Coming off of the most successful season in program history, the 2012 William Jewell College softball team is embracing the challenge of competing for the first time in the Great Lakes Valley Conference at the NCAA Division II level.

The 2012 pitching staff returns three pitchers from last year's team that won 38 games while posting a 1.84 era and notching 437 strikeouts. Senior captain Maria Buckingham (Saskatoon, SK, Canada) returns after recording a staff-best 206 strikeouts and a 169 era.  Buckingham tied for the lead in wins with 15, in addition to earning a First Team All-Conference nod last season.  Alongside Buckingham will be senior captain Amanda Storm, who was a Second Team All-Conference selection in 2011. Storm has 44 career wins and 452 career strikeouts as a Cardinal.   Sophomore Rachel Hayden (2011; 7-3, 1.64 era) and first-year Faith Song will also be playing major roles in the circle this season.

Behind the plate, sophomore Ashlee Nation, who was Second Team All-Conference last year, will return for the 2012 season. Nation started 48 games as a first-year while hitting .338 with 42 RBI and 3 home runs. Along with Nation, first-year Kelsey Teneycke from Saskatoon, SK, Canada, and junior college transfer and captain Lexy Rozmus will both make an impact behind the plate heading into the new conference. Rozmus brings leadership and experience to the team as a transfer from Iowa Central Community College.

Nation, Rozmus and Teneycke all look to fill the opening at first base and provide offensive production in the middle of the lineup. First-year Kelsey Kimbrough from Sedalia, Mo., will also help provide depth at first base.

Four first-years will be battling it out for the second-base position. Two of these first-years are natives of California: Faith Song from Claremont, Calif., and Rebecca Campos from El Dorado Hills, Calif. Song, who had an outstanding fall season, hit over .500 and led the team in home runs.  Campos is very strong, both offensively and defensively.  Along with Song and Campos, Megan Kappler from Evansville, Ind., and Courtney Johnson from Paola, Kan., will be competing for the starting spot.  Kappler can add speed to the lineup from the left side of the plate, and Johnson is very strong defensively and had a great fall at the plate.

Senior captain Taylor Brown from Broken Arrow, Okla., will lead the team again this season at third base. Brown was First Team All-Conference last year with a .374 batting average, nine doubles and five homeruns. Brown has started 146 games in her career, all at third base. She is being looked upon as a strong leader to help the team in the transition to the GLVC. 

Playing shortstop this season will be sophomore Eileen Greenwood from Hamilton, Mo. Last season Greenwood started 44 games while hitting .261. First-year Faith Song will also provide depth for the shortstop position. 

The outfield provides a great deal of production and experience to the lineup with four upperclassmen. Returning four-year starter and senior captain Amanda Storm (Carl Junction, Mo.,) led the team in homeruns the past two seasons and will start again in center field. Storm has made 155 starts in her career. The outfield also returns a starter with sophomore Rachel Hayden (Anna, Ill.), who hit .376 with 14 doubles and 10 homeruns last season. Hayden was a Second Team All-Conference selection in 2011 after starting all 58 games. Senior captain Emily Cline (Miami, Okla.,) will be utilized in all three outfield positions and provides great speed as well as a solid glove. Senior Erica Scowley (Richmond, Mo.) will also be battling it out for an outfield position. Along with the four upperclassmen, first-year Rachel Potvin (Topeka, Kan.,) will be looked upon to provide immediate depth and compete for a spot at all three outfield positions. Faith Song and Rebecca Campos will also provide depth in the outfield.

The Cards are looking forward to a successful season. Head coach Dustin Combs feels that the first-year class is very strong and will be making an immediate positive impact on the team overall. The Cards start off their season in Oklahoma City, Okla., against Hillside Baptist College at 2 p.m. on February 10.