Fifth-year coach Tracy Bunge’s two biggest winners in 2000 Sarah Clopton and Melanie DeWinter were seniors and, Bunge said, “It’s a puzzle as far as where the pieces will fall together.”

Bunge does have one hurler back in Kelly Campbell, a junior who compiled a 7-1 record with a 2.61 earned run average last spring. However, none of Campbell’s decisions came against a Big 12 Conference school.

Campbell is a piece of the jigsaw. Two more are Kirsten Milhoan, a sophomore transfer from El Paso, Texas, CC, and freshman Kara Pierce. Both Milhoan and Pierce are from the Phoenix area.

“Kirsten is a late bloomer who was a quality pitcher in high school,” Bunge said. “We’re expecting great things from her. Kara is not overpowering, but her ball has tremendous movement.”

Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo

Then there is prize recruit Melanie Wallach, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch player of the year after leading Eureka to the Missouri large-class softball championship. Wallach batted .400, drove in 25 runs in 32 games and stole 18 bases. She also pitched, compiling a 29-3 record with an 0.51 earned run average.

“She could do a number of things for us play shortstop or first base or outfield,” Bunge said. “If she pitches, it’s a bonus. She can play anywhere except behind the plate. I have no idea where she’ll end up.”

In the field, the Jayhawks’ two biggest gaps are at shortstop and first base where Christy McPhail and Shannon Stanwix respectively were lost to graduation. Despite hitting just .238, McPhail was a second-team All-Big 12 selection. Stanwix, a four-year starter, ranks as KU’s career home run leader with 23.

Wallach could replace Stanwix at first. So could Leah Hansen, an Olathe East product who transferred from Syracuse. Hansen was the every-day first baseman as a freshman for the Orangemen last season, but hit only .230 with no home runs.

Another first base possibility is Leah Mountain, a red-shirt freshman who missed all of last season because of a knee injury. Katy Campbell, twin sister of Kelly Campbell and a back-up catcher last season, is another player in the mix.

At shortstop, the leading candidates are junior Courtney Wright and Sandy Smith, a freshman recruit from Norwalk, Calif. Wright hit .250 last spring third best average on the team but struggled defensively.

Another uncertain position is catcher. Senior Heather Sims didn’t hit a lick (.152), but she logged more time behind the plate than Leah Tabb, a sophomore who was used mostly as the designated player.

Tabb didn’t hit, either, tumbling from a promising .241 freshman season to a .185 average last spring. If Tabb and Katy Campbell falter behind the plate, the job could go to Dani May, a freshman from Lawrence High.

“Dani may get some time behind the plate,” Bunge said. “I also like her maybe at second base. She can play a variety of roles because she’s such a good athlete.”

Amy Hulse has been the Jayhawks’ second baseman the last two seasons. Hulse has been solid in the field, but has a career batting average of .233 with little power.

Like Hulse, Megan Urquhart, another junior, has been entrenched at third base for the last two seasons. Urquhart has more power than Hulse, but her career batting average is also in the .230s and she led the Jayhawks with 20 errors last spring.

Urquhart, incidentally, will miss the fall exhibition season after undergoing shoulder surgery this summer.

Anchoring the outfield is centerfielder Shelly Musser, one of the few Jayhawks who improved her batting average from 1999 to 2000. Musser hit .296 as freshman and made the All-Big 12 team. Last spring, Musser hit .313 and settled for a second-team at-large berth most likely because the Jayhawks’ league record fell from 8-8 in ’99 to 5-13 last year.

Joining Shelly in the outfield will be her twin sister Christi, who slumped from .268 as a freshman to .202 last year, and Erin Garvey who batted only .212 after missing most of ’99 with a knee injury.