Softball: “hot and cold”

The softball team was in North Carolina this weekend to attend the North Carolina State Wolfpack Challenge.

On Saturday, the team lost its first match 7-6 against Western Illinois. They followed up the loss, however, with a 4-3 win over the University of Akron. In their third match, they fell to Purdue University 2-0.

The team has been seemingly hot and cold this season as it has not been able to maintain any lengthy winning streak, but has not lost many consecutive games either.

Yet, Head Coach Julie Brzezinski still remains confident.

“We continue to play a stronger out of conference schedule to prepare us

for every possibility in the MAAC,” she said.

“So far this year, I feel as though

we have been in every defensive situation possible, so hopefully, we

have made adjustments and know how to handle different scenarios thrown

at us on the field.”

The season began with losses to Appalachian State and East Carolina University at the Seahawk Classic in North Carolina.

The team began to turn it around on their Florida trip, opening with victories against Pennsylvania and Toledo. The Stags then split against Detroit-Mercy, but continued rolling as they swept Holy Cross and Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne. The team finished their Florida stint over spring break with a 7-4 win against Tennessee State, but lost to Lehigh, 4-0.

“Consistency is what we are striving for with the bats, on the mound and

on the field,” said Brzezinski. “This constitutes making adjustments throughout the season

and throughout a single game.”

The team has had several solid efforts throughout the season, despite their up and down results. Junior Molly Harris and sophomore Cagney Rignalda were named to the preseason MAAC team. Rignalda also earned the MAAC Softball Player of the Week award for March 14.

Newcomer Erin Frank ’08 has been successful as well, earning a berth in the Wolfpack Challenge All-Tournament and receiving MAAC Softball Rookie of the Week for March 22.

Last season, the team won the regular season before losing to Canisius in the semi-finals. Brzezinski earned Coach of the Year honors.

“We have won the regular season the past three years and we expect

nothing less this year,” added Brzezinski.

The team plays Stony Brook on Wed. March 23 before the Stag Classic Softball Tournament at Fairfield with Boston College, Quinnipiac and Maine expected to attend.