MU Softball Enters Conference Following Spring Break Success
Maddie Jo Shultz
After a winning streak over Spring Break, the Spartans returned to Indiana for the start of 2017’s Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) on Saturday, April 1.
Though several players lament the losses the team has suffered this season, they hope to improve their batting average and overall pitching as they begin the HCAC. “As a team, we really just want to win,” said first-years Taylor Sleeth and Tristyn Koon. Sleeth added that the players have continued to build strong bonds since the team’s trip to Florida. “We got really close as a team [in Florida], and I don’t know if it was the warm weather or us living together, but we grew closer as a team,” Sleeth said.
Koon agrees, saying that the team needs some improving but is on the right track. “I need to hit my spots when I’m pitching,” she admits, “and to work on my mental strength.”
Coach Josh Dzurick has held team meetings regularly since the start of the season, and Koon says that “to get us ready for the conference,” he has been reading a book during meetings to motivate the players. The Spartans entered the conference with a doubleheader against the Mt. St. Joseph Lions. Manchester scored two runs in the first game, but Mt. St. Joseph snuck ahead with three runs for the win. In the second game of the day, the Lions managed to defeat the Spartans for a clean sweep of 15 to 1.
The team’s recent losses contrast with the results of the games played in Ft. Myers in late March. Sleeth points out that the team had a record of 7 and 3 from the 10 games they played at Century Field over Spring Break.
Things are going to start heating up for the Spartans as they continue in the HCAC. The scheduled double-header against Anderson on April 5 has been postponed due to inclement weather.