Set to begin the season this weekend at the USC Upstate Classic, the Ohio softball team hopes to get off to a strong start and continue its recent success on the field.
Ohio is coming off a 26-23 season, in which it won the Mid-American Conference East Division, but fell to Western Michigan in the conference championship series.
The Bobcats have six freshmen this season after losing five letter winners to graduation. Most notably, Ohio lost Emily Wethington and Melissa Bonner, who each batted better than .330 and combined to hit 13 home runs. Both also pitched for the Bobcats last season.
Despite losing three of its top hitters in the lineup, Ohio coach Jodi Hermanek says she is confident that the team’s new arrivals will fill the voids in the rotation and lineup.
“We have a lot of depth in the roster as a whole and are very athletic with some good, young players,” Hermanek said. “My players have practiced hard all winter and we are ready to go out on the field and win.”
One of the expected leaders for Ohio will be senior Alexis Joseph, who recorded a .285 batting average and drove in 16 runs last season. Joseph is one of only three seniors on the very young Bobcat team, which consists of 11 underclassmen.
The tournament this weekend at USC Upstate will be the first of five consecutive out-of-state tournaments for the Bobcats. After their trip to South Carolina, the team will travel to North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia before heading back to South Carolina during spring break.
“This is just part of being a student-athlete and doing it for four straight weeks will be hard, but it comes with the job,” Hermanek said. “The players have to keep their priorities straight. I’ve told them we need to focus on health, academics and softball. Nothing else matters.”
Ohio begins USC Upstate tournament play at 2 p.m. Friday against St. Bonaventure, before playing two more games Saturday and another Sunday morning against St. Bonaventure, Detroit and USC Upstate.
cl027410@ohiou.edu
Up Next:
USC Upstate Classic
OHIO vs. St. Bonaventure, Detroit and USC Upstate
— This is the first tournament of season for Bobcats.
— Ohio will play four games in three days.
— The Bobcats were picked to finish third in MAC East preseason poll.
