The softball team (2-11 overall, 0-1 Patriot League) went 0-4 last weekend at the University of North Carolina Mizuno Invitational, dropping games to Rutgers University (13-7 overall), Rider University (4-5 overall), Campbell University (8-12-1 overall) and the University of North Carolina (17-3 overall).
The Leopards are currently on a 10-game losing streak.
Part of the team’s struggles last weekend came from getting off to slow starts. The group went scoreless against Rutgers through six innings as part of a 7-1 loss, fell behind 4-0 in the first inning against Rider in an 8-5 loss and trailed 13-0 to North Carolina by the third inning.
“You got to be able to play a full seven,” head coach Karavin Dew said. “I think we just continue to harp on the importance of finding ways to make sure that we’re ready to go from the jump. Obviously, we’re still working on finding those tips and tricks, but we’ll definitely get there.”
The lone exception to slow starts at the invitational came against Campbell, when the Maroon and White went up 1-0 in the second inning following senior utility player Paige Sandidge’s double to drive in sophomore outfielder Olivia Catalina.
“There’s been a lot of close games,” Dew said. “A lot of games that we take an inning away, an inning, two innings, it changes the game, changes the outcome.
However, the Leopards allowed their opponent to have big innings, with Campbell taking a 5-1 lead in the fourth inning — a score that would remain for the rest of the game.
Dew said the team will be working on “capitalizing on those momentum moments of a game” in practice this week.
“We had a lot of good moments, a couple double plays [but] we left quite a few runners on base, so being able to capitalize on getting those runners in or turning that defense into offense, I think those are the big things we’re definitely gonna focus on this coming week,” Dew said.
Senior pitcher Jacqueline Cal collected in the losses against Rutgers and Campbell. In spite of the losses, Cal appreciated the opportunity to travel as a team, share the experience of playing four games in three days and improve collectively.
“It’s fun to go out there and compete at high-level tournaments against solid competition and really push ourselves to see where we’ve gotten and where our next steps forward will be,” Cal said.
Looking towards the rest of the season, Cal referenced a need to focus on the little things.
“We’re really focusing a lot on being intentional in the little details of the game,” Cal said. “We’re being intentional on prioritizing our outs, being intentional every single play, every single repetition we perform and developing that dominant attack mindset.”
In addition to focusing on the little things, the team looks to stay together to get back in the win column.
“I think we’re a few small things away from really being able to put something together, but I think the best thing about this team we have is they stick together,” Dew said.
The Leopards will host Le Moyne College for a doubleheader this Wednesday.
