ST. AUGUSTINE – The Flagler College softball team will open the 2012 season Saturday (Feb. 4) at home against Lynn University in a noon doubleheader.

The Saints are coming off its best season since starting the fast-pitch program in 2009. Flagler posted a 42-18 overall record and a 12-8 mark in the Peach Belt Conference. The team advanced to the NCAA regionals for the first time and fared well with a 2-2 record.

Head coach Kristen Overton started the program and is now in her fourth year at the helm of the program. She welcomes back 12 players, including seven position players and two starting pitchers.

“This team has a clear vision,” said Overton. “They want to win. They want to win it all. They want to be great.”

The Flagler offensive attack will be headed by senior first baseman Breezy Collings (Orange City, Fla., Brevard CC). A preseason all-conference pick, she batted a team-high .383 with 70 hits, nine home runs and a league-best 60 runs batted in. Collings had a .568 slugging percentage and a .484 on-base percentage, aided by 34 walks. She committed just one error in 392 chances. Forming a dynamic hitting duo is senior second baseman Alona Personius (Lake Stevens, Wash., Florida State College-Jacksonville). She walloped a team-best 12 home runs and 13 doubles for a sizzling .604 slugging percentage to earn second-team all-conference hnoors. She batted .324, but as good as she was with the bat, Personius was a good with the glove with a .975 fielding percentage. She committed just six errors in 244 chances.

Sophomore shortstop Lauren Bessent (Jacksonville, Fla., Trinity Christian Academy) had a superb freshman campaign. She started all 60 games and tied the team-lead with 70 hits to help her earn second-team all-conference accolades. Bessent led the team with four triples and her 46 runs scored were second only to Personius' 48. Tori Jolley (Keystone Heights, Fla., Keystone Heights HS) is another powerful bat in the Saints lineup. She batted .292 and socked nine double and six home runs.

Seniors Lauren Ely (Winter Springs, Fla., Winter Springs HS) and Sarah Albino (Adelaide, Australia, Florida State College-Jacksonville) return with experience in the outfield. Ely has started in center field for the past three seasons and last season led the team with 23 steals and 13 sacrifice hits. Ely also hit an inside-the-park home run. Albino platooned early in the season in right field, but quickly earned the starting nod. A pair of junior college transfers will compete for playing time. Whitney Little (Bartow, Fla., Indian River State College) has a lot of speed as witnessed by her 74 stolen bases as a sophomore at Indian River State College. Marissa Blake (Winter Springs, Fla., Daytona State College) was a two-time all-conference selection at Daytona State College. 

Senior Robyn Draper (Brampton, Ontario, State College of Florida) will return back behind the plate after an early season injury in 2011 knocked her out of that role. She collected 30 hits with a pair of doubles and a pair of home runs. Freshman Hayley Craven (St. Johns, Fla., Bartram Trail HS) will back-up Draper and have a chance to learn the position at the collegiate level.

Fellow senior Kaycee Lisa (Seminole, Fla., Seminole HS) is back after dealing with injuries last year. She has a powerful bat and can play first base or be the designated player giving Coach Overton 4-5 big bats in the lineup.

The pitching depth has never been better. Senior Donna Munafo (Satellite Beach, Fla., Brevard CC) (7-8, 1.36 ERA) and sophomore Kalyn Loverich (St. Johns, Fla., Bartram Trail HS) (13-5, 1.53) are a strong 1-2 combination in the circle. Loverich racked up 123 strikeouts and saved four games while Munafo fanned 106. Sophomore Katie Enright (Oakland, N.J., Indian Hills HS) is healthy and ready to go this season. The high school All-American missed almost the entire season after sustaining a preseason injury. Senior Kristen Chapman (Jacksonville, Fla., Sandalwood HS) will come out of the bull pen.

“I feel we have a really strong pitching staff this year,” said Overton. “All of them are so different in style that they complement each other. I feel like any one of the can start at any given moment.”     

Flagler has one of its toughest schedules in its brief history of the program. Five ranked teams are on the ledger including No. 3 North Georgia College & State University, No. 5 West Texas A&M University and No. 9 Lenoir-Rhyne University. The Peach Belt Conference Tournament moves to Columbus, Ga., and the format has changed to single-elimination. Flagler opens the conference season on the road on Mar. 1 at USC Aiken. The Saints are picked to finish third in the preseason conference coaches poll and are just outside the NFCA preseason Top 25 with 30 points, just 22 shy of cracking the poll.