Scots Wrap-Up Spring Trip in the Sunshine State

Andrea Kelley picked up her first NCAC Pitcher of the Week honor during the Scots' first week in Florida, posting a 3-3 record with a 2.35 ERA and 27 strikeouts.

The College of Wooster softball team completed its spring training trip in Ft. Myers, Fla.  last week, returning home with an overall record of 6-10. After kicking off the first half of the trip with a 4-6 record, the Fighting Scots went 2-4 in its remaining six games, highlighted by wins over D’Youville College and Hamline University.

On March 18, the Scots began week two in Florida with a 5-4 victory over D’Youville, led by sophomore Katie Pifer’s complete game, five strikeout performance on the mound and sophomore Courtney Joliat’s 2-for-3 showing at the plate, while also taking advantage of four D’Youville errors. In the nightcap, Wooster squared off with Bowdoin College for the second time in four days, this time dropping a 4-0 decision, collecting only three hits in the shutout. Freshman Andrea Kelley went the distance on the mound, scattering eight hits over six innings, while striking out five and walking two.

After a day’s rest, the Scots were back on the field March 20 for a doubleheader with Fredonia State University, falling in both ends of the twinbill by scores of 4-2, and 8-1.  In the first game, junior Ali Barone led Wooster, going 2-for-4 at the plate, but visitors scored two unearned runs on two Scot errors to win by a two-run margin. In the nightcap, the Wooster defense committed four errors and Fredonia smacked six hits en route to the seven-run victory.

In its final day of competition, the Scots met Hamline in doubleheader action, suffering a 9-0 blanking in game one and rebounding to win game two by a score of 5-1.  In the first contest, the Hamline bats came alive, pounding out 12 hits, while Wooster managed only three hits in the mercy-rule-shortened game.  The Scots bounced back in the nightcap, led by senior Maria Gonzalez’s 2-for-3, two-RBI showing at the plate and Kelley’s complete-game seven-strikeout performance on the mound. Hamline aided the Scots’ efforts by committing four errors in the contest.

Through 16 games thus far in the season, Wooster is hitting a .241 clip as a team, smacking 21 extra-base hits in 411 appearances at the plate, while driving home 49 runs and snagging 11 stolen bases. The Scots’ opponents are batting .312 with 33 extra-base hits in 436 appearances at the plate, driving home 68 runs and swiping 22 bases.

Leading Wooster at the plate during the two-week stint was sophomore speedster Kate Kiley, who bunted and slapped her way to a .340 average (17-for-50) with five RBI and seven walks, in addition to swiping a team-high four stolen bases.  Gonzalez led the team in slugging percentage (.469) with three extra-base hits and eight RBI, while hitting a .281 clip (9-for-32) with seven walks.

Also aiding Scots’ bat attack was freshman Renee Fox, who drove home a team-high nine RBI, while batting .278 (10-for-36). Junior Katelynn Caywood wasn’t far behind, clubbing four-extra base knocks and collecting four RBI, en route to a .270 batting average (10-for-37), while senior Eva Lyon was 9-for-34 (.265) at the plate and drove home two runs.

Anchoring the young Wooster pitching staff was Kelley, who earned the first North Coast Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week honor of 2007 after getting her career off to a 3-3 start in the first week of the trip, with a 2.35 ERA, striking out 27 batters over 38.2 innings of work. Overall, Kelley finished the trip with a 4-4 record on the mound, compiling a 2.18 ERA, while striking out 39 batters and walking only 12 in 51.2 innings of action. In addition, Pifer fanned 29 batters in 48.1 innings of work, while compiling a 2-6 record with a 4.63 ERA during the trip.

The Scots look to chalk up a few more wins this week, where they will face regional foes Marietta College, John Carroll University and Bethany College, all in scheduled twinbills. Wooster will take on the Pioneers in its home-opener Tuesday at 3 p.m. before taking to the road against the Blue Streak on Thursday at 3 p.m. and the Bison on Sunday at 1 p.m.