Celia East, Guest Contributor EMORY, Va. — Emory & Henry’s softball team is in full swing. Preseason is officially over and the season began this past weekend with their first scheduled game on Saturday, Feb. 8 being cancelled due to inclement weather. The team's second and third exhibition games were against Montreat College in North Carolina on Sunday. According to GoWasps, the preseason ranked the team as second in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) rankings with 85 points, right behind Virginia Wesleyan University in first with 99 points and above University of Lynchburg in third with 84 points. The team won their first two exhibition games on Sunday, Feb. 9, the first one ending with 5-0 in E&H’s favor and the second game ending with 5-1 in E&H’s favor as well. According to GoWasps, they had 30 overall strikeouts and three home runs between the two games. Cam Derr, a junior pitcher, said, “Just based off [of] those games, I think we have a really good shot at being successful this season. We saw some really good things … We still have a lot to work on, but being our first contest of the season, I’m excited to see what these first few months have in store for us.” Head Coach Tommy Forrester is expecting great things from the team this season. “The team is very talented, hard-working and coachable. We are confident going into the season and excited to represent our college,” said Forrester. According to GoWasps, after finishing fifth in ODAC rankings at the end of the 2018 season, the team brought it up to second with last season and has been working toward victory ever since. Although some players have graduated and newer players have joined, the team still stands strong; Coach Forrester is maintaining the style of play and practice which he has coached for the past couple of years. “You may see a few new faces on the diamond for us this season along with some familiar faces, but our style of play and what we believe as a program remains the same,” said Forrester. “The student athletes on our team have committed to academics, the weight room and softball this off-season. I’m excited for them to have the opportunity to put their skills and talents on display on game day.” Emory & Henry softball’s first non-exhibition games will be Friday, Feb. 14–Sunday, Feb. 16 at the Birmingham-Southern College Classic in Alabama. Their first home games will be against the Salem College Spirits on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 1 p.m. and later at 3 p.m.
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March 2020
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