Standing next to Rachel Lawson was a two-ton elephant.Before last season started, Rachel Lawson stood in the middle of the locker room and talked to her team about believing it could be good, that it could finally move from the depths of the Southeastern Conference and not only post a winning record but contend for an NCAA Tournament spot.Standing next to her in total disagreement was the elephant in the room. As Lawson preached faith, it talked about the past. It stared at the 20 Wildcats in the room and said, “Why now? Why, after 12 years of losing and infertility would you finally succeed this year? You haven’t done it before. You’re not going to do it now.”It had a point. For all the talk about winning, there wasn’t an ounce of proof that things were going to change. Teams everywhere talk of winning. Few, even the ones with winning pasts, often do.”I think we knew we could be and would be good,” senior shortstop Molly Johnson said, “just how good, we weren’t quite sure.”And then, like a raging stampede, the Cats started to run people over. UK stormed out to an 18-6 record in the first half of the season, launching the program onto the national scene for the first time in school history.To call it an eye opener for a once stagnant program would be selling it short.”If you just went historically on what Kentucky had done in the past, they were surprised by the speed,” said third-year head coach Rachel Lawson. “I think everybody expected we would do well by the end but that it would be more of a gradual process.”It was a firestorm. The Cats blazed to 34 wins on the season, second most in program annals, winning the school’s first SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament games. By the time Kentucky had dropped its NCAA Regional game to Ohio State, the foundation of a winning program had finally been built. There was no longer talk. Now there was belief. And where there’s belief, there’s potential.”Once we got to the SEC Tournament and got that first win, it kind of boosted our spirits a little bit and solidified that yeah, we are good,” Johnson said. Said sophomore pitcher Rachel Riley, one of the stalwarts behind UK’s magical run: “I think last year we were almost surprising ourselves. We knew we could do it but nobody else did. When it actually started happening, we were like we can really do this. This year we’re coming in knowing we have the talent and the ability to compete with anybody.”That’s what Lawson and her team has to face this year. It’s a double-edge sword that screams both excitement and possible disappointment.For one, it presents a sense of belief that the Cats could build off an already historic run and reach even newer heights this season. And who’s to say they couldn’t? With virtually the entire 2009 team coming back, the possibilities of the program have never been brighter.But with possibilities come expectations and with expectations can sometimes lead to disappointment. It’s a role the softball program has never had to face.”It’s different,” Lawson said. “Last year everything was so new that every time we stepped on the field something really exciting was going to happen. This year is a completely different ballclub because they believe they can get it done and they don’t have any doubts. With that is the added pressure of actually going out there and living up to their own expectations.”That Cats’ confidence has never been higher. Every player, with the exception of seldom-used Katie McCarty, returns for the 2010 season, including Team USA selection and All-American Molly Johnson. In addition to Johnson, UK returns Riley, who posted the third-lowest ERA (2.35) in school history last year, veteran Natalie Smith, the hard-throwing Chanda Bell, who set the single-season and single-game record for school strikeouts, defensive captain Megan Yocke, home-run slugger Brittany Cervantes (team-high 10 round trippers) and the speedy Meagan Aull.What’s not to like about Kentucky’s chances of competing for an SEC title in 2010? The return of nearly every key player has given the Cats an unprecedented swagger.”I think that’s a big confidence boost knowing that we can do it,” Johnson said. “With the freshman class that we had last year, I think their experience now is going to make us even better this year. Our freshman class this year will give us a few spark plugs too. I think experience is going to play a big part this year.”The SEC should be even more alarmed by the fact that both Johnson and Riley acknowledged that it took some time for the massive freshman class of a year ago to mesh with the veterans. If that didn’t faze them last year, imagine what they’ll be able to do this year with a year of experience and chemistry under their belts.”Last year was tough on the older girls because there were 10 freshmen so it was kind of split,” Riley said. “We had to get to know each other. Now there are only a few frehmen so now we know how each other plays so I think it will really help.”But the Cats can’t get overconfident or even cocky. They once again have one of the toughest schedules in the nation – UK doesn’t play at home until March 10 – and must march through the always rugged SEC.”I know they’re not content because like every other team in the conference we want to win the conference,” Lawson said. “As much as we did a great job last year in terms of our RPI – no other team increased as much as we did and we finished in the top 16 – we’re still in the middle of the SEC. We need to do what we need to do to get to the top.”To get there, UK will need to improve in several areas, most notably developing consistency at the bottom of the order. For all the offensive progress the Cats established in 2009 – they scored more than 50 runs more than the season before – they left runners on base at an alarming rate, totaling just 217 RBI on the season, near the bottom of the SEC.As good as Bell and Riley were last year, they must continue to improve and establish themselves as aces of the league. With the help of senior leader Amber Matousek, they’ve both worked diligently this offseason to develop new pitches. Lawson called Riley one of the steadiest players she’s ever coached, and despite already being one of the hardest throwing pitchers in the league, Bell has added three miles per hour to her already lightning-quick pitches.
But the biggest advantage UK boasts, as has been the case the last three years, will be having Johnson in the team’s arsenal. One of the nation’s premier players, the senior will come into her final year of eligibility coming off a magnificent 2009.Last year she led the Cats in average (.433), runs (53), hits (81), doubles (14) and slugging percentage (.695). As a member of Team USA, she learned from the likes of softball legends like Jennie Finch. Johnson belted a grand slam in one of the Team USA’s victories.The difference between the Johnson of the past, one of the best kept secrets in the country, and senior Johnson is the leadership and maturity she gained from playing with the sport’s best players.”I expect Molly to be the best,” Lawson said. “She has a desire to lead in most offensive categories. Defensively she has the best arm in the country and there is not a better player than her.”When Johnson entered the program three years ago, she had visions of one day improving the program, but she admitted that she never imagined taking a dormant program and putting itself in the position it’s in heading into this season.”I was just hoping to really improve the program, but I don’t know that I was really prepared for what we were going to have happen last year,” Johnson said. “I think that was probably a bonus for me and the rest of the senior class. Whatever we can give to the program I think we’re happy with that. Hopefully this year we can give more than anyone ever expected of us.”Kentucky begins its season next week on Feb. 11 when it travels to Tempe, Ariz., for the Kajikawa Classic.