April 20, 2008
PENSACOLA, Fla. - As West Florida softball closes their regular season play this afternoon, they are also saying goodbye to six crucial members of their team. This afternoon's games also include senior day activities in between games as these six women play their final game on their home field. Senior second basemen Whitney Gay is completing her fourth season with UWF, along with Erica Laxson.
#9 First Basemen Julie Carroll, from Calgary, Alberta: Julie is finishing her second season with West Florida, after transferring from Liberty University. She will graduate from UWF with a bachelor's degree in physical education. In just two seasons with UWF, Julie has started 110 games at first base and has been the starting first basemen in every game this season. In 2007, the first basemen led her team with seven multiple-RBI games and had a game winning three-run homerun against GSC rival Alabama-Huntsville to lead her team to victory. Julie finishes her senior season with a .275 batting average and 38 hits on the season. She was also solid in the field for West Florida, collecting 554 putouts at first and committing only 12 errors in her two years.
#13 Third Basemen Nicky VanCamp, from Davenport, Iowa: Nicky is completing her second season with UWF, after playing for two years at Kirkwood Community College. In her first season with UWF, she started 46 of 51 games and led the Argos in batting average, homeruns, and walks and finished the season with a .306 batting average. Nicky split time behind the plate and at third base in her first season, but started 51 of 52 games at third this season. The powerhouse finishes this year leading her team in hits, RBIs, and homeruns, with a .352 batting average. She is among the top ten in the conference in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, home runs, total bases, walks, and runs batted in.
#16 Pitcher Taren Walton, from Pensacola, Florida: Taren is finishing her second season with West Florida, after transferring back to her hometown from Daytona Beach Community College. She will be graduating with a bachelor's degree in chemistry/biochemistry. In 2007, the right hander started 51 of 55 games with a final record of 17-10 in the circle. Taren pitched a perfect game on March 19, 2007 against Oakland City with 14 strikeouts. Taren has earned the GSC East Division Pitcher of the Week three times this season, two of them back-to-back in the last two weeks. At the plate, Taren finishes the season with a .228 batting average and 28 hits on the season. The right handed flame thrower is third in the Gulf South Conference in Earned Run Average, with a 1.35 ERA and is also third in the conference in strikeouts, with 119 K's in 119 innings.
Leftfielder Cherise Gonzales from Shalimar, Florida: Cherise is completing her third season with West Florida, but due to a knee injury early in the season, she was unable to play her senior season after redshirting in 2006. In 2007, she had 24 West Florida appearances with 20 starts. Cherise drove in her first UWF run against Ohio Dominican on March 17, 2007. Cherise is graduating with a bachelor's degree in psychology.
#3 Pitcher Erica Laxson, from Delray Beach, Florida: Erica is completing her fourth season as an Argonaut and is graduating with a bachelor's degree in advertising. Erica entered the 2005 season with West Florida as a redshirt, but finished the season with 6-0 record and a 1.45 earned run average. In 2006, she appeared in four games with five starts and started the opener of a double header against Coe in 2008. She is currently serving as the Student Athlete Advisory Committee president.
#7 Second Basemen Whitney Gay, a local native from Cantonment, Florida: Whitney is also completing her fourth season with the Argonauts and is graduating this Spring with a bachelor's degree in psychology. In her 2005 freshmen year, she hit her first three collegiate homeruns in Decatur, Alabama at the GSC Crossover tournament. In her last three years at West Florida, Whitney has started at second base in 154 games out of 170. The local star earned the GSC East Division Player of the Week award in the 2007 season after batting .583 with three homeruns and seven RBIs at the GSC Crossover tournament. Whitney finishes her senior season with a .935 fielding percentage, a.302 batting average, 45 hits, 30 RBIs, and 7 homeruns.
