Softball Steps Into the Sunshine

Author: Kate Nerenberg

After being forced to practice indoors for a few weeks straight, the Middlebury softball team finally got a chance to play on an actual field when it traveled to Florida during Spring Break. Despite going 3-6 for the week, the team was very pleased with its performance and got a good look at what is in store for upcoming weeks.
"Because the best teams we play all year are in Florida, our 3-6 record is encouraging," noted Head Coach Diane Boettcher. "We swept Colby and notched a win over Thomas while taking a nationally prominent Hamline to eight innings."
The Panthers started off the week on a rocky foot, however, and it took the team a few games before it could experience any success. In the opening game of the season, Middlebury took on Southern Maine on Monday. Although the team emphasized hitting during the off-season, it hardly showed in its first game, as the team could only manage to post three hits. Southern Maine registered the first run of the game in the fourth inning, but the Panthers tied it up in the fifth. However, spotty hitting proved to be a problem as Southern Maine ran away with the win in the seventh and final inning, scoring three runs and grabbing a 4-1 victory.
"Prior to the trip, I was very pleased with the team's hitting progress indoors. We have more versatile bats this year and stronger base running because of rookie speed, but the Florida trip certainly did not show it," commented Boettcher.
With the exception of a 15-hit game against Hamline on Tuesday, poor hitting continued to plague the Panthers as they went on to drop the next three games in two days. In Tuesday's second game, against Lawrence, Middlebury only connected five times, and then hit a low point on Wednesday against North Central College when it posted just one hit.
The week took a sharp turn upwards on Thursday when the Panthers faced their first New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) opponent, Colby, in a doubleheader. Although the team still struggled at the plate, only registering four hits, Christina Freyer '04 managed to connect when it really counted. In the seventh inning, neither team had scored and Freyer stepped up to the plate and sent the ball over the fence for a game-winning homerun. Megan McCarthy '05 pitched in the win and after last week, was leading all NESCAC pitchers with the lowest ERA in the league.
In the second game against Colby, the Panthers rode the momentum of a strong first inning in which they posted six runs and ended the hitting drought with nine. Although the White Mules crept back in the second and third innings and held the Panthers scoreless for the last three innings, they could not overcome Middlebury's superior defense.
"Defensively, we looked pretty solid. The pre-season question mark was going to be first base, but [Co-Captain] Michaela George '03 and Tory Glowacky '06 performed well and will share the position this year.
Our defenses and situational plays held well, the focus of indoor practices," Boettcher praised. The defensive effort paid off for the Panthers, who registered their second win of the season with a 7-5 victory.
In the last three games of the trip, the Panthers went 1-2, but played an impressive game against Thomas in the first of two games on Saturday.
After dropping Friday's game against Union 8-0, the Panthers bounced back from a 4-2 deficit the next day to win, 10-4. After the third inning, with Thomas leading by two, Middlebury put its strong defense to work and held its opponent scoreless for the remainder of the game. Offensively, the Panthers exploded in the fifth with seven runs, running away with the victory.
This Saturday, the Panthers will have their first official league games, in a doubleheader at home against Williams. The Ephs currently sit at 5-7 overall. Last season, the Panthers fell to Williams 2-0 and 10-3 in a doubleheader in Mass.
This season, however, Middlebury has a stronger defense and a more potent offense and will be a team to reckon with in the future.