It is often said that success is hard to duplicate. After advancing to the College World Series in Salem, VA, and earning a number-ten ranking in the final national poll last season, the women's softball team has the challenge of repeating and perhaps even exceeding last year's accomplishments. After graduating only two players, the women believe that they have the talent and experience to put together another extended postseason run.
"Essentially, we have starters back at every position," coach Kris Talon said. "Having returning people all across the board and being one of the last eight teams playing last year means we should be pretty good. Hopefully, we will get back to the World Series, but a lot of good things have to happen."
With the opening day lineup basically set, there will be little competition for positions, and there has to be some concern that this could lead to complacency.
"I think everyone on our team is pretty hungry," junior shortstop Jen Mackey said. "Per se there is no competition, but you can make some in your mind. I don't think that is much of a factor."
"Towards the end of last season we did some position changes, so just because we lost only two seniors does not mean that positions are set in stone," senior co-captain Randee McArdle said. "We have several players trying out new positions, and they could end up starting. Not only could new people start but [returning] people in new positions."
While the team carries only two senior players (McArdle and pitcher Rachel Brecher) and four juniors (Mackey, first baseman Tiffany Trahan, second baseman Emily Ferezza, and P/3B Jodie Moreau), the team is rather experienced overall. Talon expects to rely on her upperclassman to provide leadership for younger players.
"Leadership is a big reason why Tufts softball has been successful over the last four or five years," Talon said. "We have a lot of commitment to the basics like working hard. Randee returns as captain and is a kid that the rest of the team looks to. Rachel Brecher: I have not seen someone who works as hard for her goals and the teams. Our players are asked to lead themselves everyday."
Offensively, the team should be solid. Six returning players batted over .300 and three players (McArdle, Trahan, and sophomore catcher Lis Drake) hit five or more home runs. The same triumvirate drove in 25 or more runs. Drake, a third team Louisville-Slugger Award winner in her rookie season, is the biggest bopper in a strong lineup. The sophomore slugger hit .374 with ten doubles, seven home runs, and 29 RBI to go along with a .714 slugging percentage, and led the team in each of those categories.
"Offensively on paper we are real good," Talon said. "We definitely have three kids who can hit the ball out of the park repeatedly. One through nine we are going to have good hitters, no matter who they are. We are looking at a team with almost 90 extra-base hits that slugged well over .400. We are a pretty good power hitting team."
Despite the seemingly potent offense, the team went into a big-time slump during the postseason last year, a plight that the women hope to avoid this season.
"We did not hit at all during the World Series," Talon said. "We just hit a slump at an inopportune time, but we showed the strength of our plain old character in regionals where our hitting was not strong, but we got some timely hits and good defense and pitching. We won one game with two hits. I think it was just a slump. We are going to put an emphasis on good offense workouts."
"We are working a lot more on hitting in practice," McArdle said. "It is easy to devote time to defense, but this year coach is making a conscientious effort to hit more. We are seeing live pitching."
While the squad excelled on offense last season, with the exception of the lapse during the playoffs, the old saying goes that defense and pitching win championships.
"Defense is our priority," Talon said. "I'm from the school that defense wins in the end. It is a given that we are going to play perfect defense or close to it."
Fielding prowess may be key to finding a winning formula, but a closer look at the team's statistics from last year shows that the Jumbos were not exactly an air-tight unit, as the squad committed 85 errors last season, as compared 72 for opponents.
"In the beginning of any season, defense is a little shaky especially because we play indoors for a month," McArdle said. "You get used to different hops that the ball takes on hard ground as opposed to the hops it takes on dirt. So far it seems to be coming around."
Last season, the softball team featured two pitchers, Brecher and junior Jodie Moreau, who combined to pitch all of the team's games. Moreau, who overpowers the opposition, threw 150 innings, winning 14 games and losing eight while setting the school record for strikeouts in a season with 119. Brecher is more of a finesse pitcher and complied an 11-4 record with 34 strikeouts in 95 innings of work. Rookies Kasey Lindsey and Maggie McClory join the rotation this year.
"As they say traditionally, pitching has been the name of the game in fast pitch softball," Talon said. "We have four pitchers. We have Jodie who is our top gun and was first team All-New England. She wins games. She throws a lot of different pitches and was 9-2 in the second half. Statistically, 14-8 doesn't sound all that great, but she got the job done.
"Rachel is an entirely different pitcher and doesn't throw as hard, but hits her spots and mixes it up," she continued. "Lindsey and McClory are two kids for whom pitching is their primary job. They are four different kinds of pitchers and it will be a challenge for me to find opportunities to use them all."
This season, the Jumbos are presented with a new challenge. As usual, they have one of the more difficult schedules in the region, but this year they also have to deal with the new NESCAC format. Under this new system, the NESCAC is divided into an eastern and western bracket, and the top two teams from each bracket play in the NESCAC playoffs at the end of the season to determine who advances to the NCAA Tournament. During the NESCAC playoffs, the four teams compete in a double-elimination tournament, which matches up the number one and two seeds from opposite brackets. Only one of the four teams can advance to the NCAAs, as there are no at-large berths. Tufts will be playing in the east with Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, and Trinity.
"We have a very competitive schedule," Talon said. "We try to have the most competitive schedule in New England. NESCAC games are critically important. I don't know if those NESCAC teams are going to be the strongest [competition], but they will be the most important. If we don't win those games, we are not going to get to go to the tournament. We are by no means a shoo in."
"It definitely makes it a lot more difficult to make the NCAAs," McArdle said. "I think the format kind of hinders a lot of good teams from making the tournament."
"Obviously the new setup is not a great idea," Mackey said. "Under this format we wouldn't have made it last year. We have to go out and make the most of every NESCAC game."
The Jumbos open their regular season with a trip to San Diego, CA, over spring break, where they will play a week of warm weather ball before returning to New England and kicking off their NESCAC season on March 31 against Trinity.
"Position by position we have a great team," Talon said. "Whether it turns into a great season remains to be seen."
