{"id":8767,"date":"2014-02-21T00:46:17","date_gmt":"2014-02-21T00:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/softball-begins-season-at-citrus-classic\/"},"modified":"2014-02-21T00:46:17","modified_gmt":"2014-02-21T00:46:17","slug":"softball-begins-season-at-citrus-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/softball-begins-season-at-citrus-classic\/","title":{"rendered":"Softball Begins Season At Citrus Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Softball Begins Season At Citrus Classic<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Tournament Home<\/span><\/p>\n

ALBANY, N.Y. \u2013<\/strong> As winter progresses through the northeast and the calendar approaches March, the University at Albany softball program is gearing up to kick off their 2013-14 campaign.\u00a0 The Danes first live competition will take place in Orlando, Florida at the Citrus Classic, hosted at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Citrus Classic is only in its second or third year, but it\u2019s quickly becoming one of the better Division I preseason tournaments,\u201d said head coach Chris Cannata<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

UAlbany is slated to play five games over three days in this tournament.\u00a0 On Friday, the team will play Marshall at 1:15 p.m., and East Carolina at 3:30 p.m.\u00a0 The East Carolina game will feature a matchup of siblings as UAlbany 3B Lauren Alcorn<\/a> will face off against her younger sister<\/a>, Casey, who plays shortstop for ECU.\u00a0 Saturday features a game at 1:15 p.m. against Northern Illinois, and a game at 3:30 p.m. against North Carolina State.\u00a0 Finally, the Danes will play one game Sunday, a 12:00 p.m. outing with Lamar.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Wide World of Sports is a good facility,\u201d Cannata said.\u00a0 \u201cWe generally try to start play this weekend, because we can only play so many games.\u00a0 We want to keep the hitters in rhythm, so we try to avoid taking weeks off at a time.\u00a0 This tournament is good, because it\u2019s competitive and in a warm area.\u00a0 Disney is right there, but that won\u2019t be a distraction because there simply won\u2019t be any time with five games in three days.\u00a0 The bigger concern is the tourist crowds, particularly because it\u2019s also a spring break weekend.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While UAlbany will be seeing its first action on Friday, each of the teams they are scheduled to play have already begun their seasons.\u00a0 Marshall is 1-4, East Carolina is 5-3, Northern Illinois is 2-3, NC State is 1-5, and Lamar is 0-3.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe first tournament is always tough,\u201d Cannata said.\u00a0 \u201cWe get a chance to play teams we don\u2019t normally see, which is good, but all of the southern schools have already played.\u00a0 We\u2019re looking to have a good approach, and we want to be able to compete.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t been on dirt yet,\u201d Cannata continued.\u00a0 \u201cAnd we\u2019ve been limited in how we can scrimmage, and how we can do live pitching.\u00a0 There\u2019s a different between live pitching in the batting cage and live pitching in a game.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Danes enter the 2013-14 campaign with five freshmen joining the veteran heavy roster of returners from last season\u2019s 37-15 effort that included a regular season America East title and a runner-up in the America East tournament.\u00a0 Elizabeth Snow<\/a> played catcher and first base as a senior at Robert A. Millikan in Long Beach, California, where she batted .578 with 35 RBIs.\u00a0 Kayla Bailey<\/a>, who also runs indoor track for UAlbany, batted .507 with 14 stolen bases as a senior outfielder at Landstown in Virginia Beach, Virginia.\u00a0 Samantha Broking<\/a>, playing first base as a senior at Fairport in New York, hit .437 with 30 RBIs.\u00a0 Finally, UAlbany welcomes two pitchers in Mackenzie Thompson<\/a>, who accumulated a record of 17-2 with 180 Ks as a senior at Liberty in Eldersburg, Maryland, and local talent Caitlin Cooper<\/a>, who spent her senior year at Columbia High School injured.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re counting on our two freshman pitchers this year,\u201d Cannata said.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019ll have to learn to deal with having no break in the lineup.\u00a0 In high school they\u2019d see breaks in the opposing lineups.\u00a0 Now, the 7, 8, and 9 batters can all hit the ball, and our freshmen will get hit.\u00a0 They won\u2019t have the same strikeout rate, and will have to learn to trust their defense more.\u00a0 It\u2019s an adjustment, and their success will be determined on how well they can make that adjustment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe pitchers might actually throw in fewer games at this level,\u201d Cannata continued.\u00a0 \u201cIn summer ball they might have played seven or eight games in a weekend.\u00a0 That won\u2019t be the case here, but there is a higher physical and emotional intensity they haven\u2019t experienced.\u00a0 And they\u2019ll be in closer games, so there\u2019s more pressure on each pitch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The five freshman are replacing departures of outfielder Annie Johnson<\/a>, who hit .386 with 3 HRs and 19 RBIs, catcher Lindsey Stout<\/a>, who hit .257 with 2 HRs and 15 RBIs, catcher Kylie Apostolina<\/a>, who hit .261 with 1 HR and 10 RBIs, outfielder Courtney Hill<\/a>, who redshirted in 2013, infielder Bri Chevalier<\/a>, who scored five runs in 23 appearances, catcher Ashley Mitchell<\/a>, who scored two runs in eight appearances, and outfielder Taylor Franich, who batted .252 with 9 RBIs and 10 runs scored.<\/span><\/p>\n

Senior pitcher Brittany MacFawn<\/a> headlines the stable returning athletes.\u00a0 She went 27-9 in 2013 with a 1.64 ERA and 283 Ks to 36 walks.\u00a0 Of the 36 games she started, MacFawn threw 34 complete games, including 12 shutouts, accumulating 256.1 innings pitched, and an opposing batting average of .193.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBrittany is from Orlando, so for her senior year we wanted to try to play games close to her home,\u201d said Cannata.<\/span><\/p>\n

Senior first baseman Charlise Castro<\/a> is also expected to help anchor the team.\u00a0 Last year, Castro hit .309 with 8 HRs and 32 RBIs.\u00a0 She also played for Puerto Rico over the summer in the Pan American Classic.\u00a0 Senior third baseman Lauren Alcorn<\/a> batted .273 with 4 HRs and 22 RBIs last year.\u00a0 Finally, senior pitcher\/infielder Emily Ostrom<\/a> backed up MacFawn with a record of 7-6 and a 3.94 ERA.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Moving to the juniors, outfielder Vicky McFarland<\/a> hit .257 with 7 HRs and 28 RBIs in 2013.\u00a0 Infielder Marlin Solano<\/a> hit .250 with 1 HR and 13 RBIs.\u00a0 Infielder Jess Tate<\/a> hit .176 with 1 RBI in 16 appearances.\u00a0 Finally, shortstop Alexa Toole<\/a> batted .252 with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs in 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2014 roster features four sophomores as well.\u00a0 Infielder Kate Biasi<\/a> hit .125 with 7 runs scored in 16 appearances.\u00a0 Shortstop Maggie Cocks<\/a> batted .248 with 3 HRs and 37 RBIs.\u00a0 Infielder\/outfielder Kelly Costello<\/a> hit .223 with 2 HRs and 15 RBIs.\u00a0 Finally, catcher\/infielder Lindsey Haskell<\/a> did not make an appearance in 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a veteran team,\u201d Cannata said.\u00a0 \u201cWe have different strengths among a lot of people.\u00a0 I think we\u2019re a strong defensive team.\u00a0 Our upperclassmen have had a lot of playing time.\u00a0 And our freshmen will progress at different rates.\u00a0 It takes time.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have a projected starting lineup just yet.\u00a0 I have something in mind, but we\u2019ll ultimately have to see who hits.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the past, Coach Cannata has relied on veteran leadership, instead of specific team captains, to guide the team through the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t have captains last year,\u201d Cannata said.\u00a0 \u201cI will leave it up to the upperclassmen if they want to change that this year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Citrus is the first of three preseason tournaments UAlbany will play this year.\u00a0 On March 7, UAlbany will begin play in the Towson Classic in Maryland, and the Rebel Spring Games kick off on March 13 in Winter Haven, Florida.\u00a0 Afterwards, UAlbany opens regular season play at Stony Brook on March 22.\u00a0 The Danes will host their first home game on March 29.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\nThe Albany Student Press<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Softball Begins Season At Citrus Classic Tournament Home ALBANY, N.Y. \u2013 As winter progresses through the northeast and the calendar approaches March, the University at Albany softball program is gearing up to kick off their 2013-14 campaign.\u00a0 The Danes first live competition will take place in Orlando, Florida at the Citrus Classic, hosted at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[983],"tags":[2341,3215,1654,1789,3125],"class_list":["post-8767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-albany-student-press","tag-begins","tag-citrus","tag-classic","tag-season","tag-softball"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8767"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8767\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}