With the start of the new spring semester brings the start of the sports season. ETSU women’s softball team has recently announced their upcoming schedule, which will kick off in early February.
“We are really happy with the group we have,” said head coach Brad Irwin. “They had a great fall and put it a lot of work in the fall. They came back ready to go within the first few days of practice. They are really excited to get out and start playing.”
Last season the softball team finished the season with an overall record of 22-27-2 and their conference score was 6-11. The Bucs also competed in the Southern Conference tournament but was eliminated on day three.
“It’s huge that we have so much experience,” said Irwin. “We have a lot of kids that have played a lot of softball for us over the years, so they know exactly what’s going on.”
The 2018-19 season saw much success from player like Junior Julia Fritz (Glen Allen, Virginia) was named to the 2019 First Team All-SoCon, SoCon Honor Roll and SoCon Spring All-Academic Team. She appeared in 28 games and made a career-high of three home runs.
“We’ve been preparing since the fall,” said Fritz. “We do a lot of fundamental drill work, and we mentally prepare ourselves. We are picking a few things to focus on and getting ready to compete.”
The Bucs had their first practice on Saturday, Jan. 18, and will start the regular season in February.
“Our abilities are the same [this year,] but I think the mindset going into it we should treat every opponent the same,” said Fritz.
The Bucs will begin conference play in March competing first against UNCG which the team lost to 9-1 in the SoCon Tournament.
The team is hopeful and excited to be back in action with one another. “We have a positive culture around here, a lot of the girls are very close, and we spend a lot of time together and we have a lot in common,” said Fritz. “It creates a bond and a sisterhood like no other.”
The Buccaneers kick off their season Feb. 7 in Statesboro, Georgia, at the Bash in the Boro tournament.
