GW’s softball team is gearing up for the Atlantic 10 tournament in May, but the journey to St. Louis won’t be easy.
Head coach Stacey Schramm said a difficult schedule this season means the Colonials will be “constantly tested.” Their season began in early February.
“The team is looking to improve on last year’s accomplishments,” she said. “The best team we’ll face [this season] will be Auburn. In the A-10, our toughest opponents will be UMass and Fordham.”
The Colonials lost to Fordham in a doubleheader on Sunday. They will face UMass on April 15 at the Mount Vernon Softball Field.
One of the team’s biggest challenges is its consistency, said Ms. Schramm.
“At times, our offense is doing really well, but our defense is not. At other times, our defense is doing really well, but we can't hit,” she said. “And yet there are other times that everything is good, except our pitching. We need to bring it all together all of the time.”
The team of 23 players practices six days a week at the Mount Vernon Softball Field and Lloyd Gym, where they work on fundamentals and participate in scrimmages.
Senior pitcher Kara Clauss said the Colonials aim to improve at each practice and avoid stagnating in their level of play.
“We need to work each day to become better than the last and never be satisfied with simply showing up,” she said. “If we focus on growing each practice and each game, we will completely overcome this small challenge and reach many goals we have set for our team in the season.”
The team has a “unique dynamic” as a result of its balanced makeup of veterans and new players, said sophomore outfielder Chelsea Lenhart.
“The veterans are able to support our new players and show us the ropes, while the new players are able to provide a fresh level of excitement and bring new ideas to the program,” she said.
Ms. Lenhart said the team aims to keep the “positive energy” up throughout the entire season so that they are mentally ready for the A-10 tournament.
“We have the potential to beat any team at any time if we keep our energy level high,” she said.
Like many of her fellow student-athletes, Ms. Clauss said she is “proud and honored” to wear a Colonials jersey, especially for the softball program, now in its ninth season.
“GW offered the best of both worlds: a prestigious education as well as a chance to continue to work hard every day at perfecting my skills in the game I love,” she said. “An added bonus for GW was that the program is fairly young. I wanted to be able to say I was a part of laying the foundation for what will come years from now. The memories I have as part of this program will forever stay with me.”