower Mound, Texas). 

Also visit Taylor's amazing blog “Getting Hooked” at www.wsn247.com/author/hoagland. 

Taylor Hoagland advice... 

“Don't miss meals... avoid over indulging from hunger.  
“Choose white meat over dark meat (which is) packed with loads of fats and calories...

Team USA's Utility/ R/R Taylor Hoagland (Flower Mound, TX)

“Rolls. Oh, those sweet, buttery, warm rolls... buns on the plate, buns on the body...

“Add some greens to your plate.”

Taylor's recommended portion sizes:

“● Meats – size of your fist
“● Carbohydrates (potatoes, rice, bread) – palm of your hand
“● Vegetables – half of your plate.
“● Ideal plate proportions would be 1/3 meat, 1/3 carbs, 1/2 vegetables...

“Dessert: Treat yourself. To smaller portions... Fruit is a natural sweetener. And it just so happens to be extremely good for your health.
 
“Exercise... Just get out and be active for 30 minutes every day... DO SOMETHING... ANYTHING... OUTSIDE!”

CLICK HERE for the full story.

WALLY'S PROFILE

Sideburns & a big devilish smile! 
Profile: Wally Wolverine, 
Wesley College's mascot
 

Wally Wolverine

Name: Wally the Wolverine.

Position: Wesley College mascot.

Previous mascot: The Wesley Whippet, dating back to the 1950's decade.

Wally's role: Face of the college and symbol of school pride.

Job description: Needs “to be energetic, enthusiastic and have tons of school pride, representing the school both in and out of the costume.”

Striking features: Sideburns and a big devilish smile!

Wesley Wolverine softball sophomore #19 
OF Casey Beall (Severn, MD) inside the suit, 
playing Wally the Wolverine for a day 
at a Wesley football homegame.

Where to find Wally: College events, like athletic games, open houses, orientations and alumni gatherings. At times, he also visits neighboring high schools.

 
Wearing apparel: Team jerseys, Wesley T-shirts, and bow tie for formal events.

Most fun activity for Wally: Taking pictures with the kids and being out in the public.

Friends and family: Utah Valley University Wolverines and the University of Michigan Wolverines (though the latter technically does not have a mascot.)

In the suit?: Undergrads working with the Student Government Association (SGA).  

Wesley Wolverine softball sophomore #9 P/OF Lily Engel (Dover, DE) poses with Wally Wolverine at Wesley's Dupont Softball Field.

Fierce reputation
Wally's real life
family and friends

Wolverine photo by Tambako The Jaguar / 
cropped & some rights reserved

THE WOLVERINE IS A FEISTY CRITTER. The western Blackfeet tribe called this redoubtable beast a “skunk bear” and other nicknames include “carcajou” and “quickhatch”... But NOT “wolf”!

A WOLVERINE IS NOTHING LIKE A WOLF. It is the largest land-dwelling species in the family of badgers, otters, polecats, minks and more. It more closely resembles a small bear. 

Wolverines can be the size of a medium dog weighing 35 lbs, though females often are 30% smaller and half the weight of males.

A STOCKY AND MUSCULAR CARNIVORE, the wolverine has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented ability to defend itself against prey many times larger than itself.

Wolverine photo by 
Tambako The Jaguar / 
cropped & some rights reserved

WOLVERINES HAVE STRONG FAMILY BONDS and will interact with their kits (wolverine young) even after they are fully grown and on their own, which can happen quickly, after only a year of growth. 

At the same time, Wolverines will travel great distances, often going right over mountains instead of going around them.

 
WOLVERINES ARE RARE. It is estimated that less than 300 live within the lower 48 states, though they also can be found in remote areas of Canada, Alaska, northern Europe and Siberia.
 
 
THE GRITTY WOLVERINE IS APT WESLEY MASCOT. Most conference softball teams have student bodies three times and more larger than the formidable Wesley College Wolverines!

SPRING BREAK

Wesley spring break
Fastpitch Dreams shaping up
to be exciting 2015 tournament

The Fastpitch Dreams Classic tournament is building into what promises to be an exciting week for the Wesley Wolverines at the North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex, 150 Citizens Circle, Little River, SC. A few games also will be played at the nearby Central Park Sports Complex.
 

Weather permitting, 8-10 games against 8-10 different teams are crammed into a week, March 7th-14th, 2015, that last year had happenings off the softball field for the girls that included team and individual pictures, beach, pool and hot tub time, carrieoke and team dinners (w/parents often invited) as well as Broadway at the Beach and a final night at Senor Frogs! 

This year, the team will stay at the Avista Resort, 300 North Ocean Boulevard, North Myrtle Beach, SC.

A total of 81 colleges have signed up so far and there's more to come! (Click here for the current list of potential opponents.)

Click here for a visitor's 
guide to North Myrtle 
Beach.  Click here for 
reservations at the 
Avista Resort.

There will be many colleges at the games that the Wolverines played at the beach last year: Keystone Giants, Penn State-Altoona Lions, Baptist Bible Defenders, Suny- Canton Kangaroos, Bay Path Wildcats, Principia Panthers and Rivier Raiders. 

There are a few schools from our own Capital Athletic Conference (CAC): Frostburg State Bobcats and Mary Washington Eagles. 

Several teams are already on the Wolverine schedule for games before or after the tournament in this coming season: Gallaudet Bison and Rutgers- Camden Raptors. 

Should be a fun week in the sun. On the field, last year, the Wesley Wolverines played 10 games against 9 colleges, scoring 76 times against 51 runs for the opponents, coming home with a winning tournament record of 7-3. Lots of softball action!

 __________

Click the arrow below for a North Myrtle Beach promotional video that highlights the many sports opportunities and invites college and universities to the South Carolina town. There is special emphasis in this video on the sports complex where the Wolverines will play.

---------------

√ FUN LINK: CLICK HERE for North Myrtle Beach Live Web Cam, “where the sea oats dance & the waves whisper...”

BAT WEIGHT

The Louisville Slugger Xeno was 
last season's official bat of the  
Wesley Wolverines. Shown here 
swinging a Xeno is senior #11 OF 
Brook Creighton (Rock Hall, MD).

Good balance at plate
Comfortable bat weight 
key for that important hit!   

In the video below, Head Softball Coach Mark Schusterman of the Gulliver Schools (Miami, FL) shares his advice for choosing the best softball bat according to weight and length...

NPF VIDEOS

Found on Facebook
at the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) page.



PLUS National Pro Fastpitch: 2014 Year in Review
It does take a couple of minutes into the video below before 
a large number of actual game plays are shown...

TRUE SPORTSMANSHIP

True goodwill & real winners
Hiram Terriers define by their actions
the very best of college sportsmanship

Though this story has received extensive media attention, it is such a good example of the best of college sportsmanship that it is well worth re-posting here.

To support Lauren Hill of the Mount St. Joseph's Lions, an opponent stricken with a terminal tumor, the Hiram Terriers women's basketball team move the game, where they would play Lauren's team, a full two weeks ahead on their schedule, switched its location, and ceded home court advantage. Then, on game day, there wasn't a dry eye on or off the court.

Video summary below. CLICK HERE for the full story.

COMPETITIVE CAC

Up against nationally ranked teams
Wolverines take field for more than
competitive softball schedule in 2015

The Capitol Athletic Conference (CAC) is one of the most challenging, if, possibly, not the toughest, softball league in the country. Consider just two CAC teams that the Wesley Wolverines must play four times in the season: Christopher Newport Captains and Salisbury Sea Gulls.

CAPTAINS: CONFERENCE CHAMPS

The Christopher Newport Captains (11-1 conference, 38-8 overall) have now made 8 straight post-regular-season NCAA appearances. Last year, the team finished 6th in the nation in the final Division III poll from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). 

CLICK HERE for the current NFCA national rankings polled from over 340 DIII teams in 46 conferences.

The Captains also were the CAC champions in the regular season, ending Salisbury's run of 17 straight league titles.

SEA GULLS VIE FOR NATIONAL TITLE

The Salisbury Sea Gulls (11-1 conference, 44-5 overall), however, were one of the last two teams still standing this past June 2014 in the NCAA playoffs for the national championship. It was the Sea Gulls who suited up for the final national title game in Tyler, Texas, where they lost 6-0 to the Tufts Jumbos. Salisbury has made back-to-back trips now, 2013 and 2014, to this championship game that determines the top DIII team in the country.

SEA GULL RIVALRY

Salisbury might be considered Wesley College's biggest rival. The university is just 58.5 miles directly south of the Wesley campus on Delaware’s Route 13 leading into Maryland. The size of the undergraduate classes are sharply different: Salisbury enrolls 7,969 students versus Wesley's 1,386 undergrads, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

CLICK HERE for a blog post about the size of CAC schools based on student enrollments.

The Wesley Wolverines football team has triumphed over Salisbury for 9 straight seasons. The softball record against the Sea Gulls is just the reverse of the gridiron feat, but our Wesley Wolverines always make a good showing.

In last season's Salisbury game, Wolverine 

Whitney Dibb led the team with two hits 

against otherwise dominant pitching of 

the Sea Gulls, who ranked #1 in the nation 

(DIII) on the day of the game.

2014: WESLEY VS SALISBURY

Last year, when the Salisbury Sea Gulls arrived at DuPont Field on the Wesley campus, the Sea Gulls were ranked #1 in the nation. The Wolverines did not win, but neither were they intimidated and didn't disappoint, either.

On that day, sophomore #21 C/3B Whitney Dibb (La Mesa, CA) was perfect at the plate: 2-for-2 against topnotch pitching. Others contributing with the bat were junior #6 MI Breanna Hartman (Red Bank, NJ), sophomore #18 C/3B Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE), and senior #11 OF Brook Creighton (Rock Hall, MD).

Wolverine hurlers held up to the test, as well. Sophomore #9 P/OF Lily Engel (Dover, DE) allowed four earned runs in the first game, while sophomore #12 P/MI Lindsay Siok (Milford, DE) was even stingier, tossing just three earned runs in the second contest.

2015 SCHEDULE

This coming year Wesley Wolverines will play doubleheaders against the Sea Gulls on Wednesday, March 25, 2015, at Salisbury and take on the Captains at home on Wednesday, April 8, 2015.

Click here for the blog post about the full 2015 Wesley Wolverine softball schedule.

Click the arrow below for a slideshow of Jose Marcano's 47 photos from last year's (2014's) Wesley versus Salisbury softball game...