With the five biggest games of the season just over the horizon for the Lady Bulls of the softball team, everything seems to be falling right into place for head coach Ken Ericksen. There are many emotions stirring in the clubhouse this week approaching a season-defining doubleheader tomorrow at home against Notre Dame, but the most prevalent is excitement. Coach Ericksen has seen success in the past in USF's Conference USA days, but this team has something special about it.
Ericksen recalls the beginning of this season, calling the early games a "baptism by fire", talking about USF's faceoffs with perennial power teams such as Florida, Michigan, Alabama, and Texas A&M. Ericksen believes that the young team has the talent and the heart to compete with these nationally recognized teams. When asked about the way the schedule affected the team's development, he replied "It worked out great. A chance to play against these teams is great." The coach has found a groove with his current lineup, winning 15 of the last 16 games. "You don't mess with a streak," he said, noting that whatever he's doing with the team right now, he's doing it right. USF has a chance to make it to the postseason for the first time since 2008, but Ericksen says without winning the conference, he doesn't know what else he would need to do to turn heads. "35 is a good number of wins for us this year....after that, I have no idea what the committee is looking for in a team. It changes every year. They could be looking at RPI or Strength of Schedule, I don't know." The University has put in a bid to host a regional event for the NCAA Tournament. Ericksen believes that it would help the NCAA to have a team from the East side of the country with an excellent Strength of Schedule and a brand new facility to host an event as big as a championship round.
One of the keystones for the Bulls' success this year has been the offensive showing by Gina Kafalas. At the #1 spot in the lineup and the most productive batter on the team, it would be easy to assume the Junior was a leader for the team, but she doesn't quite see it that way. "I'm not really the one to go around the dugout pumping people up, but I do what I can at the plate to get my teammates excited." Kafalas leads the Bulls' offense in several categories, including batting average (.380) and runs scored (47). With a season highlighted by stunning pitching, she says it makes her job easier to just watch Sara Nevins and Lindsey Richardson do their thing. "Sometimes I get bored out there in the outfield, with so many strikeouts". As a junior, she is somewhat of a minority on the team, as more than half of the squad is made up of Freshmen and Sophomores. She believes that Coach Ericksen has "a lot to look forward to in the future, and with the new facilities, recruiting can only go up from here".
With the biggest doubleheader of most of this team's career so far coming up tomorrow, I'm hoping to see those seats all filled with Green and Gold. The first pitch of game 1 is at 11:00 a.m., followed by a scheduled first pitch of game 2 at 1:00. This is the last chance to see the ladies play in the home stadium this year, and it's only right to give them a proper farewell. After the doubleheader, USF will have ten days of rest before flying to Chicago for what may very well be the deciding three-game series for the #1 seed in the Big East championship tournament.
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