by Sean Begin
For the Central Connecticut softball team, the last few years have been a meteoric rise to the top of the Northeast Conference.
Following a 2009 season that saw the team at the bottom of the conference, Central hired head coach Jeff Franquet, who helped increase the team’s win total each season since Central softball’s first NEC title last season.
That success, however, is something the team has put behind them.
“You know, we’re not really focusing on repeating,” said acting head coach Breanne Gleason. “The work that we did last year means nothing this year. We’re starting back from square one.”
Gleason takes over control of the team this season after Franquet was placed on administrative leave in November for undisclosed reasons, just five months after signing a three year contract extension.
“It’s a whole new team; it’s a whole new year. We’re going to look to earn it again,” added Gleason. “We’re looking to build another season, day by day.”
The team loses six seniors from their 2013 championship team, including power hitters Nicole Springer and Kelsey Barlow, who combined for 19 home runs and 77 RBIs last season–the kind of power that will be hard to replace.
“Those were a lot of homeruns and a lot of RBIs that we have to replace. The whole lineup is going to have to manufacture runs this year,” said Gleason. “We’re going to have to replace that with more doubles, a few more base hits.”
In addition to her contributions at the plate, Springer was also a valuable commodity on the mound, providing some relief throughout last season for then-sophomore Laura Messina, tallying a 6-2 record in 8 starts with a 2.64 ERA.
“You just can’t replace Springer,” said Gleason. “She’s one of those kids you get once in a lifetime. She was a machine.”
But the team is not without talent.
Last season’s NEC Player of the Year (among a bevy of other honors), Kat Malcolm, returns for her junior season following her breakout sophomore year where she hit .420 with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs.
For Gleason, Malcolm’s improvements will come from the intangible side of the game: her leadership both on and off the field.
“As a junior she’s obviously a leader. The girls look up to her because she works so hard,” Gleason said. “I think that in that role she’s going to step up more this year. She’s a great leader by example and she’s starting to use her voice as well.”
Success as a sophomore has the potential to result in too much pressure for a player, but Gleason emphasizes that there is “no pressure” on Malcolm.
“Anyone with her talent is going to feel pressure to perform but because we have talent all over on our team, it takes a little bit of the pressure off so that you’re not a one person team,” said Gleason.
Fellow returning junior, pitcher Laura Messina, and senior outfielder Arielle Bruno, are just two of the returning players from last year’s team that will help lead the Blue Devils into the 2014 season.
Bruno finished last season with a .344 average, belting 10 home runs and driving home 32 runs to provide a solid bat in the middle of the order, as well as solid leadership on the field.
“She was up to bat when we were against LSU [in the NCAA regionals] and she struck out the first time and she hits a home run in her second at-bat. And you just can’t teach that,” said Gleason.
“Arielle leads with what she’s got going on inside. There’s never a day Arielle takes off. And that’s why she’s a leader and that’s why she had the year that she had last season.”
Messina, whose 50 wins over the last two seasons are the most ever in program history, will be the workhorse on the mound for the team again this season, much as she was last year.
“She’s not only athletically an amazing pitcher; mentally she’s so tough. It’s hard to go out there and throw two games in one day and Laura makes it look really easy,” said Gleason.
Messina, despite being a reliable presence on the mound, cannot pitch every game, and with Springer gone, other players will need to fill some innings.
Senior Julie Marks, who did not play much last season, has improved her mental game, according to Gleason, and should see some time on the mound. Marks’ fellow senior, Emily Pogemiller, is returning from Tommy John surgery last winter and should be ready to go for the season.
While both players offer some options on the mound, Gleason will also look to junior college transfer Sarah Gaalswijk to fill Springer’s role in backing up Messina on the mound.
“We’re going to need Sarah to step into her [Springer’s] shoes on the field and take some innings away and give Laura some rest,” said Gleason.
Five freshmen join Gaalswijk on the team this season, all of whom will have a chance to help impact the team. Most immediately, Gleason will use Alexis Debrosse in the infield; her exact position has yet to be determined.
“She’s a solid hitter,” said Gleason of Debrosse. “She’s probably one of the best athletes on the team. She’s one of those kids that are good at any sport, so she’s going to contribute right away.”
While the team suffered some key losses, those absences are common in the world of collegiate sports. Luckily, softball being a spring sport, the team has an extra six months to prepare and gel before the season starts.
The team was able to play eight practice games against other universities around the state including New Haven, Bridgeport and Southern Connecticut during the fall. The team was also practicing five to six times a week before the winter set in.
The extra playing and practice time is especially beneficial for the new girls coming in to play.
“It gives them a chance to work with the girls we have, to build relationships and all that kind of stuff,” said Gleason. “They can learn how to talk to each other on the field; they learn what their teammates do.”
The softball season kicks off at the USF Under Armour Invitational, hosted by the University of South Florida, on February 28. The team will play a double header against Campbell University and Georgia State University.
Central’s first home game will not be until March 29; they open up NEC play against Sacred Heart University.