By Derek Turner
Coming off the best season in the program’s 26 year history, the Blue Devils are only hungrier for more. Jeff Franquet and his team know what they have the ability to do and are looking to make an impact.
“Obviously the expectations for this year are very high,” said Franquet, coming off CCSU’s winningest softball season ever.
The 2011 season saw many firsts for an up-and-coming Central Connecticut softball program; 29 wins overall, 11 in Northeast Conference play and the team’s first trip to the NEC tournament along with tying a NCAA record when they scored 17 runs in one inning against Princeton, but 2012 is all about the NEC title.
A solid core of players is returning this season, but the battery of Liz Montemurro and Kat Knowles is going to be tough to replace. Junior Jordan Tingley and sophomore Julie Marks look to anchor the rotation with help from a couple newcomers.
“We’re going to look to a freshman, Laura Messina on the mound, to really make a difference for us,” said Franquet.
Pitching is going to be key this season and if it holds up all year, Franquet thinks they can set a new win mark somewhere around 35.
The Blue Devils also return two-thirds of their outfield and the top of their lineup with senior Rebecca Mussatti and sophomore Ariel Bruno. Bruno led the NEC with 60 hits last season and paced the team with a .339 batting average while being rewarded with a Second Team All-NEC selection. Mussatti led the team in runs scored with 34 and stole 13 bases in 2011.
“We have a couple really key freshman; Kat Malcolm should have a fantastic year, Ashley Black should have a great year,” said Franquet.
Macy Stefanski will also look to keep improving as she has the previous two seasons, Franquet believes she hit somewhere in the .330 to .340-range this season and is described as the hardest worker on the team.
As preseason is finishing up and the regular season is set to begin, the team is ready to “rock and roll.”
“We have had a great preseason workout; we’re healthy and the kids are in great shape,” said Franquet. “Our pitchers are throwing six days a week, we’re in that range of four to five thousand swings a week, and they’re getting four to five thousand ground balls and fly balls a week … We’re ready to play.”
The Blue Devils leave this weekend for an opening series that will for sure get the players’ adrenaline pumping. CCSU travels to Tempe, Ariz., to take on the Sun Devils of Arizona State. The defending NCAA national champions will greet CCSU for four games in what Franquet describes as a learning experience for his team.
“I want the kids to get an idea of what it takes to get to that level,” said Franquet. “I want them to see Arizona State, I want them to see their workouts, I want them to see their pregame, I want them to see their postgame, and I want them to see that whole dynamic.”
With the season goal of winning a conference title and making the NCAA tournament, Franquet wants the scene of playing in front of thousands of fans to be a “been there, done that” type of thing.
“We are all just really excited to have an opportunity to play such great competition and we’d really like to challenge them a little bit,” said Mussatti, speaking from the team’s point of view.
As in all sports, having fun is the first order of business and that is what this season’s Blue Devils will look to do; with of course the NEC title always in the back of their mind.
“We have a lot of strengths on this team and as long as everybody does the right thing, stays mentally focused and tough, I think we should do well,” said Mussatti. “Have fun and not let the pressure of winning a title be the only thing we focus on.”
