Issue date: 9/22/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Alestle file photo

Coming off a 40-win, spring 2009 campaign, SIUE softball Head Coach Sandy Montgomery said her team is looking to build off their success.

The Cougars got their fall season rolling with an appearance in the Southern Illinois Tournament hosted by Southern Illinois University Carbondale on Saturday. SIUE won their first game of the year against Southeast Missouri State University, 2-0, but fell to the Salukis 0-2 later that day.

Collecting the win in the Cougars' victory against SEMO was junior pitcher Ali Downing. Downing surrendered four hits against SIUE's OVC opponent. Senior third baseman Lauren Zembruski gave the Cougars an offensive lift with an RBI double.

SIUE then faced off against Carbondale, who according to Montgomery will be a top-25 team once the regular season polls are released. The Salukis got a bit of redemption for their 4-1 loss to SIUE last season with a 2-0 win against junior pitcher Erika Taylor. Despite dropping the decision, Taylor surrendered five hits.

Coming off a year where her pitching core had a team ERA of 1.20, Montgomery said her team wants to continue to build a successful program.

"We want to get everything in place so we are ready to roll for the spring," Montgomery said. "We have a program where we expect to win every day."

Two seniors, Zembruski and outfielder Chaleen Rumpf, return to play for SIUE this year. Both played for Montgomery for the 2007 national championship team. Montgomery said the duo of Zembruski and Rumpf should be the core of her team's existence for the upcoming season.

Zembruski recorded a team-high .375 batting average last spring for the Cougar squad. In her final year as a Cougar, Zembruski said the team's goals include another 40-win season and a team RPI ranking above 42, a spot where SIUE finished last year as a squad.

"We are learning from every single one of our games," Zembruski said. "As long as we have everybody step up we will continue to build on last year's success."

Rumpf said the Cougar softball players pride themselves on out-working other teams, which has led to success over the years.

"The work ethic has always been there for SIUE teams," Rumpf said. "We want to have the target on our back to see how we will play with that target."

Rumpf said the team chemistry for both this year and last year's squad is unbelievable.



"It is going to be hard to fill some shoes," Rumpf said. "The more and more games we play, the better our defense is going to get."

This year's SIUE softball team will have less experience and younger players heading onto the field. Montgomery said losing some key senior performances is something the Cougars will have to adjust to, however, the future of Cougar softball looks promising. According to Montgomery, the 2010 recruiting class will bring in a lot of talent for her team. ?

"We are trying to recruit at a high level," Montgomery said. "Once you get a kid on this campus, and they get a feel for it athletically and academically, there is not much to sell."

SIUE continues their fall season with games against Northern Illinois University and Northwestern University at 1:30 and 3:45 p.m on Sunday in Minooka.

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