Covenant News

North Park Softball Roster Reflects Strength

CHICAGO, IL (April 9, 2001) - College athletic teams scour the country to find talented players. North Park University's (NPU) softball program is no exception, with players from four states included on its 14-player roster.

The Vikings didn't have to go far to find a top player this season. Kim Walker, a freshman from Chicago's Good Counsel High School, lives a short distance from the school. Head coach Dan Gooris is glad she decided to stay near home to get her college education. Her pitching and hitting also is a bright spot that has contributed to the team's best start ever.

North Park is 13-5-2, 1-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin after recently splitting a doubleheader with Wheaton College, having won seven straight games at one point this season. Walker is a big reason why, posting a 10-2 record as a pitcher and ranking among team leaders in nearly every offense category.

"The high school coach at Good Counsel is a North Park alum and he recommended Walker as a freshman - we've been following her ever since," said Gooris, an All-Conference baseball player at North Park in the 1970s. "She had Division I aspirations and when that didn't work out, she called us. Her brother is already at North Park and it was a perfect fit. And she's doing everything we've asked of her."

Walker, who lost 4-2 against Wheaton in the opener and had a two-run double and a two-run homer in North Park's 7-4 game-two win, isn't the only one whose play has impressed Gooris. The lone senior at NPU, center fielder Marianna Burgio (Chicago Heights, Illinois) has already established herself as one of the top players the program has ever produced. She hit .439 as a freshman and her career batting average entering 2001 is .366.

Junior catcher Heather Fitzgerald (Des Plaines, Illinois) entered CCIW play with a .407 average and a team-best four triples. Meanwhile, Nicole Reynolds (Skokie, Illinois) had 16 runs batted in and Madi Musgraves (Chicago, Illinois) had a .415 average. Jenny Hyneman, a transfer from Asbury College in Kentucky, has helped the team defensively at third base and first-year player Alex Urgo is another defensive standout at first base, according to Gooris.

Marissa Riojas (Waukesha, Wisconsin) has picked up three pitching wins and Sarah Jagodzinske of Welcome, Minnesota, has hit near .300 in a part-time role. The daughter of a Covenant pastor, Jagodzinske hit three homers in 2000 to pace the Vikings, who were 12-21, 2-12 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Two other Covenanters, infielder Stephanie Thompson (Golden Valley, Minnesota) and catcher Carrie McKee (Fairfield, Ohio), also play for the Vikings.

Printable version of this page.