2007 Lady Blues season preview
Feb. 8, 2007
Roster | Season Schedule

Coming off their first NCAA Postseason Tournament appearance since the 1999 season and returning nine letterwinners and six position players, the Washburn Lady Blues softball team has high hopes entering the 2007 season.
Following their 36-21 season from a year ago, Washburn returns six of their top eight hitters in the lineup and their top pitcher while adding one of the top recruiting classes under fifth year head coach Lisa Carey, the Lady Blues are ready to get the ball rolling.
“We’re ready to go,” Carey said. “We’ve had a solid fall season and the first weeks of this spring have really gone well for us. We’re really starting to gel and we’re ready to get going.”
In 2006, the Lady Blues returned to the NCAA Tournament after receiving an at-large bid to the North Central Tournament. Even though the Lady Blues were handed an early exit, the experience of playing in the tournament and knowing what it takes to play in the postseason should pay dividends for the squad.
“We do have a lot of experience back from our team from last season,” Carey said. “This should help us and it should also help the upperclassmen pull the new kids along so we can get back to the postseason.”

The Returners
The Lady Blues return nine letterwinners and six starting position players to begin the 2007 season. Washburn has two second team all-MIAA selections in senior centerfielder Ashley Webb and junior pitcher Kelly Swygert.
Webb has started all 170 games in her Washburn career in center for the Lady Blues and she ranks 11th on the all-time hit chart and sixth on the runs scored chart.
Swygert recorded 20 wins in her sophomore season pitching for the Lady Blues winning 11 more games than she did her first campaign at Washburn. In two years at Washburn, Swygert has gone 29-16.
Earning honorable mention all-MIAA honors was junior shortstop Brooke DeVader. DeVader moved to shortstop from first base after her freshman season. As sophomore, DeVader batted .307 with team-highs of 17 doubles and 51 RBI. Her 6 RBI against Oklahoma Panhandle was a school record.
Securing the Lady Blues only all-region selection was junior catcher Mandi Daigh. Daigh batted .289 with 44 hits and 18 RBI garnering NFCA Second team all-region honors after transferring from Nebraska-Omaha following her freshman season.
Joining Webb in the outfield will be junior leftfielder Mandy Tarbutton. Tarbutton batted .281 as a sophomore collecting 52 hits. She has started all 113 games of her Washburn career after earning honorable mention all-MIAA honors as a freshman.
Coming back to second base where she has started all 113 games of her career is junior Malarie Fellers. Fellers batted .256 last season with 26 runs scored. She enters this season within striking distance of the Washburn all-time assist record needing 113 to put her name on top of the charts.
Moving to first base after starting all 57 games last season at the hot corner will be sophomore Dani White. White set the school’s single-season home run record in her first season at Washburn after hitting 12 dingers while batting .290 with 11 doubles and 37 RBI.
Looking for time in the outfield will be senior Lindsey Mansfield. In her first season at Washburn, Mansfield started five games playing in 34 after transferring from Coffeyville Community College after her sophomore season. She batted .238 with 13 runs scored.
After sitting the 2006 season out, redshirt freshman Tish Williams is ready to step in the lineup taking over third base duties. Williams is a powerful hitter who batted .500 with 13 home runs, 44 runs scored and 40 RBI as a senior at Edmond, Oklahoma’s Memorial High School en route to Co-Player of the Year honors in her hometown.
“Our returners will really push each other,” Carey said. “They want to return to the postseason and will do everything in their ability to make sure it happens.”

Newcomers
The Lady Blues will have seven talented faces looking to make an impact in their first year in a Washburn uniform.
With only one pitcher returning from 2006 in Swygert, Carey went out and recruited three hurlers who will all see time this spring.
A trio of freshmen in Nicole Perkuhn, Kayla Long and Megan Kimerer will add to the depth of the pitching staff. Perkuhn was a three-time all-league pick while earning all-state honors as a senior. Long was a three-time all-district honoree and picked as MVP her last two prep seasons. Kimerer was named all-district and all-league four seasons with all-state honors as a senior.
“Our pitching staff will be greatly improved with the added depth from our newcomers and our skill level will increase as well,” Carey said. “They will be great additions to the staff.”
Freshman Whitney Tapp will look for time at catcher in her first season at Washburn after earning all-district honors and helping lead her summer club team to the 2005 USSSA National Championship and two state USSSA titles.
A pair of freshman infielders will also look for playing time in first baseman Danielle Hodge and third baseman Jessie Batres. Hodge was an all-metro pick from Lenexa, Kan. and Batres was an all-state, all-region and all-metro pick as a senior.
“We’ve really added to our overall team speed and depth from last season with the new additions,” Carey said. “We will have many options on decisions we can make depending on the situations we are in.”