Softball looks to be dark horse in SoCon
By: Jackson Briggs
Issue date: 3/27/09 Section: Sports
At the halfway point in its 2009 season, the Furman Lady Paladin softball team may just be poised to surprise the rest of the Southern Conference as it enters the meat of their conference schedule.
Since opening the season 4-13, the Lady Paladins have gone 6-3, winning series over South Carolina State, Towson and UNC Greensboro. It should come as no surprise that Furman, a team that struggled offensively in the early part of the season, has relied on its bats to catalyze its resurgence.
"We got our confidence back at the plate," said Head Coach Dana Jenkins, "I think against USC-Upstate we hit the ball the hardest I've ever seen. We just weren't hitting our spots."
Despite slipping up in a two-game series against USC-Upstate, the team that Jenkins still calls the most talented one she's ever had seems to be finding their groove at the plate. Seniors Abby Robertson and Stephanie Cushing, whom Jenkins calls the best shortstop Furman has ever had, have led the charge. The team's 6-3 record in the last few weeks is proof that the team is starting to gel.
"The more we can play together, that's a definite plus for this group," said Coach Jenkins, "This is a team that needs to get more comfortable to hit their stride, and playing more helps reach that. We haven't had our hitting, pitching and defense all in place in one game yet, but I'm very excited about seeing that happen."
Despite Jenkins's cautious optimism looking toward the SoCon schedule, she admits to being somewhat disappointed with the results thus far, as the team is only two games from last place in the conference and carrying a record that feels like an underachievement given the Lady Paladins' talent level.
"I thought we'd have more wins. We've lost a ton of close games, but I'm hoping we can learn from that, and it will make us better down the stretch," said Coach Jenkins, "Hopefully we can use that experience and everything can fall into place for us and we can reach our big goal."
This year's expectation?
"Winning the conference tournament," said Coach Jenkins, "that's our big goal."
If the Lady Paladins can get the pieces into place, the talent is there to repeat Furman's unexpected SoCon Tournament Championship in 2007. In order for that to happen in a conference that Jenkins swears is even every year, they will need to start converting some of the one and two run games that have mostly ended up in the loss column this season.
Furman softball continues their Southern Conference schedule this weekend against conference newcomers Samford with a doubleheader on Saturday.
Since opening the season 4-13, the Lady Paladins have gone 6-3, winning series over South Carolina State, Towson and UNC Greensboro. It should come as no surprise that Furman, a team that struggled offensively in the early part of the season, has relied on its bats to catalyze its resurgence.
"We got our confidence back at the plate," said Head Coach Dana Jenkins, "I think against USC-Upstate we hit the ball the hardest I've ever seen. We just weren't hitting our spots."
Despite slipping up in a two-game series against USC-Upstate, the team that Jenkins still calls the most talented one she's ever had seems to be finding their groove at the plate. Seniors Abby Robertson and Stephanie Cushing, whom Jenkins calls the best shortstop Furman has ever had, have led the charge. The team's 6-3 record in the last few weeks is proof that the team is starting to gel.
"The more we can play together, that's a definite plus for this group," said Coach Jenkins, "This is a team that needs to get more comfortable to hit their stride, and playing more helps reach that. We haven't had our hitting, pitching and defense all in place in one game yet, but I'm very excited about seeing that happen."
Despite Jenkins's cautious optimism looking toward the SoCon schedule, she admits to being somewhat disappointed with the results thus far, as the team is only two games from last place in the conference and carrying a record that feels like an underachievement given the Lady Paladins' talent level.
"I thought we'd have more wins. We've lost a ton of close games, but I'm hoping we can learn from that, and it will make us better down the stretch," said Coach Jenkins, "Hopefully we can use that experience and everything can fall into place for us and we can reach our big goal."
This year's expectation?
"Winning the conference tournament," said Coach Jenkins, "that's our big goal."
If the Lady Paladins can get the pieces into place, the talent is there to repeat Furman's unexpected SoCon Tournament Championship in 2007. In order for that to happen in a conference that Jenkins swears is even every year, they will need to start converting some of the one and two run games that have mostly ended up in the loss column this season.
Furman softball continues their Southern Conference schedule this weekend against conference newcomers Samford with a doubleheader on Saturday.