Courtesy | Summer Fields
The Hillsdale College softball team begins its preseason games this weekend with five games in Portland, Texas.
“I’m so excited to see the way this team performs together because our chemistry right now is so good,” senior 3rd baseman Elaine Townley said. “The freshmen mesh with the team really well. Everyone’s getting along great. We’re hanging out in all our spare moments, and we’re not tired of each other yet, even though we practice three times a day most days. I’m just excited to see how everything we’re doing in practice and together off the field translates into games.”
The team will be playing against St. Mary’s University, Texas A&M International, and Texas A&M Kingsville with a doubleheader on Friday and Saturday and one final game on Sunday. All three teams they are playing against were described by Coach Gross as “Top 25 Teams.”
I think definitely the physically taxing nature of traveling and getting thrown into the season will be difficult,” 5th year senior catcher Natalie Stepanenko said. “We had a scrimmage on Tuesday, and that went super well, but the whole team was a little drained after, myself definitely included. I think that that’s going to be a challenge but also the adrenaline and just the electricity of actually getting to play for the first time is going to help push us through that physical exhaustion.”
The team is projected to tie Ohio Dominican University for second place in the upcoming Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
“I think the younger girls have just as much impact on the team as the older girls do this year,” senior pitcher Camryn Olson said. “It’s fun because we have 20 really solid players. Good players are gonna be sitting on the bench. It’s a good problem to have.”
Practices happen every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 6 a.m. in the Biermann Athletic Center. Additional practices for lifting and hitting happen throughout the week with Sunday usually serving as their off-day.
“Having a ceiling is limiting, but we do what we can,” Stepanenko said. “This is kind of the hardest part of this semester because we’re so close to actually getting to play and reaping the benefits of what we’ve been putting in for the whole year. It’s challenging because it’s all inside, and we play outside. But practices have been good. We really are honing in on strategy and preparing for the gameplay.”
Coach Kyle Gross said he anticipates five games per weekend leading up to their official National Collegiate Athletic Association season for G-MACs.
“One thing we’ve already talked about a little bit is our three c’s- compete, confidence, and compassion,” Gross said. “We’re excited for a potential this year to win our conference or win a tournament regionals. Returning players are excited to do it again and even better, and the freshmen are excited to experience it for the first time.”
