The Observer, April 20, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 25
Plagued by cancellations, softball team splits doubleheader
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Due to various cancellations and postponements, Case's softball team has played only one opponent in the last week. That opponent was Westminster College, against whom Case played a doubleheader last Friday. The two teams split the twinbill, with the Spartans winning the second game, 13-4. An offensive outburst featuring a home run by Amanda Bell and three hits from Chelsea Poelking led the Spartans to the win. They lost the first game, 0-2.
With the relative infrequency of their games as of late, the Spartans have been trying their best to stay sharp.
"We will practice outside whenever it's possible, and we will take batting practice inside at least once a week as well," said junior outfielder Lauren Seeds. "We try to keep a light atmosphere and just look forward to playing actual games."
The lack of recent game experience appeared to be evident last week as the team had a slow start, losing the first game in low-scoring fashion before turning around and crushing the Titans in the second half of the doubleheader.
Starting slow and then turning it up in the second game has been a recurring theme for the Spartans on road trips. Seeds explained that the weather is part of the reason for these slow starts.
"By the end of the first game, we are normally making a pretty good run at the other team, and then obviously we come out on fire in the second game," she said. "Another contributing factor is that a lot of schools pitch their best girl in the first game, and then the pitching quality usually drops off after that one girl."
In the first leg of the doubleheader the Spartans found themselves unable to connect the bat with the softball. The team recorded only two hits against Westminster's best pitcher. The Spartans' defensive effort was not bad. They allowed only two runs on six hits. However, that was one more run than the Titans needed to win the game.
"Westminster's pitcher (Jennifer Pancake) was really good," said Ruthe Sagartz. "She was able to jam us the entire game."
Thankfully for the Spartans, Pancake was not allowed to pitch the second game. The Spartans managed to find their bats in time to crush Westminster, 13-4, to salvage the split. According to Sagartz, the team was able to calm down and have some fun during the second game. After falling behind 1-2 in the top of the second inning, Case responded with six runs on six hits in the bottom half of the inning and the game was never in question from that point forward. Sagartz pitched an excellent game, allowing only four hits, while striking out three batters in five innings of work. Freshmen Chelsea Poelking and Katie Svilar both performed well at the plate. Poelking went three-for-three with two RBI while Svilar was two-for-three with two runs scored.
Due to the nature of softball and the consistent lack of quality outdoor lighting on the diamond, it is necessary that the majority of the team's games are played during the day. As a result, along with members of the baseball team, the players find that they typically miss as many classes during the spring as they attend. Although as of late this has not been much of an issue, it could become much more serious as games are rescheduled to be played near the start of finals.
"Missing class is always a concern for us because we have to play in the middle of the day since it's an outside game," Seeds said. "We are missing a lot of class, but our coach understands what school we are at and tries her best to work around that. I don't think we are going to schedule any more makeup games beyond May 1."
The Spartans were scheduled to play April 19, but that game was not completed as of press time. The Spartans will be in action this Sunday at Bethany College for a doubleheader starting at noon. They will return home for a doubleheader against Wooster tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.
