Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Mar. 1, 2023 - After a 2022 season marked by strong situational play and artful pitching, the North Central College softball program eagerly greets the start of the 2023 campaign with a new-look squad long on athleticism and run-scoring potential.

The Cardinals posted a 27-13 overall record a season ago, finishing 11-5 in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW). North Central’s pitching staff of Gianna Corban and Breanna Adams ranked first in the CCIW with 14 shutouts and a walks-and-hits-per inning pitched (WHIP) value of 1.19. The Cardinals ranked second in the CCIW and 22nd in all of NCAA Division III in earned-run average (1.94) in advancing to the championship game of the CCIW Tournament as well as the Division III Angola Regional at Trine University.

Corban led the conference in victories (18), shutouts (7), saves (3) and strikeouts (a North Central single-season record 203) in earning First Team All-CCIW and Second Team All-Region honors. After graduating in May, Corban has joined the Cardinals’ coaching staff and will join fellow assistant coach Lauren Herlihy in the coaching of an entirely new pitching staff.

Sophomore Caroline Dooley, a transfer from Briar Cliff University (Iowa), and first-year students Sam Schilf and Lauren Bowmar, make up the North Central staff this season. Bowmar, who emerged as a leading power threat in the Cardinals’ batting order in fall practice, will also play first base.

“It’s difficult to replace a pitcher like Gianna right out of the gate,” noted Venus Taylor, who enters her third season as the Cardinals’ head coach. “However, I feel good about the young talent we have brought in.  Lauren Bowmar is a great competitor and is a dominant force in everything she does.  Caroline has great accuracy and a good mix of pitches.  Sam is a southpaw. I always like to have a left-handed pitcher on the staff and she throws a phenomenal changeup.  I look for all of them to develop and compete.”

Key to the success of the Cardinals’ defense in the outfield, sophomore Sarah Lynch returns in center field after starting all 40 games in 2022. Lynch, along with Sturino, was named to the Division III Regional All-Tournament Team, and her five triples matched the eighth-highest single-season total in North Central’s history. 

“Sarah can cover a ton of ground in the outfield,” Taylor said. “She’s a true competitor and she’s very consistent. (First-year student-athlete) Bailey Miller is a great athlete and projects to be a starter in the outfield as well.”

Half of the Cardinals’ roster is new to the team this year, rendering the team dependent on its veterans as well as its newcomers for success. Taylor has watched her charges tap into the strengths on both sides of the equation in the team’s first few practices.

“Practice is going really well," Taylor said. "Half our roster are veterans and half are newcomers, but everybody’s energy and work ethic have been great. Everyone was really excited to come back and get started and they’ve clearly been working hard. I’m really proud of them for that and for what they’re giving to us right now.  

“We have a very athletic freshman class who played at a high level in travel ball. That experience was good preparation for the competition they’ll see in the CCIW. What I really want for them is to go in nerve-free and compete all out. If they do that they’ll contribute, and I expect to see them do so at a high level.  

“From an offensive perspective, I expect to see improvement at the plate.  I expect that our veterans will be more mature and that we will compete and increase our overall extra base hits and numbers.”   

The Cardinals open the season with a double header against Lake Forest College Mar. 9 at The Dome at the Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont. North Central travels to the West coast for its annual Spring Break trip Mar. 12-17, playing 10 games against teams from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).

“I think a lot of players on this team have never been to California,” Taylor said. “It will be an incredible experience for them, and they’re looking forward to the opportunity to visit different campuses and compete against some very good teams.”

The Cardinals are scheduled to debut at Shanower Family Field Tuesday, Mar. 28 against Aurora University. All home games will be broadcast live via Cardinals All-Access and the North Central Cardinals app.

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