winning
the last 24 of 25 games. LC
recently received the number one seed for the Region 24 tournament.
Trailblazers
Softball Awes
|
The
LC softball team is playing its best at the right time of the year.
The 35-9-1 Trailblazers are on a tremendous hot streak,
winning
the last 24 of 25 games. LC
recently received the number one seed for the Region 24 tournament.
The
.398 team batting average is enough to justify the team’s success.
Fifth year head coach Ronda Roberts realizes the offense is key, along
with some other important elements. “The players have confidence in our
offense and we have been relentless on the base paths,” Roberts said.
“Assistant Coach Wayne Cairns and I have been constantly telling the
players to keep the line-up moving. When
we’re at bat, the more times our offense sees a pitcher, the odds are stacked
in our favor that we’ll hit better against her.”
The Trailblazers have been listening.
The team scored a whopping 7.9 runs per game.
The
starting lineup boasts nine players hitting .300 or better.
Led by lead off hitter and pitcher Lindsey Bonnell’s .533 average, the
offense is stacked with eye-popping statistics including clean up hitter and
Marquette grad, Amber Hanneken .456; Highland duo Jennifer Mettler .442 and
Becky Schreiber .413; Kelly Breitwiser .417; Katie McBride .402; Tiffany Bennett
.348; Shauna Holcmann .343; and Erin McAfee .340.
“The
lofty batting averages are tied into batters having some sort of an idea of what
they’re doing at the plate,” Roberts said. “Our players are patient
hitters who make pitchers work. Every player has a particular kind of ball that
they like to swing at…some are high ball hitters, some low ball,” she said.
“We work pitchers deep into the count, and they can’t relax because we have
good hitters from top to bottom.”
Roberts
said another factor contributing to the team’s good record is their hustle.
She said if a player gets a walk, the way they run to first base, you
would think they’re
trying to beat out a ground ball.
“What doesn’t show in the statistics is how everyone hustles, not only to
first base, but we’ve stretched a lot of blooped singles into doubles this
year. Our overall speed and
aggressiveness have produced smart base running,” Roberts said.
Superb
pitching has also carried the Trailblazers.
The two starters, Lindsey Bonnell and Tiffany Bennett have combined for
28 victories. Bonnell, who bats lead off and plays center field when not
pitching, is arguably the player needed most in the lineup.
She is 13-2, with a 1.43 ERA and leads the team with 77 strikeouts.
“Lindsey is a hard thrower who has an intimidating presence on the
mound,” said Roberts. “She’s
confident, feisty, and when she’s pitching, the more innings she throws, the
stronger she gets. When she’s in a groove, she’s unstoppable.”
Freshman
Tiffany Bennett throws differently from Bonnell, but Roberts said that
difference is why she’s effective. “Tiffany,
because she’s shorter, gives the impression she doesn’t throw hard, but she
does. Her maturity has improved
from the beginning of the season, because she has concentrated on getting the
first batter out in every inning. Her command – alternating her drop, curve
and changeup – while mixing speeds and keeping the ball down, have made her
tough to score on,” Roberts added. Bennett
is 15-3 with a 1.58 ERA