Friday, January 22, 2010

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What does a softball team do when it enters its inaugural season with a roster limited by its numbers?  It promises to: Play with pride. Play with purpose. Play with passion.

That is the mantra that Lady Gyrenes' Head Softball Coach Keith Gibson adopted for his program from Day 1 — and the mission the pioneer players on Ave Maria University’s first softball team will carry into a 48-game schedule that features some of the premier  NAIA, NCAA Division II and III, and junior college teams in the country.
 
“All I’m asking our student athletes to do is know the situation and play without fear as focused and aggressively as they can … every pitch, every inning, every game. If we can honestly look at each other at the end of the day and know that we did everything we possibly could, individually and collectively, to be successful, the rewards will be there in the end on many different levels.”

Gibson’s philosophy on what it takes to be successful is Softball 101: throw strikes, execute the routine plays and put the ball in play while making quality outs. Quality outs? “There are different ways to make an out at the plate with a runner at second base and no outs,” Gibson said. “You can swing at the first pitch that looks good and hit a rocket at the shortstop, or a long fly to left field. Or you can get a bunt down or hit a routine grounder to the second baseman. The hits to the left side might be more impressive-looking, but our runner’s stuck at second. The bunt and the roller to the right side get our runner to third base with one out, and that gives us several options to score.

“That’s the type of thinking I’m trying to instill. The best hitters in the world fail two out of three times. Most will fail at least three out of four times. My question is, did those times you failed accomplish something?”

Versatility is essential on this first team. Pitchers Angie Mullally (Grand Blanc, Mich.), Janet Holtfreter  (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) and Samantha Crews (Port Charlotte, Fla.) will play first and third base and outfield when they aren’t on the rubber. Infielders Liz Baux (Scranton, Pa.), Marisa D’Ambrosio (Denton, Texas), Erica Pfab (St. Augustine, Fla.) and Chelsey Thompson (Jacksonville, Fla.), will spend time in the outfield, and look for outfielders Kaitlin Marotti (LaBelle, Fla.),  Lauren Nelson (Lake City, Fla.), Megan Manos (Chattahootchee, Fla.) and Brittany Tobar-Hanavan (Cincinnati, Ohio) to play some infield, too. Sarah Bronson (Cape Coral, Fla.) will do most of the catching, but D’Ambrosio, Marotti, Pfab and Baux may be behind the plate as well, while Bronson gets out in the field on occasion.

“Until we develop chemistry and an identity, everyone will play, and everyone will move around. If you can’t develop depth through numbers, you do it through resourcefulness.”

While that situation might not be ideal for consistency, Gibson hopes the players will have a memorable experience while the first team in Ave Maria history evolves. “This blessing, to play college softball representing a great university such as Ave Maria, is a gift none of us — players or coaches — could have foreseen a year ago. It’s a chance, an opportunity, a journey that none of us could possibly have envisioned.” And a journey that will be fueled by pride, purpose and passion.