GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Thiel Tomcats had high hopes in 2013. Coming off a runner-up finish in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament, the Tomcats hoped to make another title run.
 
With an overall record of 14-20 and 7-11 in the PAC, the 2013 season did not end the way the Tomcats would have liked as they missed out on a chance to play in the conference tournament.
 
"We don't talk about last year," said Amy Schafer, who enters the 2014 season with 99 career wins through eight seasons as Thiel's head coach. "We talk a lot about what other teams look like and what we need to look like when we're out there – increasing the speed of our defense across the board and eliminating errors. We have really gone through the basics to try to eliminate those small mistakes."

Thiel was predicted to finish sixth in the PAC this season according to the preseason coaches' poll, which was released on Feb. 19. Thomas More was predicted to repeat as the conference champion with 95 points and six first-place votes. Thiel collected 48 points in the poll.
 
"I think we should be more competitive this year than last year," Schafer said. "I think last year we came in and we were still on that cloud of finishing second in the conference, but now I think we're back in the place where we need to be. Sixth place in the preseason poll for us, I think it's a great motivator because we feel like we could have been in the top four last year."
 
Perhaps more important than focusing on qualifying for the conference tournament is competing against top teams and finding a way to earn wins at the end of games.
 
"We need to compete each game and finish," Schafer said when asked for her team's top goal for the season. "Obviously finishing in the top four and making it back to the conference playoffs is a given, but competing against higher quality teams and finishing are our biggest things. We lost a lot of games last year by one run that could have gone either way, so finishing is our number one goal for the entire season."
 
The Tomcats lost just one player to graduation after last season, outfielder Ashley Rable (Warren, Ohio/Champion), and one player due to injury, shortstop Ang Masters (Arnold, Pa./Valley).
 
Thiel returns two National Fastpich Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region Second Team performers from a season ago in senior second baseman Ashley Dolan (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) and junior catcher Danielle Massengill (North Bend, Wash./Mt. Si).
 
Dolan recorded 53 hits last season, the second most in a single season in the history of Thiel's softball program. She also tallied 28 RBIs, the third most in the PAC during the regular season. She ranked fourth in the conference during the regular season with a .434 batting average and seventh with a .457 on-base percentage.
 
Massengill is a 2-time All-Region honoree and a 2-time All-PAC First Teamer. She led the PAC during the regular season last year in slugging percentage (.772), RBIs (30), home runs (6) and total bases (88). Her numbers in total bases and home runs set new single-season school records.
 
In addition to Massengill, freshman Caitlyn Carney (Lake Milton, Ohio/Jackson Milton) could also see playing time at catcher.
 
"She has a heck of a bat on her," Schafer said of Carney. "I mean, she hits the ball hard."
 
Thiel also welcomes back corner infielders Molly Jo Everett (Medina, Ohio/Highland) (first base) and Amanda Auxier (Parma Heights, Ohio/Valley Forge) (third base). Everett was third on last year's team with 21 RBIs and fifth in batting average (.318) and hits (34). Auxier hit eight doubles during her rookie season in 2013, tying her for the team lead, and batted .232 overall.
 
Sophomore Madison Cheek (Milan, Ohio/Edison) will likely get the nod at shortstop. She owned a batting average of .297 last season with 11 RBIs, three doubles and a home run. Freshman Cara Baker (Corry, Pa./Corry Area) could also see time at shortstop this season while sophomore Shyanne Sanders (Herminie, Pa./Yough) is also a viable option at middle infield.
 
All three of Thiel's top pitchers from a season ago return in 2014, led by junior Amanda Callahan (Austintown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch). Callahan was an All-PAC First Team selection a season ago as an outfielder. Pitching, she went 8-7 during her sophomore campaign with a 5.15 earned runs average (ERA). She struck out 74 batters and limited opponents to a .275 batting average.
 
Callahan is also a valuable top-of-the-lineup hitter. She hit five triples last season, tying her for the second most in the PAC during the regular season. She ranked eighth in the conference with a .384 batting average and ninth with a .545 slugging percentage.
 
Pitchers Allison Williams (Corry, Pa./Corry) and Morgan White (Warren, Ohio/Champion) are also back this season. Williams went 4-6 during her freshman campaign in 2013 with a 5.61 ERA. She notched 26 strikeouts and allowed just seven free passes in 77 innings of work. White struck out 11 batters in 26 innings last season.
 
"We're going to push for finishes a lot more this year," Schafer said of her pitching staff, noting that all three will see action in a starting role. "Our pitchers need to push to finish, and they're in good shape to do so."
 
Schafer has multiple options in the outfield and could utilize several different combinations on any given day. On opening day, expect to see senior Ali House (Liberty, Ohio/Liberty) in right field. She batted .250 last season with eight RBIs and three doubles.
 
"Ali is doing a very good job in right field right now," said Schafer. "She is really starting to stand out with her bat and defensively."
 
The rest of the opening day outfield could include a pair of freshmen – Alana Callahan (Austintown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch) (center) and Bailey Ahern (Bonney Lake, Wash./Bonney Lake) (left). Alana is the younger sister of Amanda Callahan (Austintown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch) while Ahern and Massengill are both natives of Washington State.
 
Others who could see time in the outfield include sophomore June Longbine (Derby, N.Y./Lake Shore Central) and freshmen Ashely Guillory, Mary Kate Dougherty (Depew, N.Y/Mt. St. Mary Academy) and Samantha Elliott (Houston, Pa./Chartiers-Houston).
 
"I think we have the opportunity with the outfield to rotate them all in because they all have strengths," Schafer said. "We have a lot more speed, a heck of a lot more speed in the outfield."
 
In all, there are 22 players on this year's roster. Eleven of those 22 are returning lettermen while nine are freshmen.
 
"This is one of the more balanced teams that I've ever had," Schafer noted. "We're not end loaded on seniors, we're not end loaded on freshmen; there's a good mix out there, which helps everything mesh."
 
The Tomcats will begin the 2014 season March 2-7 when they take part in the Dot Richardson Spring Games in Clermont, Fla.