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Spring Trip: The Saint Benedict softball team embarks on a busy spring tip today (Mar. 23), playing six doubleheaders with a one-day break mixed in between. The Blazers are one of many teams landing in Clermont, Fla. for the annual National Training Center Spring Games. Entering at 2-2 on the young season, there will be 11 different opponents awaiting the Blazers. They will play three days of doubleheaders before a day break, and then a three more days of doubleheaders. We'll start with a look at the first six opponents.
About Southern Maine: The Blazers and Huskies will play at 10 a.m., Mar. 23. The Huskies enter a 0-2 on the year, opening up the season on Thursday with a pair of lopsided losses, 14-0 to Elmhurst and 8-1 to Wesleyan (Conn.). They struggled last season, finishing just 4-36, which included a seven-game losing streak to close the season. Over their final five game, they scored just one combined run, which including four consecutive shutouts to close the season by an average score of nearly 8-0. Senior catcher Jessica Hayden leads the way in two games this season, batting 3-for-5 with the teams only extra base hit.
About Oneonta State: The Blazers and Red Dragons will play at 2 p.m., Mar. 23. Playing their first games of the season on Mar. 22, the Red Dragons opened the season 1-1, falling 8-1 to Plymouth State before beating MIAC team Macalester 4-2. Last season, they went 12-24, and split their two games against MIAC teams, dropping a close 6-5 decision to St. Thomas while narrowly beating St. Catherine 3-2. Nicole Marzillo leads the offense in her second season, after batting .359 last year with 12 doubles for a .504 slugging percentage. In the circle, Rachel Hitt leads, after posting a team best 3.17 ERA with five wins in 75.0 innings.
About UW-Whitewater: The Blazers and Warhawks will play at 8 a.m., Mar. 24. The defending WIAC runner-up was picked by the conference coaches to win the league title in 2013. The Warhawks opened up play in Clermont on Mar. 22, picking up a 3-2 win over Plattsburg State and a 3-0 win over Carthage. Bekka Houda pitched the shutout on game two, while Amanda Mertes led the offense with a 3-for-7 effort at the plate, scoring twice. Last season, the Warhawks went an impressive 32-11, ending their season in the championship game of the WIAC Tournament.
About Western Connecticut State: The Blazers and Colonials will play at 10 a.m., Mar. 24. The Colonials opened their season in Clermont on Mar. 22, and began with a pair of losses, 9-8 to Concordia (Wis.) and 11-3 in five innings to Middlebury. They were picked to finish fourth in the Little East Conference preseason poll after going 7-7 in league play last season. The Colonials were 30-15 overall in 2012 and were led by four players who batted .400 or better. However, all four of those players are gone in 2013 with Julia Bocek as the early leader, after a 4-for-4 performance in the season's first two games.
About Luther: The Blazers and Norse will play at 8 a.m., Mar. 25. One of the top programs in the region, and nation, the Norse capped the 2012 campaign at the NCAA Championships after winning the NCAA Regional title. They went 41-8 last season, winning the IIAC Championship along the way. They went 6-0 against MIAC teams last season, which included a 2-0 win over St. Thomas in the regional tournament. So far this season they have opened 3-1 through four games, including a sweep of Bethel, winning 10-7 and 9-8. They have knocked out over 10 hits in each of their three wins, while giving up 10 in their lone loss.
About UW-Stevens Point: The Blazers and Pointers will play at 10 a.m., Mar. 25. The Pointers struggled to a 14-24 record last season, finishing last in the WIAC with a 3-13 conference record. Things have started off better this season with an 7-1 mark through the early part of the season, which includes three wins by shutout. Katie Shulfer is the early offensive leader with a .500 batting average, going 10-for-20 through eight games. Three players are batting over the .400 line, with a third coming in at .391. In the circle, Kali Riddell has thrown her way to a 6-0 mark, with 27 strikeouts in 30.1 innings.
Last Time Out: The Blazers had it working from all angles on Mar. 15, in scoring a doubleheader sweep over visiting Minnesota Morris in the Husky Dome. They got the bats going big in the first game, coming up with nine runs on 14 hits for their highest scoring game of the season, winning 9-1. Then in game two, it was first-year pitcher
Emily Engelmeier throwing a 14-strikeout gem to lead the Blazers to the sweep in a 4-1 win.
Up Next: After a day off on Mar. 26, the Blazers will get right back on the field with six more games Mar. 27-29. In closing out the trip they'll take on UW-River Falls, Kalamazoo, Loras, Buena Vista and Colby. Then - after the Easter holiday - it's right into conference play with an Apr. home date with Macalester.
