Warriors return from spring trip a red-hot 11-1
Softball team narrowly misses win over top-ranked team
By Matt Foy
Of The Summit
TUCSON, Ariz. - Returning from their spring trip, the Waldorf Warriors are as hot as they've been in recent memory. And they were only three outs from being on top of the world.
The Warriors are riding high after winning nine of 10 games at the Tucson Invitational Games.
Their only loss came to California Baptist University, the top-ranked NAIA team in the land. If not for a nasty curveball from Mother Nature, the Warriors (11-1) would likely boast a win over them too.
With gray skies overhead, the Warriors led Cal Baptist 4-1 with three outs to play when a rain delay was called. When play resumed, the Lancers took advantage of hitter-friendly conditions (Waldorf coach Denny Gilbertson said pitchers Marisa Jensen, who had only yielded one hit in the first four innings of the five-inning contest, and Chelsey Dougherty had trouble gripping the wet softballs). They putting together three home runs and 11 runs to pull off the shocking 12-4 comeback.
It wasn't easy to swallow after coming within three outs of tripping the best team in the land, but Waldorf is still overflowing but confidence as the Midwest Classic Conference schedule opens on Wednesday at Mount Mercy.
"I think our kids felt, had the weather stayed the same, we had a good chance to win that one," Gilbertson said. "It gave us confidence to know we can play with the best in the nation."
Oh, and there were also those nine wins to be happy about.
The Warriors started the tournament off on Sunday, Mar. 18 by blowing out Morrisville College 14-3 and doing the same to Grinnell College 13-0. The next day, they blasted MidAmerican Nazarene, traditionally a strong program, 17-2 and beat Hastings College 4-1.
After taking Tuesday off to enjoy the break, the Warriors came back hot on Wednesday.
After blowing out Calvin College (11-2) and Huntington University (13-0), they nabbed their biggest win of the young season when they beat No. 18 University of Science & Arts 3-2 in nine innings. They beat Trinity Christian 11-3 and Hastings 8-3 before Friday's climactic battle with the Lancers.
"We had a nice week," Gilbertson said. "Defensively, we played well, and pitching-wise, we played well enough to win. And obviously, when you're scoring runs like we have been, it takes a lot of the pressure off the other two."
The Warriors' offensive outpouring this season has been nothing short of amazing, and when put together with the team's pitching, it's not hard to see how the team is 11-1 right now.
As a team, Waldorf is hitting .469 at week's end. History indicates that number will drop by season's end (Gilbertson says the mean is usually around .330, the team hit .324 last year), but it's an inspiring total nonetheless.
The biggest improvement has come in the power department. The Warriors have hit 13 home runs in 12 games. The team hit only 17 home runs all of last season.
The biggest mashers in the middle of a suddenly scary lineup have been Audra Hovick and Teresa Christ.
Hovick (.541 average), who hit two home runs last season as a junior, has tripled that total so far. Christ (.538 average), a NIACC transfer known for her power bat, is only one behind Hovick with five homers.
Christ leads the team with 27 RBIs; Hovick isn't far behind with 20 and is only nine away from her total from last season when she was the team's clean-up hitter.
Hovick, Christ and the other power bats in the lineup usually have someone to bat in thanks to the outstanding play of table-setters Sammy Stone and Mandi Foss.
Stone is currently batting a phenomenal .667 and has hit safely in 26 of 39 official at-bats; Foss is batting "only" .447.
In the circle, Jensen, Hovick and Dougherty each picked up three wins.
“We've never started off quite like this since I've been here,” Gilbertson said.
Story created Mar 27, 2007 - 12:56:35 CDT.
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