By Ed Marrone
If the Pride softball season was a car, its pitchers would undoubtedly be the ones in the driver’s seat. Specifically, those drivers would be starting pitchers Adrienne Clark and Callie Osborne. Much of the Pride’s success hinges on whether these seniors are performing well.
This past weekend at the Speedline Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. the Pride went 4-2, improving its record to 9-8. The overall record marks a dramatic turnaround for the Pride, which it started the season by dropping six out of its first seven games. And as usual, during the tournament, the Pride’s success coincided with Clark and Osborne’s performances. In a loss to Western Michigan University on Thursday, Clark gave up three runs in a 5-3 loss; meanwhile, Osborne surrendered four runs and three walks in just two innings of work in a 9-0 defeat at the hands of Oklahoma State University on Saturday.
On the other hand, the duo threw back-to-back shutouts on Friday against Purdue University and Villanova University and then ended the trip with wins over usual offensive powerhouses Southern Mississippi University (SMU), a complete game, 4-3, victory by Clark, and Tennessee Tech, a complete game, 3-0, shut out thrown by Osborne. Keeping all of this in mind, it is safe to assume that Clark and Osborne can’t stray far from that driver’s seat if the Pride wants to equal its 2004 success.
“Pitching is 95 percent of this game, some say it’s even 99 percent of it,” Pride head coach Bill Edwards said. “If those two throw well, we’re going to win. When Callie is on, she’s as good as anybody in the country. Adie [Clark] isn’t overpowering, but she just throws nasty stuff and we can get a ground ball from her anytime. It’s a matter of those two pitching to their full potential that ties this whole scenario together.”
The last two games of the Speedline were especially encouraging. SMU is known for its offensive prowess, as the Lady Bulldogs had scored ten or more runs six times thus far his season. In eight innings of work, Clark held SMU to one earned run and five hits while walking one and striking out five. Clark’s performance allowed senior centerfielder Kelly Morris to win the game in the eighth inning on an RBI-single.
In the finale against Tennessee Tech, a team that Edwards said, “can flat out hit,” Osborne tossed a five-hit shutout, striking out five and with no walks. Osborne, who was not immediately available for comment, was aided by sophomore catcher Ashley Lane, who belted her second home run of the year in the bottom of the fourth to give the Pride a lead it would never relinquish.
“It was an awesome tournament for us,” said Clark, who went 2-1 with a stellar 0.35 in three starts over the weekend. “The hardest thing for us is always getting off to a good start. I remember my freshman year; we started 0-15 before we finally picked it up. We’ve made some great improvements since [the slow start] and now we’re finally starting to play with some consistency. It’s a great sign for us.”
The Pride’s up-and-down start is a byproduct of an odd schedule. The team has played all 17 games in Florida. The only problem is that the Pride- a team from the Northeast-was never able to practice outdoors due to poor weather. Conversely, the teams the Pride has faced are from warmer climates and already had been practicing for weeks before the Pride played its first game.
However, the Pride finally gets to host its first home stand this weekend. This should certainly help, as the team finished 18-3 at Hofstra Softball Stadium in 2004. Whatever the case, Edwards refuses to make any excuses for his team.
“We’re on a roller coaster right here,” Edwards said. “From indoors to outdoors to Florida to back indoors, it’s been quite a ride so far. But when we play well, we’re good, so as soon as we learn how to put it all [offense, defense, and pitching] together, we’ll be a better team.”
Edwards knows what the Pride must do well to kickoff a successful home season. “As for this weekend, we just need to play. It would be a crime if we didn’t play well after ending things the way we did in Florida. I don’t care if we’re playing at home, on the road, in a cave wherever, it doesn’t really make a difference. We just need to play well so that we can build something here,” he said.
Something good can definitely be built as soon as the offense starts hitting well consistently. The Pride is hitting well in the clutch situations, but it can all come together for the team when it is hitting consistently all of the time.
“Hopefully we can get these games in,” said Clark, referring to the weather. “It is important for us to win our games at home obviously, but then again we need to win our games on the road too. Home or away, a game is a game and we have to go out and play hard regardless of where we are.”
Senior pitcher Adrienne Clark leads the Pride with a 1.33 ERA this year to go along with five wins. The Pride softball team is 9-8 thus far in all non-conference games. (Photo Courtesy Athletic Dept.)