Augustana Softball began their season in Clermont, Florida, following last season where they tied for 6th in the CCIW. They came back to Augustana with a record of 8-2.
Senior Shelby Grandt talked about the trip and what they took from their experience.
“We showed a lot of passion, determination, and drive which showed in our overall success. Playing 17 games within 8 days is not an easy task but we took it as an opportunity to get better and learn more about ourselves and what we need to work on heading into the rest of the season.”
They are looking for this successful trip to give them a strong push into the beginning of the season.
There were multiple takeaways that give the girls a good look forward to the rest of the year. Junior Marissa Catalano expanded on these.
“Our biggest takeaways from Florida is that talent-wise, we are ready and we are good, but still have room for improvement as we roll through the season. Also, our chemistry off the field helped us immensely on the field.”
Shelby Grandt also talked about takeaways from an attitude point of view.
“One of the biggest takeaways is that we have to play loose. We are a very goofy team and do our best when we are laughing and having a good time. Where we get ourselves into trouble is when we are not talking and taking things too seriously.”
The girls are looking for this positive attitude to help them in all aspects of the game. With this positive attitude and the closeness of the team comes the close dynamic they all share.
Marissa Catalano expanded more on the team chemistry.
“The teammate dynamic I’d say is very cohesive and supportive. What I mean by that is we work well together as one unit and are always looking to help each other out instead of just trying to get better personally. I think a big part of having those qualities as a team is due to all of us individually trying to stay humble.”
This type of dynamic drives the goals for their season as Shelby Grandt explains.
“Our goals moving forward are not only to win games but to continue to get better. If we learn from our mistakes, communicate, and trust each other, our season will go very well. This team is incredibly motivated to make it to this years’ conference tournament as we have not made it the last couple of seasons and I believe we all see that we can go much farther than that this year.”
With the team as close as they are and the clear goals the girls have, this hot start the team has gotten off to will most likely continue.