In preparation for the upcoming season, the softball team has been putting in the time and effort to make this upcoming season one to remember. The focus of this offseason was improvement, with each and every player committed to getting a little better each day they step on the field. The upcoming season seems all too promising for the softball team. With a new year and new additions to the team, the players are very excited for this upcoming season. “I feel very confident with our roster. It’s a new season and a new team, and each year it’s amazing seeing the new additions we get and seeing them thrive and bring so much new talent and energy to our team. I’m excited for all our newbies to see them compete this year,” said fourth year second baseman Giana Hays.
This offseason, the team has been working very hard on the mental aspect of the game, and one player even mentioned the regular meetings with players and sports psychologist Dr. Joe Puentes. “Softball is so mental, and a lot of people don’t put enough effort into that side of the game, but as a team, we put a lot of work into our mental game. We met with our sports psychologist (Dr. Joe) every other week, and he has truly helped bring our game to the next level,” also said Hays. The mental aspect of the game has been a huge part of the team’s preparation for this season and the results are about to show. The players have been committed, and with the season right around the corner, only time will tell whether or not the extra work in the offseason will pay off.
The Seawolves are favored to win the regular-season title this year as they received five first-place votes and became the coaches’ pick for this upcoming season. The Seawolves started the season off with the Concordia Kickoff Classic held in Southern California, which took place on February 2nd and went through the weekend. In their first game, the Seawolves went up against Colorado Christian. Since the Seawolves are favored to win the league and Colorado Christian was 57-6 last season with many familiar faces returning, this game was set up to be a great watch. Although it was a great honor to receive the coaches’ pick, it was not enough to carry them through the tournament opener, losing the game 1-2 after 6 innings of play. They followed that up with two straight wins, with a 5-2 finish against Chaminade University and 9-1 against Western Oregon University.
The team then traveled close by to Santa Rosa to participate in the North Bay Classic, dropping three out of four games. Their next games are this coming Friday and Saturday, challenging Cal State East Bay on their home turf at the Seawolf Softball Field.
