PICTURED ABOVE (L-R): Lesley Guenard and Ainsley McCullough.

Wheaton, Ill. - The 2011 season was a banner year for Wheaton College softball. The Thunder achieved a school-record 23 wins, made the CCIW Tournament for the first time since 2002, and got its first tourney win since 1998.

But head coach Chris Hudson doesn't want his team to be resting on its laurels. He has bigger things in mind. “The team doesn't see last year's CCIW Tournament berth as the end result,” Hudson said. “It was a nice milestone, but we all look at this year as building on that. Our expectations are that this year will be even better. We have all the tools to make this a remarkable year. We don't have a weak spot on the field, and our offense is solid top to bottom.”

The 2012 Wheaton softball team returns 12 players off last year's squad that tallied a 23-17-1 record and went 7-7 in the CCIW. As the fourth seed at the CCIW Tournament, the Thunder won its first game against top seed Millikin University. A total of five Wheaton players were selected All-CCIW at season's end.

Last year's team relied on base stealing, bunting and squeeze plays to score its runs. The Thunder hit .290 as a team and stole 69 bases, but only totaled six home runs. Hudson expects this year to be a much more balanced attack.

“I think we have more power in the lineup,” Hudson said. “Last year, we relied on the first half of the lineup to score our runs and they generally did. This year, we're going to have a well-balanced attack all the way from one through nine in terms of scoring and driving in runs. We've got a lot more depth throughout the lineup that we'll need to take advantage of.”

Wheaton's offense will be led by outfielder Lesley Guenard, who is one of five seniors on the team. Guenard put up big numbers at the plate and was recognized as the CCIW Player of the Year and a First Team All-American from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). Her impressive stat line included a .424 batting average, five homers, 42 RBI and a school-record 17 doubles. She also showed prowess on the base paths, stealing 18 on 20 attempts.

“She's pretty important,” said the sixth-year head coach. “Right now she's recovering from an off-season injury. We won't have her at full strength until the conference season. But that will be good for our team because it will force everybody to carry the load. Last year, Lesley scored 44 runs and drove in 42 runs. This year, everyone will have to pick up the slack at the beginning of the year and take ownership for producing those runs. But we're hitting the ball really well and I don't foresee that as a problem.”

Fellow senior Amanda Mattocks (PICTURED RIGHT) is back at her catcher position with a .286 average and 26 RBI last season. Junior Suzanne Teuben returns as a Second Team All-CCIW pick at catcher last year. Teuben hit .281 on the year but heated up in CCIW play with a .357 average. Senior infielder Jenna Lawrenz finished third on the team in RBI last year with 22 while adding eight steals and a .274 batting average.

Hudson will be tasked with replacing the production of graduates Katie Iser and Kelli Hennessey. The duo both earned All-CCIW selections in their senior seasons. Iser in particular posted a record-breaking season at leadoff hitter. The center fielder set the school's single-season record for hits (62) and stolen bases (26) while leading the team in batting average (.437). She also owns the Wheaton career stolen bases record with 52.

“We'll replace that production in a couple of ways,” Hudson said. “The first way is the experience of our returning players. We have a couple of sophomores – Stacey Cladis and Sarah Hammitt – that return a lot of big game, clutch experience. We also add a few freshmen who will contend for starting positions that hit the ball well – Jeannie Vest, Mandy Brown and Ellen Radandt. We won't do a one-for-one replacement, but a combination of players plus the experience of our returning players will fill that gap pretty well.”

The pitching circle is a position that Hudson feels quite confident about. The Thunder returns all three of its pitchers from last year with senior Ainsley McCullough, junior Danielle Schmidt (PICTURED LEFT) and sophomore Hammitt. The trio combined for a 3.02 ERA and held opponents to a .237 batting average. McCullough put up a strong year (10-8 record, 2.71 ERA) and set the school record for strikeouts in a season with 123. Schmidt was right there with her statistically (10-7 record, 2.97 ERA, 122 strikeouts) and picked up All-Conference honors.

“Ainsley and Danielle carried most of the load last year and we expect them to do that again this year,” Hudson said. “They're just both solid, strong pitchers. They've improved this year both physically and mentally. Pitching is not an area we're worried about. Those two gals will lead us and keep us in every single game. Sarah is also much improved and has the ability to contribute as well.”

Seven freshmen will join the team this year, and Hudson likes their potential to contribute to the lineup right away.

“Jeannie Vest is an outfielder from California who hits the ball really well,” said Hudson. “She blends speed and power. We didn't have a lot of power in our lineup last year, so we hope she'll add to that. Mandy Brown can probably play a few different positions for us. She's just very versatile, very athletic. I expect her to contribute for us as a freshman. The same for Ellen Radandt. She's very athletic, she can play infield, she can catch and hit the ball well.”

Around the conference, Millikin University (23-15 overall, 11-3 CCIW) leads the pack after winning the regular season title in 2011. But it was North Central College (26-14, 9-5) who ended up winning the CCIW Tournament and getting the automatic bid into the NCAA postseason. The league is rounded out by Carthage College (23-17, 10-4), Elmhurst College (15-23, 7-7), Illinois Wesleyan University (21-15, 6-8), Augustana College (19-19, 5-9) and North Park University (17-19, 1-13).

“Carthage, Augustana and Millikin all return their core players,” Hudson said. “We have the tools to position ourselves to compete for the No. 1 spot. But it will be as tough a conference as ever. Our team and the CCIW as a whole return a lot of experienced players. We've got a core of five seniors this year and that type of experience is pretty typical throughout the conference as well.”