Spirits Are High as Softball Continues to Dominate

By Andrew Smith

Adelphi softball is once again on an incredible run. The Panthers are in the midst of an impressive stretch and are gaining steam as they head into the final innings of the season. They made an appearance in the College World Series last season and are looking to tap into postseason form.

Kendall Winn has been a staple of the lineup and has had a batting average of over .300 all season. Photo by AU Athletics

Kendall Winn has been an essential component of the offense this season. The current junior has been a staple of the lineup this season with over 120 at bats with an impressive .308 batting average and 20 runs batted in at the time of writing. The sport management major expressed the importance of momentum during the course of a long season.

“Momentum is so important during our season,” she said. “We have already played almost 40 games with so many more ahead, and it's important that we keep playing our best to keep the momentum going.”

Winn reached her season high in total hits per game with three against Molloy on April 20. During this game, Winn finished with a strong stat-line with a perfect three-for-three with two runs and two runs batted in.

Redshirt sophomore Courtney Wengryn has been putting up strong numbers all season long. She leads the team with a .397 batting average, 35 runs batted in and four long balls as of this deadline. Wengryn added about the importance of momentum in relation to the postseason. “It’s good to have momentum going into the postseason since that is what we play for. It gives us that extra push we need to keep us going through our season.”

Both Winn and Wengryn said the games against Saint Michael’s College and Franklin Pierce University were turning points in the season. Winn stated, “We knew going up there it was going to be important to win all four games, and fortunately we played very well and won all four.”

Wengryn added, “Coach Carla Campagna always tells us to ‘play Adelphi softball’ and that is exactly what we did. We swept the weekend which placed us #1 in the Northeast-10 Conference.”

Wengryn had an impressive day at the plate to cap off this four-game stretch with two hits and one run batted that led to a 6-3 win over Franklin Pierce University.

First-year Brianna Fischer also reflected on important moments the team has gone through during the season. She explained how the team chemistry was not affected by injuries.

Brianna Fischer was named NE10 Rookie of the Week earlier this month. Photo by AU Athletics

“I think the turning point of the season so far has been the two big injuries. With the loss of Faith Camilleri [to a foot injury] and Brianna Pearson [who has a torn ACL] we had to quickly fill in two big roles. It’s a group effort to teach new positions and figure out how to put all our pieces together. However it just shows how deep our team goes to be able to move around the lineup and field to still have a solid team. There are so many roles to fill on this team and we just are able to put everything together.”

The sport has made bonds stronger between teammates on and off the field. Wengryn expressed the importance of taking it one game at a time despite a successful stretch of winning. “For us we definitely take it one game at a time. Of course winning always gives us confidence, but we really try to focus on the games we are about to play and stay even. Win streaks do give us momentum, but at the start of the day we know what we have to do.”

However, as they approach the end of the season, the games become more important and as a result more pressure is put on the players. Winn stated, “This is the best part of the season and I look forward to the NE10 playoffs most. Getting the chance to play in the championship game my last two years was awesome, and I hope we make it there again this year.”

The team has overcome so much this season and hopes to return to the championship once again. “I’m really proud of my team for grinding through the season so far and having the outcome we’ve been having. We have really come together as one and it shows when we play. I think the fact that we play for each other and not ourselves is one of the reasons we are so successful,” Wengryn said.

Winn added, “I am really proud of how my team has played so far this year and I am really excited to see how the rest of the season goes. We have had to deal with some obstacles this season related to injuries and I am extremely proud of how the younger girls have stepped up to fill the role of the injured players.”

Fischer stated, “Being a freshman I am definitely looking forward to the post season game play. My teammates had such an amazing run last year, hearing stories about how hard they worked which led to how far they went sounds like so much fun. I am looking forward to contributing and helping the team however I can to help them reach the goal of having a far run like they did last season.”