By Josh Sadlock ’12
Photo by Teddy Weiss and Courtesy of Athletic Communications
At 5-17, 0-4, the Lafayette softball team is in a tough spot. Sitting last in the Patriot League standings, the season outlook seems dim. However, a strong senior class who experienced a run to the Patriot League Championship series their freshman season could ultimately turn the season around.
Stacey Dorn ‘12, Carly Feiro ‘12, and Gwen Turner ‘12 will be called upon to lead the team out of an early slump and into the Patriot League tournament.
Wednesday afternoon, the Leopards began the quest to turn their season around.
Taking on Wagner, Lafayette fought hard in the first game of a double header, but fell to the Seahawks 9-7. Dorn and Turner helped lead an offensive attack that rapped out 12 hits by registering three hits apiece.
In the nightcap, the Leopards triumphed 4-1 behind a complete game from Melissa Robinson ‘14, who allowed only three hits and struck out four in her fourth victory of the season.
These midweek games are sure to boost the confidence of a team that has faced hardships all season, most recently a weekend series against the rival Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Lafayette was swept in the series against what many consider the class of the league. Gwen Turner ’14 provided one bright spot with her first career out of the park home run.
“Lehigh is such a powerhouse team. Just because we got swept by them this weekend doesn’t mean we’re out of it in the Patriot League,” Turner said. “It just seemed like we had one bad inning in each game against Lehigh that just killed us and let them pull away.”
To make some noise in the Patriot League, the Leopards will need to improve at the plate and in the field. “It seems that in the games we’ve lost, we’ve lost by only a few runs,” Turner said. “But it’s the errors we’ve made or not hitting that have cost us.”
As the team’s freshmen adjust to the rigors of the college game and players grow into their new positions on the field, the team will likely improve. “It’s been a challenge so far because people are getting used to new positions,” Turner said. “The freshmen are making adjustments well and getting used to their roles.”
This weekend, the Leopards will take to the road for five games. On Friday the team will take on Drexel before heading north to Worcester, Massachusetts for a weekend series with Holy Cross.
“When we have our bats going, we’re very strong. With such a long season, you have to take it one game at a time. We need to work together as a team to get the best results,” Turner said.
Working together will involve rallying around a senior class hungry to end a two-year playoff drought and put Lafayette back at the top of the Patriot League softball ranks.