After dropping three of four games last weekend, the Ohio softball team is looking to get back to its opening-weekend success during the upcoming Cavalier Invitational.
Last weekend, the Bobcats (4-4) scored only eight runs in four games at the Hampton Inn Invitational, but coach Jodi Hermanek said she is confident her team will bounce back after a good, short week of practice.
“We wanted to take a lot of the pressure off our hitting this week in practice,” Hermanek said. “I think our batters are too tense when hitting, so we just tried to practice situations, but not over think.”
This week the team was able to practice outside on the turf at Peden Stadium, something that Hermanek said is unusual at this time of year, but was a great help to be able to see the ball moving outside.
The Cavalier Invitational is the third of five consecutive weekend tournaments on the road to begin the year for Ohio, making it tough to practice between games with only two non-travel days a week.
This weekend’s tournament in Virginia will begin Friday afternoon and is full of tough competition for the Bobcats.
Ohio will begin the weekend tournament with a doubleheader against the host Virginia Cavaliers Friday. This season, the Cavaliers are already off to a strong 6-2 start and have outscored their opposition 44-15.
On Saturday afternoon, the Bobcats will play a split doubleheader against Colgate and St. Joseph’s at 3 and 5:30 p.m.
Colgate, who the Bobcats will also play Sunday, has not played yet in 2012. But the Raiders were picked to finish in second place in the preseason Patriot League poll.
St. Joseph’s (3-1), the fourth team of the tournament, already played Ohio this season in last weekend’s tournament. The Bobcats won 2-1 after a comeback in the bottom of the sixth inning.
“The goal is to win every game, but we need to be less tense and finish the same way we start,” Hermanek said. “This is our first five-game tournament of the season and it will be key for us to play at the same intensity in each and every game.”
cl027410@ohiou.edu
UP NEXT:
Cavalier Invitational
Friday
OHIO vs. Virginia (DH)
Saturday
OHIO vs. Colgate
OHIO vs. Saint Joseph’s
Sunday
OHIO vs. Colgate
