The softball team has gotten off to a rough start in Sun Belt Conference play, winning just three of its first nine games. With seven new players this year, head coach Rosemary Holloway-Hill describes her team as a new team with a lot of potential that just hasn’t quite gelled yet.
“Our new girls are still getting used to our system and what their roles are,” Holloway-Hill said. “You have to have that chemistry before you can win a lot of games.”
The Warhawks lost their first four conference games, then won two in a row to win the series against Troy.     However, their success would be short-lived, losing two of their following three games to Middle Tennessee. Senior catcher, Roxy Cassel wants her team to remain focused despite the inconsistent play.
“We get on a winning streak, and then we get complacent and lose focus,” Cassel said. “We have to regroup and refocus as a team to be successful. We have to focus on defense, offense and pitching and excel in all three categories to win.”
On a positive note, Holloway-Hill said this team has something that sets them above all the other teams in the Sun Belt – speed. The Warhawks are fifth in the nation in stolen bases. Sophomore Miyuki Navarrete leads the team with 16 stolen bases.
“I just do what I can for my team,” Navarrete said. “I hope my performance on the field motivates my teammates to push themselves harder so we can all play to our full potential.”
The team has 15 SBC games remaining in the season, so there is still time for the Warhawks to fly to the top of the SBC rankings. Coach Holloway-Hill is very optimistic about the rest of this season, and she knows that team chemistry will play a major role in the future success of this team.
“As a team with so many new faces, we’re making mistakes and we’re still maturing, but our growth is showing. We haven’t peaked yet, and we will get better.”