By Tim Robertson
It’s not a goal. It’s an expectation, Pride softball coach Bill Edwards said.
After nine straight conference championships, including five in the Colonial Athletic Association, a young Pride team looks for an even 10.
“It’s unstated every year. We talk about every team putting up a banner on the outfield fence, and this team is no different,” Edwards said.
Losing six seniors responsible for half of the team’s 49 homers will force the Pride to bunt, try to stretch singles into doubles, and hit-and-run more.
“Rather than going for a bloop and a blast,” Edwards explained, “we are going to get them on, get them over and get them in.”
Edwards seeks aggressiveness on offense by utilizing the team’s speed. He and his coaching staff turned sophomore Casey Fee, sophomore Erika Bernstein and freshman Kris Root from right-handed hitters into left-handed slap hitters in order to get a jump out of the batter’s box.
As the style of offense changes this season with a different kind of team, the Pride remain consistent in the circle from a season ago.
Hofstra returns three starting pitchers that won all 37 of Hofstra’s games in 2006, combining for an earned-run-average of 2.41.
Pitching remains the key to the Pride’s success, and Edwards said his three returnees need to pitch well and show they’ve matured over the past year.
“Our game is 99.9 percent pitching. If they keep the ball in routine play and in the park, we’re going to be OK,” Edwards said.
The pitching staff compliments one and another, the coach explained. Junior Courtney Oliver’s screwball and sophomore Kayleigh Lotti’s speed gives the Pride confidence because the pitching styles contrast each other well, he added.
Plagued last season by injuries, sophomore Melissa Hodge will start as well for the Pride. She went 5-2 with a 2.62 ERA in 14 appearances last season.
Edwards also brings back his best hitter and the CAA Player of the Year. Ashley Lane, the lone senior on this season’s squad, batted .383 and belted a team-leading 13 homeruns last season. She will start in right field, the coach said.
Hofstra will fill holes left by departing seniors with sophomores with little playing experience or incoming freshman. First and second year players make up 12 of the 16 roster spots.
Edwards plans to shift players around from last year’s lineup and plug in two new freshmen. Laura Jaxheimer, a freshman from Bethlehem, Penn., will debut at third base, replacing last year’s star Tara Ulrich.
“To her credit, she’s not feeling the pressure of filling in for Tara. She just wants to be Laura playing third, which is good,” Edward said. “Play your game, not play Tara’s game.”
Intense practices inside the Jets indoor practice facility prepares the younger players for the speed of college softball.
“I could probably put nine players on the field and have a pretty good team, but nine players don’t get you through Division I with the competition we play,” Edwards said. “We have to get those nine or 10 players up to about 14, so I’m pushing the players real hard.”
Early tests lay ahead as the Pride battles 12th-ranked University of Washington Saturday, 22nd-ranked University of South Florida Monday and 11th-ranked University of Michigan Friday. These games will test Edwards’ starting rotation early.
“It’s great to play those teams, because they expose your weaknesses right away. It allows you to come back here to practice what it is you need to practice,” said Edwards, who enters his 18th year as head coach.
A tough schedule prepares the Pride for CAA play and increases their chances at an at-large bid. The CAA commonly receives only one invite to the NCAA tournament, reserved for the conference champion.
A conference championship, although common in past years, doesn’t come with a guarantee. Edwards predicts if his team can muster seven wins against 15 of their big-name opponents, an at-large bid could be possible.
The USA Today preseason poll gives Hofstra eight votes, placing them 38th in the country.
Hofstra’s success relies more on the newcomers and less experienced players than it did in past seasons.
“We’re very, very young, but at the same time it’s a different type of team we’ve ever had. I think we will be eventually very good, but I don’t know when,” Edward said.