03/28/08
The Baker Wildcat softball team has had as frustrating of month as they come, losing its last 12 games and coming within a run or two in most of those games.
The lone win during the month so far was a 3-0 victory of Dana College on the first day of the month.
Wednesday night the team hosted Benedictine College and lost two close games 5-3 and 8-6.
On Monday, the team traveled to Evangel University for a two-game series and was defeated 10-2 and 9-1.
Despite the recent losing streak, the team is staying motivated and not becoming negative.
“We definitely keep a positive outlook and attitude even though our record isn’t what we hoped it would be,” head coach Jennifer Rigdon said.
Although the offense has had some struggles, the team has been playing well in the field.
“Our defense is really strong,” freshman Kim Gilges said. “We’ve had very few errors.”
Rigdon believes the team is going to start being victorious on a regular basis very soon.
“I think we’ve always had a good team chemistry,” Rigdon said. “Our positive attitude has always carried us. Good things will start to happen.”
Freshman Brooke Pryor said the team has needed some time to become comfortable with one another, especially with eight freshmen on the team.
“We are improving,” Pryor said. “We are getting used to playing with each other.”
The ongoing winter weather had a definite impact on the team’s ability to prepare for the season.
“I think just not being on our own field and not seeing a lot of live pitching hurt us,” Rigdon said.
Gilges said being forced to practice inside was a challenge and made it particularly interesting on the defensive end of things.
“It’s not easy to take defense indoors,” Gilges said. “Taking grounders off the hardwood floors is extremely difficult compared to the field.”
Rigdon said the team is focusing on the flurry of upcoming conference games that occur after the team returns from a tournament Saturday and Sunday in Sioux City, Iowa. She said hitting fundamentals are being stressed, and the team is attempting to find an offensive lineup that works best.
Gilges said the recipe for winning isn’t too far away if the team can get on base more.
“We need to start hitting the ball more and continuing with our strong defense,” she said.
Pryor said although the previous games haven’t resulted in wins, the team has gained much-needed experience.
“Just working on the field is going to help us out a lot,” she said. “We have the talent to win.”
Pryor said the upcoming conference games would be very significant to the team and the season.
“We have some big conference games coming up,” Pryor said. “We really need wins to boost our morale.”