Coming off last year’s 26-12 season, the Hillsdale softball team will start their fall season this weekend in West Virginia at Wheeling Jesuit University’s fall-ball tournament.
With 10 freshmen players on the team this year and the loss of nearly half the starting lineup at the end of last season, head coach Joe Abraham said many of the fall practices will involve bringing everyone up to speed for the spring.
“We have so many freshmen this year, that the fall consists of a combination of trying to figure out who is going to play where, and then teaching the way that we do things in the program, and just repetition to get everybody ready for the spring,” he said.
Even with the work that lies ahead for the team, senior catcher Cassie Asselta said the two weeks of practice leading up to the fall-ball tournament have been smooth.
“The first week went pretty well,” Asselta said. “We have to go over a lot of team dynamic stuff — how we approach the game, how we play the game — but so far our freshmen have been very receptive of our game philosophy. That’s a good feeling when you know you have so much work to do.”
Freshman pitcher Alexis Newby said she looks forward to getting to know the team more as they travel for the Wheeling Jesuit tournament.
“It will be good to see how we all come together,” Newby said. “I think we’ll grow a lot from that too, because we’ve got such a young team, and you’ve got two weeks to throw us all together.”
As the team prepares for its fall games, players are also looking to sharpen their skills before the NFCA Leadoff Classic Tournament in February, where they will face the top programs in DII softball. The Chargers earned an invitation to this prestigious tournament after a successful 2015-2016 season. Hillsdale came in third in the GLIAC last spring and came one game short of playing in the NCAA postseason tournament.
“They try to get 24 of the top teams in the country,” Abraham said. “For us to get an invite was very exciting, and we immediately accepted. It’s a big deal for us, and it means another trip to Florida and figuring out how to pay for it, but it’s something we couldn’t turn down.”
While the weather permits, the team will continue outdoor practices in preparation for the spring season.
“The fall is our main time to get ready, because once we start practice for our regular season in January, we have three weeks in a small indoor space to get ready for our season,” Abraham said.
Until then, the team will continue practicing outdoors until late October or mid November maximizing their time on the field.
“It is so exciting to get back on the field,” Asselta said. “We were excited to get to know our new team, we’re excited to be playing again.”
