11/19/2009 11:00:46 AM
With her first spring fast approaching, first-year University of Detroit Mercy softball coach Sunny Jones has been busy on the recruiting path, adding one player for the upcoming 2010 season and signing four for the 2010-11 school year.
Jones has added UDM freshman Katie Schaus for the upcoming spring season. Schaus, a nursing major, is a graduate of Unionville Sebewaing Area High School and is the cousin of current Titan outfielder Erica Houthoofd. A three-sport athlete in high school, Schaus earned four varsity letters in softball, two in cross country and one in basketball. She won three state championships with Unionville Sebewaing, twice in Division 3 (2007 and 2008) and once in Division 4 in 2009. She was named all-conference and all-region twice, and all-district three times.
“Katie (Schaus) has a lot of raw talent that just needs to be shined up,” said Jones. “She’s a hard worker and she really listens to what we have to tell her.”
Joining the Titans for 2010-11 school year will be Lindsey Harrison, Katelyn Steffel, Anna Runge and Karyn McCarty.
Harrison, a native of Warren, OH, has earned multiple varsity letters in softball, cross country and basketball at Lordstown High School. She has earned All-Northeastern Athletic Conference honors in softball three times (2007-09). She led Lordstown in batting average in 2008 and 2009, hitting .574 and .643, respectively. Harrison, who Jones expects will contribute as a catcher and a third baseman, has played club ball with the Valley Extreme Blue squad for seven years where she won the 2007 Compuware Championship and attended the 2009 ASA “A” Nationals in Sioux Falls, SD.
“(Lindsey Harrison) plays for a very competitive summer league team with and against top tier competition and she has been catching top tier pitching,” Jones said. “We’re expecting her to make a quick contribution.”
Also hailing from Ohio, Steffel has earned three varsity softball letters and one letter in volleyball at Defiance Senior High School. Steffel, a catcher and third baseman, owns a career batting average of .470 with six home runs and 52 runs batted in. A team captain during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, she was an All-Western Buckeye League Honorable Mention in 2008 and an all-district honorable mention performer in 2009.
“Katelyn (Steffel) will bring with her a dose of quiet confidence,” Jones said. “She’s not the most vocal but she goes out and she gets the job done.”
Runge has earned four varsity letters in softball at Millard West High School in Omaha, NE. She has received honorable mention all-state accolades from the Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha World News three times and has been named all-state on three occasions. She has put up a career batting average of .314 for the Wildcats.
“Anna (Runge) is a very fiery, very confident player,” said Jones. “She has high expectations for herself and her teammates. She’s a lefty power slapper which will give us another dimension on offense.”
Joining the Titans as a pitcher, McCarty has earned three varsity letters in softball and two in basketball at Cabrini High School in Allen Park, MI. McCarty was named All-Catholic League and all-district three times and was an honorable mention all-state performer in 2009. In 189.2 innings pitched she has recorded 279 strikeouts and posted a record of 26-4 and an ERA of 1.07. In 2007 she set a career-high with 22 strikeouts in a game. She played four years for the Michigan Generals and has been a member of the SGS Magic for two seasons, earning fifth-place at ASA Nationals in 2009.
“She has a bulldog mentality,” Jones said of McCarty. “She wants the ball. She’s played on some very good teams and she is accustomed to high level, competitive softball.
“I’m looking forward to getting all of them on campus,” added Jones. “They’re going to be a big part of the transition for the softball program and helping us get back to a winning tradition. They should be major contributors immediately.”