By Pat Mariboe
Senior Writer
The Shorewomen opened their Centennial Conference campaign this past week with doubleheaders against Ursinus and Gettysburg.
Before resuming their normal training schedule in Chestertown, the Shorewomen travelled to Kissimmee, Fla. for spring break play. It wasn’t much of a break for the team, who played 10 games in the span of a week, finishing the trip with an overall record of 3-7. Despite the underwhelming record, the Shorewomen triumphantly won the last two games of their trip against Cortland and Eastern Conneticut State, 11-10 and 7-6, respectively.
“Florida is always a great time to get closer with the team,” junior Maddie Bennett said. “Especially since I was abroad in the fall, I got to know the freshmen better. Considering how we weren’t winning as many games as we would’ve liked, all the girls did a good job of staying positive and high energy. Florida is great for working out kinks and getting everyone ready to play in conference with some goals in mind as well as getting one percent better with every play.”
In the first game of their doubleheader against Ursinus, it took five innings for either team to score until senior Allyson Meil hit a single to bring home junior Regan Horan. Senior Taylor Harcum helped preserve the team’s 1-0 win, throwing a complete game and only allowing three hits.
“Winning a close game like that proves to us that we can play against any team as long as we give it 100 percent every inning of the game,” Harcum said.
The Shorewomen didn’t manage to follow their form into the second game, falling to the Bears 6-0.
“I think that losing to Ursinus reminded everyone that we can’t split games in Conference if we want to make it to the playoffs,” Bennett said. “Also, we have to come out aggressive and ready to play from the start of every inning.”
The Shorewomen were looking for revenge in their second doubleheader against Gettysburg after losing to the Bullets in the Centennial Conference Tournament last season. In the first game of the series, the Shorewomen found themselves trailing 1-2 at the end of the first inning. The Bullets picked up steam and won the game 5-1. In the second game, Gettysburg kept up the momentum, scoring five runs in the first inning and going on to win the game 11-2.
Despite the slow start, the Shorewomen still have a long season ahead and know that with the right mindset and dedication, they can show what they’ve got.
“Practices have been a little different from last year since we have a lot of new girls this year,” Harcum said. “They are still learning what it’s like to play at WC and what it takes to be successful. We have a big goal we aim to accomplish this year so every practice is tough but in the end, it will all be worth it.”