"Don't Get Hurt"—Affton Softball Looking to Build with Fresh Team

Rule No. 1 for softball coach Erica Meyer is a simple one.

"Don't get hurt," Meyer said.

That rule has already been broken at the start of the 2011 season, and it led to a season-opening 15-0 loss to Eureka.

The two pitchers that Meyer had counted on, junior Amber Sinamon and sophomore Laura Deen, were unavailable to pitch against the Wildcats. Thus, freshman Jordan Thomure, who is expected to be the team's starting catcher, was thrown into the fire. She had not pitched since the fifth grade. The final result against a good Eureka team was predictable.

Sinamon, who is also the team's top returning hitter with a .402 batting average and 25 RBIs, is expected back shortly, while Deen's return is unknown.

Meyer knew that is was going to be somewhat of a challenging year even without any injuries, because the team has lost four-year standout Katy McAlister.

"There is going to be a big hole anytime you graduate a four-year, all-state player," Meyer said.

McAlister, who is now at Southeast Missouri State University, capped off her stellar high school career hitting .608.

That helped the Cougars to a winning season last year (15-13), including a perfect record in the Suburban East Conference.

Sinamon, who will likely play shortstop when not pitching, is one of only three returning starters for the Cougars.

The other two will be making positional chances. Senior Rachel Barczewski moves from first base to shortstop, while sophomore Hannah Nixon moves from second base to first base.

The bulk of the rest of the roster will be composed of four freshmen and five sophomores. The Cougars will not field a junior varsity team this year.

"If there was a rebuilding year, this is it," Meyer said. "The main goal right now is to get healthy and stay healthy and to get some experience and hopefully finish strong."