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Keene State softball team starts spring practice
KEENE, N.H. 2/2/12 – The Keene State softball team got to celebrate Christmas for the second consecutive month last Monday. "The night before the start of spring practice is like Christmas eve for us," said Samantha Pratt, a senior pitcher from Bristol, Conn. "We can't wait to throw the ball around again."
While the presents under the two netted batting cages in the far end of the Keene State's recreation gym might look familiar – an assortment of balls and bats and various hitting machines – the players don't mind. There's no place they'd rather be.
Charlie Beach, starting his 27th season as head coach of the Owls, goes right to work, soft tossing to one of his players. Just as Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter, the Owls have six weeks to train before beginning their season in Florida. "It comes around quickly," Beach said.
Even on the first day, Beach's practice ran like clockwork, with players switching from station to station or heading up to the weight room. "I'm just trying to refine some of the stuff I didn't think we did well last year," he said.
Before taking their first swings in the cage, hitters work on hand-eye coordination, increasing their bat speed, and refocusing their hitting eye. One of the stations is for ocular training. Hitters watch balls go by and must determine the color of each ball. As the days progress, the speed increases and players are also asked to ascertain the number on each ball. "It's tedious and it gets frustrating at times, but in the end it's definitely worth it," said Haley Chandler, a senior All-LEC shortstop from Wakefield, Mass. "In games, we actually implement things we do here. It might seem boring, but you actually start seeing things better."
Pitchers begin ramping up their arms for the season. "We start off doing about 150 pitches per day," Pratt said. "Even though I'm a closer and I throw one or two innings, I still have to be in the same condition as the starters."
Beach has a lot of decisions to make before the team heads south. Unlike last year, when he had 30 Owl hopefuls, Beach has a more manageable 20 trying out this season, including five pitchers. With a senior-laden roster, Beach must address the turnover after this season and decide if the seven freshmen trying out can help him this season as well as down the road.
One of those freshmen, Katie Newell, an outfielder from Shoreham, N.Y., says the veteran players have made her feel right at home. "It's really nice meeting the older players," she said. "I learned so much from them during the fall season."
Regardless of their tenure on the team, one thing hasn't changed. "Every player has to make the team every year," said Beach. "The best players play."
After finishing last season with a 29-12-1 (9-5 LEC) record and capturing its third consecutive ECAC New England championship, Keene State, picked seocnd in the LEC preseason poll, hopes to return to the NCAA tournament this season.
"There's definitely a little bit of urgency, especially for the seniors, but we're not going to let it get to us," said Chandler. "You have to take it one game at a time and not get ahead of yourself."
"We've been talking about it for years, but we're ready," said Pratt. "We know what we have to do to get there."
The road to the NCAA is tough, especially in the Little East Conference, which sent three teams to the tournament last year, with Eastern Conn. State advancing to the final four. "We lost 12 games last year and seven were in our conference," said Beach. "It's just hard. But we wouldn't have it any other way."
