April 4, 2013
As school let out for Spring Break, the softball team traveled to Fort Myers, Florida in search of better field conditions. Their season opener was against the University of Wisconsin-Superior at the Cape Coral Spots Complex on March 18. It was a close game, but Wisconsin-Superior had more experience, already having played nine games, and pulled off a 3-2 win in the tenth inning. The Continentals came back with a 6-2 win later that day against Smith College with four runs in the fifth inning, capitalizing on three Smith errors. Sam Miller ’14 played a great offensive game with two hits and two runs batted in. Melissa Kaknis ’13 doubled and Monique St. Jarre ’15 did not walk a batter, only allowing two runs. Kaknis is confident that “the season looks promising and we are excited to start our NESCAC play.”
The next day the team suffered two losses to NYU-Polytechnic and Worcester State University. On March 20, Hamilton won 3-2 in their first game of the day against Nichols College. Kelly Leonard ’15 tossed a complete game and Miller had five hits while Ellie Kiernan ’15 and Talia Mercado ’15 drove in one run apiece. In their second game of the day, the team lost 5-4 in a close game against Wooster. Against Wooster, Jenn Rougeux ’14 was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate. On March 21 the Continentals suffered two losses against the University of New England and SUNY Brockport at the Lee Country Field in Fort Meyers.
Back at the Cape Coral Sports Complex, the Continentals defeated the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth 2-1 on March 22. Miller singled twice and Amy Appel ’13 completed her first win in the circle this season. Appel is excited to continue with more wins this season, noting, “we had a great time in Florida and learned a lot about ourselves as a team. There’s a lot of talent on this team, and everyone’s stepping up. We’ve had some really close games so far, but with the amount of hard work we constantly put into each practice, I know we can do well in the NESCAC this year.”
In their second game the Continentals lost 3-2 to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, a score that would occur a total of six times in the Continental’s competitive games in Florida. Leonard pitched a three-hit shutout in Game one against Knox College, and the team went on to split the doubleheader against Knox after the second game. The team finished their time in Florida with a 4-8 record.
Head Coach Bill Spicer was very impressed with his players’ competitiveness, saying his players “competed very well in every single game.” He went on to say that the next step for the team is to capitalize on opportunities in close games in order to pull out the win. He noted that the six games the Continentals lost in Florida were one-run losses, showing much improvement from a few years ago and the team’s ability to pull out more wins in the future. St. Jarre is also optimistic about prospects for the future of the team. “We have an excellent chance to break the school record for wins this year, but its going to be a challenge,” she said. “There’s no doubt that we have the talent. As long as we can focus on hitting and driving in runs in clutch situations, we will win the majority of our games.”
The Continentals returned to Clinton in anticipation of a game against Morrisville State College on March 26. Due to snowy field conditions the game was postponed. On March 20, the Continentals were scheduled to play their NESCAC West Division opener at home against Wesleyan. Unable to find a location where they could play more than two games, the Continentals were forced to travel four hours to Wesleyan. In the first game the Continentals lost 7-2 after being down only one run at the top of the seventh. The third loss was much closer, again 3-2 like many of the competitive games played in Florida. As the season progresses, the team plans to pull out wins for these close games. The season looks very promising, especially as the weather warms up and the team is able to have the home-field advantage.
Games scheduled for April 2 and 3 have been postponed due to snow to April 4 at home. The Morrisville game has been rescheduled for April 22 and upcoming games on April 5 and 6 are still scheduled as planned at Amherst College.
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