The Geneseo softball team traveled to Clermont, Fla. over spring break to kick off their season. The Knights returned home with an 8-4 record.
The women reigned victorious over Lake Forest College, Framingham State College, Benedictine College, Concordia University Wisconsin, Nichols College, Bethany College, Clarkson University and Bowdoin College. The team fell to Nebraska Wesleyan University, Calvin College, Wellesley College and University of Wisconsin-Stout.
The Knights never lost by a margin larger than three runs. The stand-out games were those against Calvin where the Knights lost 7-5 in a 10-inning game and when the Knights were able to win in five-innings against Nichols, Bethany and Benedictine.
Leading up to the break, team practices emphasized hitting. Batting off of tees was a strong focal point, as was live pitch hitting in order for the team to get used to pitchers throwing to them. Batting has been the team’s main focus over the past year, and more specifically, hitting the ball up the middle of the field.
Senior pitcher Taylor Moore acknowledged that the spring break trip wasn’t so much about playing games as it was an opportunity to learn and improve heading into the season.
“We learned a lot from the mistakes we made over the past week and it is nice to be able to learn from these mistakes before conference games start,” Moore said.
With lots of time together and games almost every day while they were down in Florida, junior pitcher Ashlyn Kersch enjoyed the opportunity for the team to rekindle their competitive spirit.
“We became closer as a unit … as a team we learned that we don’t give up a fight,” Kersch said. “If we are up by five or down by five, we are still going to battle until the last out … you could definitely see that in our 10-inning game, but it was the case all week.”
The 9-4 win over Bowdoin stood out the most to Moore. The game gave the team a positive outlook for the rest of the season to come.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game and we found ourselves down 4-1 after the fourth inning … we did not stop fighting and ended up winning the game 9-4,” Moore said. “This particular win reminded me of last year, how we fought to win every single game and it was great to see we still have the attitude to fight no matter what.”
Kersch was quick to praise players that were worthy of recognition for their performances in Flordia.
“[First-year fielder] Taylor Riccardi and [sophomore infielder] Melissa Triolo stepping in at third base shared duties and both played great defense,” Kersch said. “[Junior catcher] Hannah Elmer at the plate, hit a grand slam and two solo shots. Overall, a great week of hitting for her.”
The only team that stands between the Knights and conference play was Alfred University. On Wednesday March 27, they traveled to Alfred for a doubleheader. The first game ended in a 13-10 victory and the second game ended in a 8-3 victory. Alfred dropped to 5-9 overall record and is in the midst of a four-game losing streak.
As the 2018 SUNYAC champions, the Knights have a huge target on their back that everyone will be aiming at this season. Some teams may find this to be intimidating, but the Knights are embracing the challenge and are excited for every team to throw their best punches at them come SUNYAC time.
“Teams can come out of nowhere and beat the top team … our coach always points out that we cannot take any team for granted because anyone can beat anyone in this conference,” Moore said. “SUNYAC play is always a whirlwind.”
The first SUNYAC game of the season is scheduled away against New Paltz on Friday March 29. Last season the Knights won both of their games against the New Paltz Hawks, each by only one run. It’s sure to be a close call.