Avery Martin – Contributor
The Southern Connecticut State University Women’s Softball team played their home opener on Wednesday, March 22 at Pelz Field.
It was a sunny afternoon in the low 50s, perfect for the doubleheader against Post University. The Owls were coming off a 0-10 loss against the University of Indianapolis and were determined to bounce back and show their winning attributes.
The first game ended in a 6-4 loss for SCSU, but they came back to win the second game 6-1. “A positive is that we have shown that we are fighters,.” Emily Lange, a junior outfielder, said. “We’ve shown that even when we are down we will still try and figure it out. The first game didn’t work out for us but then we turned it around for the second..”
“In the first game we were a little out of it defensively. Having that struggle with defense did not go well for us in the first game but we were able to, in the second game, have enough runs to secure the win”, Jacqueline Dumont, a graduate student catcher, said.
The first game was initially led by the Owls, until a series of runs by Post turned the tide. From the fourth to seventh innings, SCSU would replace their pitcher twice. RBIs were scored by Dumont, Alex Tenero, and Angela Barresi.
Coach Jill Rispoli said between games, “We are doing what we need to be doing offensively, sometimes. We are in this rollercoaster type situation right now, but we got to become a little more aggressive from my perspective. We have to jump on pitches earlier and not wait until the sixth inning to start firing things up. Pitching wise we have to be a little more perfect.”
Lange also observed similarly. “Offensively we did really good. We just have to keep getting after it, and not slip up after scoring a few times,” Lange said.
When asked what was discussed between games to help the Owls eventually split the double header, Lange said “We talked about pushing ahead and not stopping. We talked about keeping our foot on the gas and not letting up after we scored.”
“We were trying to fix all those little pieces that fit together to fire on all four cylinders. Being able to play double headers, you take what you didn’t do so well in the first game and adjust it to do better in the second game” Dumont said.
Pitching for game one consisted of Ashley Lewis, Emma Gorham, and Jessica Perucki. Perucki was the lone pitcher for the second game and dominated on the mound, allowing her opponents to score just once.
In the second game, SCSU took an early lead when a hit by Dumont brought in Lange. Further RBIs were scored by Katrina Roy, Nadia Cestari, Dominique DeLutri, and Gabriella Festa. Dumont also hit a home run.
“I don’t try to hit home runs, I try to just go up to bat and do what I need to do. In that inning I was the first up to bat so I was just trying to get on base. But I can hit the ball kinda hard so when something like that happens it is good. I am happy I hit it”,Dumont said.
Southern now have a 4-8 record, while Post have a 2-16 record for the season. The next games for SCSU will be against NE10 conference teams, including American International College, Franklin Pierce, Le Moyne, and University of New Haven.
