By Michael Del Genio
Dominican Softball, despite the slow start to begin the year, has picked up steam, winning nine of its last ten games. The Stars stand 17-11 overall with an 11-3 conference record, which puts them second in the standings behind Marian University.
Kailee Randall, a junior infielder for the Stars and a captain, speaks on the mentality switch throughout the season, “We found our groove when we lost to CUW (Concordia University of Wisconsin). Since then, we’ve been respecting everyone and going 100% and having the mindset of acting like we’re losing even when we’re up. When we find ourselves in a comfortable headspace, and we’re up, we don’t push as hard. Where we’re at now, we find that extra motivation.”
Randall who found herself a day one starter bouncing between playing behind the dish catching and also at first being a big producer for the Stars unfortunately was sidelined due to injury recently.
“We’ve had a lot more injuries this season than years past. I’m out and others had been injured. We’re giving people opportunities where they’re able to show out and they do. A lot of the underclassmen have been showing out,” Randall adds.
The two losses to in conference opponent CUW mark two of only three losses in the last month sparking an incredible run. Ryley Davis a senior infielder for the Stars has been a monumental piece in their conference domination slashing a staggering .463 battering average with a 1.032ops. Her consistent production has led the stars in nearly every offensive statistic.
“Our focus is on making our team more cohesive and having fun. We lost our focus on having fun last year. For myself, I try to lead by example and show my teammates that they can trust me. Action wise off and on the field is a big key to how others perform as well,” Davis says.
Davis’ offensive eruption has placed her atop the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conferences (NACC) best hitters, sophomore infielder, Isabella Olmos, also marks some of the conferences best hitters with an impressive .436 batting average.
On the other side of the ball pitching has been a premium for the Stars with the breakout of Hannah Richards. Richards is currently dealing at an impressive 1.17 ERA a conference best statistic through 59 innings pitched. Teams are batting .202 against her, en route to her dominance she has collected thirty strikeouts as well.
Sophomore pitcher Rhiannon Rubio, who saw plenty of innings the season previous, continues her successful tenure with a 3.38 ERA with junior Liberty Rivard just behind at a 3.50 ERA through a collective 100+ innings pitched. The Stars pitching staff ranks second amongst the conference by a slim margin.
The Stars have featured nearly their entire roster on the field with twenty one eligible players having seen at least one at bat and one inning in the field.
“A big key was finding where people fit on the field, we moved a lot of girls around and we have a lot of girls playing a lot of positions we didn’t think they would be playing,” Davis says. “We worked really hardin practice after Florida, bearing down on those weaknesses and just kind of meshed together. We’ve had girls step up when they need to.”
The Stars make a big push for the regular season title and NACC championship in these final weeks facing Marian University on Sunday, April 19th at home. With the final week of games facing Benedictine University, St. Norbet College, and Alverno College all at home to close out the season ahead of playoffs.
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