WAVERLY, Iowa-- The Wartburg softball program, under first-year head coach Jamie Mueller, has 14 returners and welcomes 18 newcomers to its roster.

Among those returners are junior Kimberly Wedeking (Clarksville) and sophomore Emily Carroll (Marble Rock) who Mueller sees as playing significant roles in the pitching staff. Wedeking had nine victories and pitched 12 complete games in the circle last year.

"Erica Countryman will play second base and outfield for us and we'll be excited to welcome back Katie and Kristie Sommer when they are done with basketball season," said Mueller. Katie was a First-team All-Conference selection and the team's leading hitter a year ago (.451) while Kristie was the fourth-leading hitter (.323).

With 18 newcomers, Mueller told the media at spring sports media day to "expect to see lots of new faces and names in lineup."

Some of those incoming players are freshmen Kailee O'Brien (Altoona) and Liz Roby Miklus (Ankeny). "These two will play roles in the middle infield and outfield and both are three tool lefties on offense," said Mueller. "Victoria Brandon is a great third baseman and catcher and we're excited to see what she can do when she returns from injury."

Mueller sees Madison Rentschler (Marion) contributing at first base and Brenna Gray (Waterloo) will help the pitching staff. Sophomore Mara Forsyth (Charles City), transferred from Northern Iowa and the staff is "hoping she will bring a big bat to our lineup and play a utility role for us," said Mueller.

The Knights will play 12 games in seven days during its annual spring break trip and will play in two more road tournaments before its home opener on April 2 against UW-Platteville before the Iowa Conference schedule begins.

The team's goals for the year are to "be a well-respected program among IIAC, work hard to compete in the conference and our end goal is to win the title," said Mueller. "A big goal of mine is to continue to work on building a championship, positive and team oriented culture.

"I like to be aggressive on both sides of the ball," she continued. "We're going to try to pick runners off, catch them off guard and take extra bases when we can. Softball is a fast game; I want us to put pressure on the other team."

The Orange and Black begin their 2016 season Sunday, Feb. 28 against Saint Mary's (Minn.) in Clermont, Fla.