In the final weeks of the season, Sacred Heart softball isn’t just chasing after wins, they’re breaking records at the same time.
The Pioneers are struggling with senior starting pitcher Sam Kowalski being out, but are still on track to continue their success and reach their end goal of playing at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship.
“The goal every year is to make it to our playoffs and win. We were on track for that until we lost Sam, who is our number one pitcher and our best hitter at the moment,” said head coach Pam London. “It’s kind of a blow to the team, we took a shot to the head, but we just have to get it together.”
Kowalski recently broke the program record for strikeouts and is sitting at 599.
“Sam is a model citizen. She has terrific grades; she has her future mapped out. She is going to be very successful in whatever she does because her work ethic and maturity is beyond her years,” said London.
Despite Kowalski being out, a few other Pioneers have stepped up, took on the challenge, and have not gone unnoticed. The three primary examles are junior Cierra Bender, sophomore Alexa Barbera and senior Charlene Davis.
“I think Cierra had a really good comeback year. She fell off a little her sophomore year but made it a point to rise back to her freshman year form, and she did that,” said London.
“Alexa took over in right field for a senior that had graduated and she’s done a solid job out there. She waited for her turn and when her turn arrived, she was ready,” said London.
“Charlene behind the plate has just been steady, and this year she has thrown out so many runners at 2nd base, a lot of times they don’t even try anymore,” said London. “That was a really big improvement for her, and that really helped us.”
The Pioneers have a few games remaining and are looking for that final push.
“It’s a long season; 56 games and it’s very hard to stay consistent for that long. You just have to try to be the last man standing where you’re cruising at good speed towards the end of the season towards playoffs,” said London.
“We are a very good team. We have to play to our ability. If we do that, we should really finish out the season on a strong note with or without Sam,” said London.
The Pioneers faced Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday April 18 in a double header which ended in 4-2 win for the first game and 2-3 loss in the second.
SHU will face Fairleigh Dickinson University in a double header Thursday, April 23 in Teaneck, NJ.
Athletic Communications contributed to this article.
