The Saluki softball team’s future is looking bright for the next four years with the addition of three players coach Kay Brechtelsbauer recently singed to scholarship offers.

Brechtelsbauer said she looks for all three of the players to contribute immediately to the team, and to possibly fill the void of departing team co-captains second basemen Jami Koss and center fielder Christine Knotts.

Tracy Remspecher, a right-handed pitcher from Florissant, Mo., Carisa Winters, a left-handed pitcher from Herrin, and Lori Greiner, a shortstop from Morton, all have the tools to become dominant players on the college level Brechtelsbauer said.

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The biggest adjustment will be the mental one, she said. Carisa and Tracy will have to adjust from the 40 feet in high school to the 43 feet in college. Lori will have to adjust to the pitching. There just aren’t going to be any fat pitches to hit.

Remspecher dominated the high school fall season by compiling a 14-1 record and striking out 162 batters in only 89 innings of work. After averaging 12.3 strikeouts a game and walking only two hitters in a stretch of 89 innings for Hazlewood Central High School, she was named to the Post Dispatch All-Metro team and the High School All-American team.

Tracy will have to adjust to the pitching distance, but I think that will help the break on her rise ball, Brechtelsbauer said. We’re going to have to work on her drop ball, but she’s got all the tools to do that. I think she is too good of an athlete not to do well.

Winters is a hard throwing pitcher who Brechtelsbauer said has been clocked at 60 mph on the radar gun. She cruised to 17-6 record with a 1.10 earned run average and 193 strikeouts her junior year.

Her control, like Remspecher, is impressive. On her way to being named to the SICA All-South team, Winters walked only 57 batters in 159 innings.

Carisa is more of a power pitcher, but she’s not as polished as Tracy, Brechtelsbauer said. She’s just getting better and better, and it’s just a matter of time. Carisa has not had as much experience as Tracy.

With Tracy being right handed and Carisa being left handed, they should work well together, Brechtelsbauer said. We could throw them back to back, or we could bring one in relief of the other.

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Greiner comes from a highly respected program at Morton High School, and Brechtelsbauer said she first caught her eye during her sophomore season at the state tournament with her natural hitting ability.

Greiner hit .452 with four home runs and 38 runs batted in, while leading her team to a 35-4 record and a third place finish in the Illinois Class AA State Championship.

She’s a good hitter, and I expect to see her in the lineup her first year, Brechtelsbauer said. Lori comes from a well coached and highly respected high school program. She hits for power and average, and we look for her to step in and help fill the void as a first-year player.

Greiner will have to adjust to better pitching, and she’ll have to be ready to hit because a perfect pitch is going to be a mistake, Brechtelsbauer said. She will just have to be smarter at the plate.

Brechtelsbauer said she is currently looking for a player to fill a fourth void on the team, but has been unable to gain a commitment from anyone yet.

We’ve had some people interested enough to come visit, but we’re still working on it, she said. We’re looking for a strong player who has speed and can be an impact player for us.

Our pitching will get stronger an stronger, but we need to keep our hitting up. We’ve been a strong hitting team in the past.