By Ed Morrone
The Pride softball team is infamous for its slow starts. So Pride softball coach Bill Edwards was not surprised when his team started the 2005 season by dropping six of its first seven games. When the Pride won the next four games, Edwards was even less surprised. After all, this is what he has come to expect.
Beginning on Feb. 19, the Pride played in two separate tournaments down in Tampa, Fla., first the Wilson Invitational, and then the Adidas Invitational hosted by the University of South Florida (USF). In the Wilson, the Pride stumbled out of the gate, losing six of seven in a season with high expectations, causing the naysayers to grumble. However, the Pride responded by winning all four of its games in the USF/Adidas and taking first place in that tournament, improving its record to 5-6 on the season.
“We can beat anyone in the country at any time, and I really believe that,” Edwards said. “Keep in mind that some of the teams that we played already had 10 or 11 games under their belts while we’ve just started to practice outside and we still had opportunities to win these games when technically we aren’t ready to play yet.”
Last season’s leading hitter Ashley Lane picked up right where she left off by batting .423 (11-for-26), hitting a home run, and knocking in five runs. Senior Lisa Torres also swung a hot bat, hitting .346 in nine games.
Pride pitchers also started well, as staff ace Adrienne Clark posted a 1.93 ERA and freshman Courtney Oliver stepped up with a win and a 2.25 ERA in four appearances. Callie Osborne, who set the school record with a 0.79 ERA last season, struggled with a 1-3 record and an ERA of almost 5. One can only hope that like the Pride, Osborne will bounce back from a slow start and pitch the almost flawless baseball that she did last season.
After the slow start at the Wilson Tournament, the Pride went into the Adidas Invitational with a possibility of falling even deeper in the overall standings. However, it went in with a never-say-die attitude and tallied wins against University of Illinois, Temple University, Wagner College, and the University of Rhode Island. The wins against Illinois (last season’s Big Ten Conference runner-up) and Temple (reigning Atlantic 10 champs) were especially encouraging because the momentum swung back into the Pride’s favor before heading back home.
“It was a trip that exposed things that we have to work on both mentally and physically,” Edwards said. “It definitely taught us a lot, especially how to respond to adversity. The way we finished up is the way that I hope we play all year because we played tremendous ball in those last four games.”
Another bright spot for the Pride was the somewhat unexpected emergence of a few first year players. Oliver got her first collegiate start and win against Illinois, giving up just one run and three hits in 4 1/3 innings of work. She also hit .286 with a double in seven at bats. Meanwhile, fellow newcomer Pam Dreslinski was the team’s second leading hitter, batting .400 (8-for-20) with three RBI during the trip.
“Our freshmen played wonderful,” Edwards said. “Courtney [Oliver] got the start against Illinois and responded brilliantly and we just rode Pam’s hot bat and she played very good defensively. Gen Haney also started a game, took some good swings, and played very well. The good thing is that our freshman don’t really play like freshman, but rather like seasoned veterans, which was great to see. When they play well and contribute against top competition like this, we’re a better team as a result.”
The long trip and all the time spent together by the players will undoubtedly bring the players closer together. It was already a team with great chemistry that is used to playing with one another, and teams become better on the field by creating this chemistry off of the field.