The Hofstra softball team is preparing for its 2020 campaign, in which they will look to re-enter the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship picture after a disappointing 2019 saw them fail to defend their 2018 conference championship.
In 2019, the Pride came under the helm of new head coach Jay Miller. The previous coach Larissa Anderson left the program after leading the team to a CAA Championship win and an appearance in the NCAA Regionals in her fourth year in the position. The team then struggled to find a rhythm in the following year, as the void left by the championship team’s nine departing seniors proved too big to fill in just one year.
This year, with an exceptional group of sophomores and eight freshmen entering the program, the team’s youth is key to Miller.
“Our future is the freshman and sophomore class, so that group is the group that we have to rely on to carry this program,” Miller said. “I think that both Alexis [Goeke] and Kristin [Hallam] have done a great job of providing senior leadership for our young kids. They’re great role models both on and off the field for our team and they’ve really set the tone for this year’s ball club.”
The team has already faced adversity prior to the season even getting underway. Three of the team’s players have undergone or will undergo season-ending surgery, rendering them unable to play in the 2020 season. Included in that group is Hallam, a senior infielder who’s blossomed into a key player for the Pride. She’s undergone a successful UCL surgery, commonly known as Tommy John surgery, in the preseason.
“We’re going to miss having [Hallam] with us this year,” Miller said. “She was the Defensive Player of the Year in the CAA last year and was our catalyst – our lead-off hitter on offense as well. [She] set a record for stolen bases, so those are things that we’re going to miss. We’re going to have to have somebody else step up to fill that void, but her rehab and recovery has been going very well. I expect her to come back next year at full strength.”
Devyn Losco, a junior catcher who played in every game last season, will not compete due to UCL surgery as well. Sam Ward, a junior catcher who had just transferred from Rider University, is out for the year due to ACL surgery.
“Unfortunately, we’re going to have a few kids out for the season, but it gives other people an opportunity to show what they can do and step up, so that’s what we’re looking for them to do,” Coach Miller said.
Hallam will return to the team next year to complete her senior eligibility, leaving seniors Alexa Corben and designated player Goeke as the team’s only departing members. Goeke was one of two Pride players to be named to the CAA’s All-Conference First Team last year, along with Meghan Giordano.
Giordano excelled in her freshman season with the Pride, earning CAA Co-Rookie of the Year honors. She ranked in the top 10 in the CAA in a number of offensive stats, including total hits, RBIs, home runs, batting average and on-base percentage. In each category, she was Hofstra’s leader as well. Giordano credited her freshman year success to the unity found in the locker room.
“When all the girls are working together, and we’re all seeing each other’s achievements and going out there every single day and working for what we want, it creates this bond that we have,” Giordano said. “Everyone on our team is a leader, in some way. Whether it’s on the field, off the field [or] in the classroom, every single person has a role. I think that’s really important that every person, whether you’re a senior or even an incoming freshman, has to be a leader.”
On the mound, sophomores Madison Burns and Mackenzie Suto will be joined by two freshmen right-handed pitchers, Nikki Mullin and Natalie Grubczak. This creates a flexibility at the position that the team did not have last year, as they only had the then-freshmen Burns and Suto as options.
“Both [Burns] and [Suto] are much improved over last year,” Miller said. “Having a year under your belt makes a tremendous difference at the Division I level, and I think they were both able to see, last year, what it takes to compete at this level, and they both came back a lot stronger. And, they’ve got some help; it was just the two of them last year, so, especially by the end of the year, we got pretty tired on the mound.
“Both [Mullin and Grubczak] are freshmen that I think have tremendous potential … they have some experienced kids ahead of them, and [Burns] and [Suto] have both done a great job of helping them get accustomed to what Division I softball is all about and what it takes to compete,” Miller said. “I think our freshmen are going to surprise some people.”
Above all, the team wants to return to the level of play that brought them the CAA Championship in 2018. While the CAA’s pre-season polls might not expect the Pride to make the jump this year, ranking the team No. 6, the team remains confident despite their underdog status.
“[Returning to the CAA Championship] is really important to us,” Giordano said. “The pre-season polls just came out, and we were ranked No. 6, which means they think we won’t be at the tournament. It’s a piece of motivation for us because we’re here to prove everybody wrong. Everybody’s working, day in and day out, giving 110%, to make sure that we get there, and we don’t just stop there – [that] we keep going.”
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
