On Feb. 28, the Sacred Heart softball team lost a pair of games against Lehigh University in their season opener. Sacred Heart fell 10-1 in the first game, and dropped the second game by a score of 8-1.
Their initial opener was scheduled for a double-header against University of Rhode Island on Feb. 27, but was cancelled due to COVID-19 related issues.
“Control the controllable, there’s nothing that we can do about COVID, right?” said Sacred Heart Head Coach Pam London. “We’re just going to get tougher mentally, work your game- all those little things that people don’t even know are such a huge part of the game.”
The team is used to beginning the preseason in warmer states like North Carolina and Florida, but COVID-19 has disrupted traditions for many Sacred Heart University teams.
“We wanted to be traveling and nothing could’ve made us feel better about that,” said London. “But the only saving grace was ‘Hey, we’re home. We’re wearing our white [uniforms] and we get to open up in our own stadium and sleep in our own beds’”.
London recognized the pandemic’s impact on preparation. Three players were inactive due to contact tracing against Lehigh.
“Your whole day changes, your whole [gameplan] changes,” said London. “I think that’s the difference, that uncertainty is brutal on your mentality.”
The same three players are still inactive for the next double-header against Stony Brook University on Sunday, Mar. 7. Fortunately, freshman in-fielder Grace Saad returned from concussion protocol.
London believes having players ready to make changes on short notice is critical to a successful season.
“We always prepare with our A-game, until we don’t,” said London. “Then we go right down to the next in line that have been preparing.”
Last semester, London started accountability groups for her team. This system promotes team bonding by rotating players into groups of two or three.
“We kind of talk about our softball and school goals, anything you want to try and achieve in the weight room,” said senior captain Caroline Kruger. “We can kind of hold each other accountable to those and just help each other work harder.”
Accountability groups are facilitated over the phone and Zoom to adhere within social distancing guidelines. The groups change every other week so that each player gets familiar with one another.
“We can’t all get together in one house anymore,” said Kruger. “Trying to have one-on-one connections with each individual person will hopefully lead to all of us being more bonded as a team.”
Last season, the softball team played 16 games before being cut short, finishing with an 8-8 overall record. Beginning on Mar. 20, the Northeast Conference schedule will consist of 32 games in a round-robin format (four-game series) over eight weeks, with the availability of makeup dates.
“I think we just learned last season, and especially (against Lehigh) not to take anything for granted,” said senior captain Colleen Walsh. “We learned how much we miss being out on the field and that we need to keep growing moving forward.”
Sacred Heart returned 15 players from last season, while adding 12 new players to the roster.
“We are half upperclassmen, half freshman,” said Kruger. “Trying to gel as a team outside of practice has been the most challenging part.”
Though Kruger believes more COVID-19 related inconveniences will occur, expectations are still high for the team. “I think we’ll be the most successful if we can adjust the quickest,” said Kruger. “I think we have a really good group of girls. I think if we just stick together, we’ll be good.”
