By Tim Robertson
Snow, sleet, rain go away and don’t come back any day.
Hofstra softball missed five opportunities for wins due to evil Mother Nature last weekend, but the team hopes they won’t have to cancel this weekend’s trio of games against CAA nemesis James Madison (13-9) due to field conditions stemming from the winter storm.
After a weekend of canceled games, and, at press time, a strong possibility of a canceled doubleheader against Rutgers, coach Bill Edwards showed a little concern over the team’s layoff.
“Not playing in two weeks really hurts, plus JMU has been, it hurts,” Edwards said.
The Pride’s only date of the season with James Madison is the pair of games on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. If Edwards has to call off the games, the teams won’t play this season, potentially creating a controversy at the end of the season over home-field advantage. James Madison is one of the top teams in the CAA.
“If we don’t play this weekend, then they run the table and we run the table, which is hard to say, what do you do?” Edwards asked on Tuesday.
With tapes ready to play on the television in the corner of his office and a scouting report on JMU on his desk, Edwards will prepare for the conference opponent.
The Dukes’ pitching staff has, in 22 games, put up a 1.85 ERA and bats .275 as a team, creating an interesting match-up with the Pride. Hofstra will enter the contests with a 10-10 record, a .215 ERA and a .212 batting average. The statistics may favor the Dukes, but Hofstra played tougher competition to open the season.
“If they look at the numbers they may say ‘oh, we can get ’em’ but we have been that way every year because of who we’re playing,” Edwards said of his early schedule. “If they look at the whole picture, they’ll say it’s the same Hofstra team.”
Playing a team like JMU that shows little, if any, weaknesses, Hofstra needs to use its speed and athleticism to its advantage, Edwards said.
“We may be able to force them into some things, we don’t know though,” the coach said.
James Madison will step onto the field with excellent pitching that is now a year older. Sophomore Jenny Clohan received CAA Pitcher of the Week honors last week.
“We won’t be able to exploit their pitching,” Edwards said. “But if we bring our ‘A’ game, we’ll be o.k. If we bring anything but our ‘A’ game, we’ll have to work harder.”
Edwards found it easy to breakdown what exactly his team’s ‘A’ game is.
“We need solid pitching and we need to play solid defense, and have to figure out how to get a run or two, or three or four,” the coach said.
In an effort to generate more runs, Edwards tinkered with his lineup after the team’s first two trips to the south. His new lineup then went 6-2 in the Pride’s last trip to Florida, and he will keep it for this weekend’s series.
Edwards said he moved sophomore Melissa Hodge to left field from the bullpen to add another bat to the lineup, placing her in the middle of the order. Edwards also added more experience to his infield.
“I wasn’t comfortable with our defense, I’m comfortable now,” said the coach, who is seeking his players to play consistent softball. “I need to know what I’m getting every time they play. Hodgey gives me that.”
Edwards said his lineup, especially this weekend, should surprise the Dukes, because it’s freshness.
“We have a whole new look to our team,” Edwards said. “And yet, I think it is a lineup I think will be pretty good for us.”