PINEVILLE, La. – As if fans and media needed another excuse to get excited about Wednesday's 4 p.m. doubleheader between Lousiana College and Texas-Tyler, this year's matchup will feature the top two ranked softball teams in the country, with the Wildcats holding the top spot since last week's rankings came out.
The Lady Wildcats, who are 20-0 on the season (4-0 ASC East), are not focused on the national rankings, but on these two important games with their rivals and tough Eastern conference foes.
“Of course No. 1 and 2 is going to be a good game, but us and Tyler would be a good game even if none of us was ranked,” said senior Allison Frye, who has seen her share of competitive games with
Texas-Tyler.
“The rivalry is there, whether we're one and two or 100 and 99,” adds head coach Tim Whitman. “This conference is tough enough that they don't need the added 1-2 to get excited about it.”
LC will have to contend with a Patriots team that is more balanced than ever and, as always, sports a potent offense.
This season, that offense includes freshman Joey Cronin, who was named last week's ASC East
hitter of the week. Cronin is hitting .563, good for third in the conference and has 21 RBIs and a league-leading seven home runs.
“They hit the ball well. They're definitely going to hit the ball and make our defense work,” said Lady Wildcats shortstop Mary Alice Roy, who is hitting .448 on the season and leads the team with 27 RBIs.
Cronin and the potent Texas-Tyler offense will have to face the ASC East pitcher of the week for the last two weeks in Rene' Schwartzenburg, who will look to improve her record to 14-0 and keep her ERA below 0.6.
“We've got great pitching, so I'm not worried. As long as we continue what we're doing, hitting the ball, playing good defense, finding our pitches, we're gonna come out with some wins,” said Roy.
Not to be outdone, Texas-Tyler has two pitchers sandwiching Schwartzenburg for second and fourth on the conference ERA rankings.
Kimber Bossom has a 0.31 ERA, and Stacy Shepard sits at 0.88. The two have combined to go 15-1 so far this season for Texas-Tyler.
The Lady Wildcats are focusing on execution and attacking every pitch and every inning against the Patriots.
“We're taking practice one day at a time. We're working offense, working defense, and trying to get better. I think we'll be very well prepared,” said first baseman Aimee Dubroc.
The national standings are testament to what both teams already know – that the ASC is one of, if not the best softball conference in Division 3, and the quality of play makes for exciting games and great
rivalries.
“You don't get the chance to see the top two teams in the nation play in our backdoor very often, so it's a big honor for the fans to come out and see that,” said Whitman.
