What do you get when you mix the familiar sound of an aluminum bat connecting with a bright yellow ball, add the warm Florida sun in the sky and throw in the constant chants from the dugout?

The return of softball season.

Erasing the memories of last year's campaign, Ashford University Head Coach Kyle Yore is ready for a breakout year for her squad in 2010. Three transfer students, eight returning starters and six seniors including 2009 captain and Honorable Mention All-MCC infielder Whitney Bauer will provide the Saints with key leadership and experience that will be vital to success.

"What we're focusing on right now as a group is what our strengths are," Yore said. "Last year we were really young with 11 freshmen, but this year we've got more maturity and everybody's improved. The girls really focused. "

Although the Saints softball squad finished with a 2-43 overall record in 2009, Yore and the rest of the Saints are looking forward to this season.

"We return 16 of the 19 kids from last year's two-win season and they don't want to go through that again" she added. "They're working with voracity, they're working really hard and they're really excited to get out and play and see what we can do."

A pair of team captains from last year's Saints squad lead a group of senior members with a wealth of experience. Bauer and Alisha Parker return after standout seasons last year for the Saints and will look for them to continue their success inside the batter's box and on the mound.

Bauer earned all-league honors last year after posting a .303 batting average in 44 total games. Parker will step into the pitcher's circle this spring, after appearing in 22 games last season, totaling 72.2 innings pitched. Bauer, Parker, Michelle Woolley, Kimberly Samples, Nichole Salazar and Jessie Rosenow, will all put on their purple and gold uniforms for the final time in 2010.

Inexperience won't be an issue for the 2010 program either with 10 sophomore players returning from their freshman campaign where they each saw significant playing time.

"As a team, they're all holding each other accountable on every level, not determined by their age," Yore said. "The seniors are huge leaders as far as setting the tempo in practice and weights and conditioning. They're really dedicated and focused. Being their final season, they want to be as successful as they can."

The Saints will use that leadership and returning experience to ease the blow of losing Jamie Gillespie. Gillespie earned Honorable Mention All-MCC honors when she posted a .296 batting average and hit five home runs in 2009 as a senior. Gillespie etched the Ashford University softball team in the record books when she became the first player in NAIA history to hit two grand slams in one inning and only the third player to hit two grand slams in the same game. She also tied the NAIA record for most RBI in a single game with ten.

"She's irreplaceable." Yore said on the loss of Gillespie. "She's a huge loss to us, offensively and defensively. She was one of our quickest kids and was willing to sacrifice her body as often as needed."

However, even with the loss of a player like Gillespie, Yore has comprised a replacement plan that she can implement with this year's Saints.

"We've brought in a couple outfielders and we've transitioned some of our infielders to be practicing in the outfield," she said. "Offensively, we brought in Kaitlin Welch (Bettendorf, Iowa) who can match Jamie's output for us and Kindra Danner (Illinois City, Ill.) will add some speed to the lineup."

Welch is a junior transfer from Southeastern Community College. As a member of the Blackhawks' team that advanced to the NJCAA Div. I National Championships last season, she earned Second Team All-Region accolades for her efforts on the field.

But the Saints will have to show resiliency early on, recently discovering Welch will miss most, if not all of the season due to a broken ankle suffered in practice while sliding.

Yore had extremely high hopes for her talented corner infielder before Welch's injury.

"The mental attitude that she brings to the game spills over to the rest of our kids and keeps them calm," Yore predicted. "She's deceptively quick at third, which is going to be good for us as far as bunts, one of the things we struggled with last year."

Yore returns for her fourth season at the helm of the Ashford University softball program, and alongside her will be Vern Deters, returning for his second season on the coaching staff. The staff for 2010 has grown with the addition of graduate assistant Karen Marie Peña.

Peña, a former Rock Island Alleman High School and Western Illinois University standout, will be assisting Yore and Deters in all facets of the program including recruiting and serving as a pitching staff specialist.

There are new additions to the 2010 roster as well. Three transfer student-athletes look to continue their playing careers at Ashford. Junior Kendra Roth transfers in from Dakota State University where she posted a 10-16 record and 3.98 ERA in 2009 for the Trojans.

"Kendra Roth is going to be one of our pitchers and she'll be huge for us in the circle," Yore said. "Kendra has improved drastically already since she got here. She's one of those kids who is versatile and can be moved around."

Woolley joins the softball program after serving on the women's basketball team and Danner comes to Ashford as the only freshman on the new squad. As a member of the storied Rockridge Rockets' program, Danner and her teammates advanced to the Sweet 16 of the Illinois State Softball Tournament in 2009.

Ashford opens the season on March 13 in Kissimmee, Fla., as a part of the Rebel Spring Games. The Saints will face the University of Saint Francis (March 13), Marian College (March 13), Centenary College (March 14), Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (March 14), Spring Arbor University (March 15 and 18), Trinity Christian College (March 15 and 18), Framingham State (March 17), and Hood College (March 17). The Rebel Spring Games feature teams from the three divisions of the NCAA as well as the NAIA.

"We're going to get ten games in before we start our conference season which is everybody's goal," Yore said. "For us it will be a test of what we have coming into this year and how we're going to compete. It's our first time outside as a group since this fall, it will give us a lot of insight as to what we need to improve, how they play together, and it's going to allow us to tweak our lineup before conference play."

Regular-season MCC play begins for the Saints on March 23 when they host Viterbo University.

The MCC Softball Tournament begins May 1. The 2010 season will conclude throughout the NAIA with the NAIA Softball National Championships beginning May 20-26.

Ashford University will play all of its home games at Emma Young Park, a field within the confines of the Erickson Community Center in Clinton.