June 15, 2010

2010 Recap: A youthful Saint Louis softball team shattered the school record for wins in a season and made its fourth straight trip to the Atlantic 10 Softball Championship in 2010. The Billikens, who finished 30-26-1 (.535) overall, are just the fifth squad in program history to finish above the .500 mark.

A-10 Championship Recap: The Bills secured the No. 4 seed in the A-10 Championship after finishing fourth in the regular-season race with a 12-7-1 ledger. SLU opened tournament play with an 11-inning thriller against No. 5 seed Saint Joseph's. Saint Louis, which had downed the Hawks 2-0 in a 12-inning affair earlier in the season, came out on the losing end this time 5-2. The Billikens defeated sixth-seeded Rhode Island 9-3 in an elimination contest to set up a rematch with Saint Joseph's, but SLU suffered a season-ending 2-0 setback in its second elimination contest of the day.

A Program First: For the first time in school history, the Billikens had a player named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region team in 2010. Kristin Nicoletti earned a spot on the Mid-Atlantic Region second team as a utility/designated player, making her eligible for All-America consideration.

A-10 Arsenal: Five Billikens received honors when the Atlantic 10 Conference doled out its end-of-the-season awards. Designated player Kristin Nicoletti was named to the first team, while shortstop Brittney Schmidt captured a spot on the second team. Freshman second baseman Laura Bohning and freshman outfielder Jessica Buschjost were tabbed to the All-Rookie squad. Caitlin Trevillyan and Nicoletti garnered Academic All-Conference plaudits.

Break On Through: The 2010 Billikens shattered five school records. Saint Louis set the marks for wins (30), home runs (46), RBIs (205), slugging percentage (.391) and shutouts by the pitching staff (13). The Bills also tied the program standard for on-base percentage (.333) for the second straight season. The 1987 squad set the original mark.

Season Standards Snapped: Kristin Nicoletti was the only Billiken to establish a SLU single-season record in 2010, eclipsing her own stolen bases mark with 40. Kelcie Matesa tied the school record with two saves and turned in the second flawless fielding percentage of her career, both of which have been achieved numerous times. Meanwhile, Caitlin Trevillyan tied Kara Sell's program record with seven home runs.

Jost Takes Over: Senior Nicki Jost graduated as the Billikens' career leader in seven statistical categories. She sits atop the career lists with 224 games played, 219 starts, 664 at bats, 39 doubles, 17 home runs, 119 RBIs and 270 total bases. Jost also finished second with 103 runs scored, 172 hits, 65 walks, 74 stolen bases 1,057 chances and 928 putouts.

Head Coach John Conway: Head coach John Conway completed his fourth season at SLU with a 104-125-2 ledger with the Billikens and a 221-176-2 record in eight career campaigns. He reached the 100-win milestone faster than any coach in program history. Conway piloted SLU to a program-best four straight 20-win campaigns, including a school-record 30 victories in 2010. The Billikens finished among the top four teams in the league and earned an A-10 Championship berth, including a spot in the 2007 title game, in each season with Conway at the helm.

Among the A-10: In the final A-10 statistical report, Saint Louis paced the conference with 114 stolen bases and 23 double plays. Individually, Kristin Nicoletti tied for the league lead with an A-10 record 40 stolen bases, while finishing fourth with 64 hits and a .348 average. Jessica Buschjost was fourth among A-10 players with 24 stolen bases, while Kelcie Matesa was fifth with 162 strikeouts.

Conference Call: In conference games only, the Billikens led the A-10 with 47 steals, 138 innings pitched, 414 putouts, 182 assists and eight double plays. In stolen bases, Kristin Nicoletti and Jessica Buschjost finished first (18) and fourth (eight), respectively.

In the NCAA Stats: In the final 2010 NCAA statistical report, the Billikens ranked 15th nationally with 2.0 stolen bases per game and 20th with 0.4 double plays per contest. Kristin Nicoletti cracked the top 10 in stolen bases (0.7 per game), while Jessica Buschjost finished 57th (0.45). Kelly Flanagan ranked 12th nationally after being hit by 0.36 pitches per game, while Caitlin Trevillyan was hit by 0.24 pitches per contest to finish 44th.

Successful Seniors: With the exception of Emma DeKalb, who played only two seasons, the 2010 senior class is the winningest group in program history with 104 victories since 2007. The winning trio of Nicki Jost, Rachel O'Connell and Brittney Schmidt helped Saint Louis to a school-record 29 wins as freshmen in 2007 and bettered that mark with 30 in 2010.

Dynamic Duo: Hannah Huebbe (15-13, 144 K's) and Kelcie Matesa (14-11, 162 K's) are just the second Billiken duo to post double-digit wins and more than 100 strikeouts apiece in the same season. Nicole Bohnenstiehl (14-11, 211 Ks) and Heather Hubert (10-20, 151 Ks) achieved the feat in 2001. Huebbe collected more wins than any other first-year player in program history.

More Academic Accolades: In addition to being named Academic All-Conference, business administration major Kristin Nicoletti became the fifth Billiken in program history to garner a spot on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 7 first team in 2010.

Base Burglar: After tying the program's career stolen bases mark in 2009, Kristin Nicoletti wasted little time earning the record outright in SLU's first game of the 2010 campaign. She swiped an A-10 record 40 bases this season to increase her career total to 111. No other player in program history has more than 75 career steals.

A-10 Honors: Six Billikens were recognized by the A-10 during the 2010 regular season. Freshman Laura Bohning garnered Rookie of the Week plaudits for the final week of the regular season (May 10), while fellow freshman Alyson Brandearned the distinction Feb. 22. Senior Brittney Schmidt was SLU's first Player of the Week selection this season March 1, while junior Caitlin Trevillyan was recognized April 26. Sophomores Hannah Huebbe (May 3) and Kelcie Matesa (March 29) picked up Pitcher of the Week accolades. It is the first time SLU has had more than one pitcher honored in a season.

The Long Ball: Home runs were an integral part of the Billiken offense in 2010. SLU clubbed a school-record 46 homers, nearly doubling the 2007 squad's previous mark of 25. Saint Louis posted multiple home runs in 10 games this season. Three Billikens - Nicki Jost, Alyson Brand and Caitlin Trevillyan - blasted two round-trippers in a game to match the school record. Trevillyan also accomplished the feat as a freshman in 2008.

Ker-Plunk: In less than two complete seasons, sophomore Kelly Flanagan shattered the school standard for times hit by a pitch (29) set just last season by Katie Johns. Flanagan was hit by a sophomore-record 18 pitches in 2010 after being hit by a SLU freshman-high 11 pitches last season.

Junior Class Marks: Kristin Nicoletti set junior-class standards in batting average (.348), runs scored (37), hits (64), total bases (86) and stolen bases (40). Caitlin Trevillyan clipped the marks for slugging percentage (.530), on-base percentage (.437), home runs (7) and times being hit by a pitch (12).

Sophomore Standards: Hannah Huebbe rewrote the Billiken record book for sophomore pitchers at SLU. She established marks for wins (15), starts (32) and inning pitched (185-2/3) and matched Nicole Bohnenstiehl's record of six shutouts. Fellow sophomore Kelly Flanagan broke the class records for slugging percentage (.518), on-base percentage (.434) and times being hit by a pitch (18).

Game Equalizers: SLU players tied three single-game records in 2010. Kristin Nicoletti and Rachel Faletto each matched the program standard with four hits in a game. Nicoletti achieved the feat March 28 at Saint Joseph's, while Faletto met the mark at Loyola Chicago April 20. Nicki Jost, Alyson Brand and Caitlin Trevillyan each hit two home runs in a game to equal the record. When Jost tied the home run mark at Dayton April 17, she also tied her own school record with five RBIs and shattered the program standard for total bases in a single game with 10.

Shattered: Against South Dakota March 9, Saint Louis shattered the team standard for homers in a game with five. Liz Jones, Nicki Jost, Caitlin Trevillyan, Rachel Faletto and Kristain Burger each hit a long ball to claim the standard. The only other team game record the Bills snapped was for assists. SLU dished out 22 assists in its 11-inning A-10 Championship opener vs. Saint Joseph's.

Racing to the Top: Kristin Nicoletti's knack for getting on base helped her claim the career stolen bases and runs records in 2010. She is the first Billiken to post at least 30 runs and 30 stolen bases in each of her first three seasons. Nicoletti completed her junior campaign as SLU's career leader with 112 runs and 111 stolen bases. She already ranks third on the career hits list (166) and is fourth with 211 total bases.

Saint Louis Billikens Softball