CURTIS HENRY
Special to The Leader
After a forgettable 2014 campaign for the Fredonia softball team, the Lady Blue Devils will look to right the ship in 2015. The team enters this season ranked seventh in the SUNYAC preseason coaches poll, one position short of what is needed to make the SUNYAC playoffs. That ranking comes after the 2014 team finished with a record of 9-18 (6-12 in conference play) and fell short of qualifying for SUNYACs by just one game.
The general outlook of the team and coaches, however, is much more optimistic than their ranking would suggest. The team enters this season having only lost one player from a year ago to graduation. This also happens to be head coach Tony Ciccarello’s second full season with the team. He thinks that will be a big help in regard to making strides this season.
“They [the team] are so much more comfortable now,” Ciccarello said. “Last year I came in so late that it took some time for them to get acclimated.”
When it comes to specific areas in which the team needs to improve, Ciccarello was adamant about one thing: fundamentals.
“We struggled throwing and catching last season, we were at the bottom of the conference in fielding percentage,” Ciccarello said. “That needs to improve.
“We need to play well — it’s not necessarily about wins and losses. I can walk away from a loss when we played well, and that’s okay. But we can’t be playing lousy. I have high expectations.”
Having only lost one senior, this team has a great opportunity to make some noise in SUNYAC play this season. Team captain Kate Nicholson thinks its time for this year’s team to take the next step.
“I think our main goal this season is to finally give Fredonia softball a name and to do so by making SUNYACs,” Nicholson said. “We’ve been the underdogs for the last few years, and we’ve been working really hard to change that.”
Nicholson is coming off of a season in which she hit a team-high .354. Although she lead the team in batting a season ago, she doesn’t look to set her standards unreasonably high going into her senior season.
“I’m trying really hard not to put a lot of pressure on myself to have a standout year,” she said. “My main focus is to have fun with my teammates and enjoy my last season.”
The team will open up with 12 games in Florida from March 13-20. After that, the squad will return to New York to begin SUNYAC play at home against Geneseo on March 27.