Softball looks to change fortune heading into Big East play
Coming off her team’s toughest road trip of the season, Syracuse head coach Leigh Ross made a clear statement to her team: the season starts now.
Not that Ross, or her team, had taken its first 18 games lightly. But with its conference schedule looming, now would be the perfect time for Syracuse to peak. SU’s 1-4 showing on its recent West Coast road trip only helped reinforce Ross’ message.
The Orange (10-8) will look to rebound this Saturday at noon, squaring off against Seton Hall (9-10) in South Orange, N.J.
With last weekend’s Adidas Invitational Tournament being rained out, the matchup is the first game action the Orange will have seen since March 8 – nearly two weeks ago.
Because of the rainout last weekend, the Orange were unable to wipe away the painful memories of the discouraging Southern California road trip, making SU anticipate the start of Big East play even more.
But Syracuse hopes that the tough competition it faced in California, along with the grueling practices the coaching staff imposed on as a result of its losing, will only help prepare it for its upcoming Big East opponents.
‘I think that is the best competition we’ll see,’ senior catcher Amy Kelley said. ‘Our mentality is that we faced the best pitchers in the United States. With that, I think it’s really positive for us because it should help get us ready for the Big East.
‘We’re hoping to play at a higher level that we didn’t play at while in California.’
Despite failing to match the its early season winning results, senior shortstop Jamie Kelling said that despite the discontent SU feels toward its play, the team has been challenged and expect to show that it is among the top programs in the Big East.
‘As a team, we were really disappointed in ourselves for not playing up to our par,’ Kelling said. ‘Not having that opportunity to prove ourselves in South Carolina (due to rainout), definitely made us more hungry for the start of the Big East schedule.’
Kelling, though, believes that the recent struggles will ultimately strengthen the Orange. She said that after having faced some adversary, the players are mentally tougher heading into the Big East because they know what it takes to compete with the best.
But both the players and coaching staff know the Big East isn’t a cakewalk. Louisville (22-3) and DePaul (11-7) are both nationally ranked, at 16 and 21, respectively. Four other Big East teams have winning records thus far.
Ross hopes her squad can finish in the top four at seasons end, but emphasized that it will take a complete effort the rest of the way.
Rust after two weeks off isn’t a concern for Ross. She’s just hoping that players don’t start second-guessing themselves at the plate. She said that SU had great swings on its recent losses and that they remained confident and stayed aggressive. But after having some time off to sit back and evaluate, she’s hoping they continue that into Big East play.
‘They have to keep swinging,’ Ross said. ‘I think when you have a bad series of at-bats, people sometimes try to change their swing or change their mentality at the box. Sometimes you’re not going to be hot, but you’ve got to keep the swings the same and you’ve got to stay aggressive at the plate.’
The Orange is looking forward to proving itself all over again, starting this weekend against Seton Hall in Big East opener.
‘We’re ready to play,’ Kelling said. ‘I can’t say it any clearer than that.’
