2008 Woodie Awards
Softball Aiming For Top-3 Finish
Chris Brodeur
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: Sports
|
"We're really playing one game at a time and focusing on one game at a time," said Mullins. "Our preseason goal was to be a top-three Big East team to get a solid seed in the tournament and what's going to get us there is focusing on playing one game at a time."
UConn travels to Villanova (15-17, 4-8 Big East) on Saturday for its first twin-bill and Rutgers (17-24, 3-9) on Sunday for the second. While both teams are behind the Huskies (20-16, 7-3) in the conference standings, Mullins is wary of the experience they have playing the top of the conference, an edge she feels they have over her club.
"Rutgers and Villanova are huge games for us, both of them are below us in the standings right now, but both have also shown sparks of being an outstanding team," Mullins said.
"The thing about these two teams is that their records aren't real indicative of what they're capable of they've played the top teams like South Florida, Louisville, Notre Dame, and DePaul," Mullins added. "Those teams are still in front of us whereas they're behind them and so that's why you can't count these guys out."
The Huskies are a season-high four games above .500 coming off wins in five of their last six outings. Their lineup boasts five players batting at over a .300 clip in Big East play, with junior Micah Truax leading the way with an astounding mark of .516. Truax was named the conference Player of the Week on April 14 for her sizzling weekend against St. John's and Seton Hall, making the slump that marred the early months of her season seem a distant memory.
Catcher Danielle Del Ponte and outfielder Sarah Neuschwander are tied for the team-lead in home runs with six, and Neuschwander's 26 RBI are also best. Nine different Huskies have homered on the 2008 campaign, and six have 16 RBI or better.
The balanced offensive attack for UConn is complemented by the one-two pitching punch of Tricia Sullivan and Rachael Crossin. Sullivan (11-7, 2.69 ERA) has five wins in six Big East starts while Crossin (7-9, 2.43) has the only shutout between the two, thrown against Providence on March 29.
The bench corps remains depleted for UConn, with everyday third baseman Megan Tierney still recovering from a concussion she sustained against Seton Hall on April 13, and freshman slugger Melissa Lucas still recuperating from an emergency appendectomy. Both players are awaiting doctor's clearance for their returns. Tierney must go 24 hours symptom-free and in Lucas' case, a follow-up with her surgeon is set for Monday.
Junior Erin Burtner has filled in seamlessly for Lucas, with two home runs and 9 RBIs in her absence, and freshman Jessica Arremony has been a stable replacement at third while Tierney heals.
Contact Chris Brodeur
at Christopher.Brodeur@UConn.edu.
Be the first to comment on this story