The softball team has done nearly everything this season. They have played 25 games spanning from Massachusetts to Florida. They have faced teams from as close as Brandeis and from as far away as Minnesota. They have gone into extra innings on four different occasions and mercy-ruled teams on three others.
Although the softball team's record was perfect in California, it encountered some hurdles along the way, the first of which occured in the second game of a doubleheader against California Lutheran on March 15. Leading 6-2 going into the final inning, the Jumbos settled for a one-run win after Cal Lutheran's bats heated up in the final stretch. Sophomore pitcher Izzie Santone held off the Regals' charge after taking over in a two-on, no-out situation.
Though the softball team was unable to secure a trip to the College World Series, the Jumbos didn't walk out of the season without hardware.
Heading into the NCAA Tournament New England Regional, the softball team appeared to be in good position to contend for its first berth in the College World Series since 2000.
The second half of a doubleheader against Endicott last Tuesday suggested that the softball team was emerging from a brief but costly offensive slump.
A slew of errors, a thinned pitching rotation and a stymied offensive assault couldn't prevent the softball team from accomplishing one of its preseason goals over the weekend.
Sophomore shortstop Casey Sullivan will carry her .412 batting average into a three-game series against NESCAC East rival Trinity beginning today at 4 p.m. at Spicer Field. The softball team can clinch the regular-season division crown this weekend if it takes two of three from the Bantams, who enter the series in second place. Tufts has won its last eight contests against Trinity, a run that includes a victory in last season's NESCAC championship game.
For the first time since it returned from spring break, the softball team could not keep up with its grueling schedule.
A full 12 days after it last took the field, the softball team showed little sign of rust.
The softball team's three-game set against NESCAC East rival Bowdoin, scheduled for this weekend, was postponed due to poor playing conditions at Spicer Field. No makeup date has been announced.
If March is a barometer for spring seasons, the softball team's early reading is in: There is still work to do.
The softball team had another great season last year, winning the NESCAC championship and advancing to the NCAA New England Regional. The only question now is: What will the Jumbos do for an encore?
As the softball team reloads this season, its offense, one of the region's most explosive over the past several years, will be on the minds of many opposing coaches. But the Jumbos' rotation, which includes two of the NESCAC's top five pitchers from 2007 and two big-time regional recruits, may be what really gives teams fits this season.
There's a new champion in town.
The softball team may have ended its season with a loss, but when it came to the 2007 campaign as a whole, there was no shortage of highlight-reel moments.
The Jumbos got just what they needed this weekend - and then some.
On April 8, the softball team was mired in a slump, having dropped four of five, including both games of a doubleheader against NESCAC contender Williams - a team it had handed a 14-0 mercy-rule drubbing just two weeks prior.
Despite having only recorded a total of three innings prior to yesterday's start, junior Heather Kleinberger certainly didn't look out of practice.
The softball team entered 2007 as the defending champion of the NESCAC East. After this weekend, it looks poised to defend that title.
Spicer Field has never fared well with rainy weather. But only an indoor diamond could withstand this year's abysmal outdoor conditions.
