Through both physical and mental training, the team is gearing up for regionals in late April
Jake Balmer
Staff Writer
Aluminum bat strikes ball, ball hops from dirt to infield glove and encouraging chatter floats around the ever-repeating cycle; “It’s alright, you got this, there you go.” These are the sounds of spring, 
playing out on college campuses across America, among them howling winds and light raindrops on the dugout roof. In fact, in describing the STLCC softball season so far, head coach Kristi Swiderski could not have been quicker to answer “rain.”
“We’ve had at least 14 games cancelled this year…It’s been really hard to stay in a groove at times, when one day we’re playing and the next day it’s rain,” Swiderski said. “We’re forced inside, where the gym floor is a lot different than dirt and it limits what we can do practicing fly balls.”
Nevertheless, the club has dominated this year, posting a 20-9 record at press time. This is in no small part due to their high-powered offense; the team has .325 batting average and scores six runs per game. First baseman Sarah Goers even chose “dingers” (slang for home runs) as her word to encapsulate this year’s campaign, though a complete offensive game is the main goal.
“Homers are rally stoppers, so we look for more line drives to collect more hits, just put the ball in play and get more people on base, so when we do get homers, they’re even better,”
Goers said.
The high offensive output is a testament to coaches devoting much of practice to hitting all kind of pitches, inside and outside, fast and offspeed, as well as strength training.
“We have a really good weight training program that the girls have bought into, where we work on power and being explosive,” Swiderski said. “Some of them are hitting home runs for the first time in their lives and it’s really fun to see them grow in their strength.”
Swiderski named several players who have become key contributors as a result of their improvements; Sadiya Collins, who came to Meramec as a below average hitter and now takes up the third spot in the batting order; Morgan Moss, who “always had bat speed” but now leads the team in home runs with seven, some of which “are still gone” and Anna Counts, who can drop a bunt for a base hit or hit a ball in the gap for a triple anytime she wants. Just as important to winning as putting the bat on the ball and properly fielding ground balls, however, is the mental aspect of the game and not letting a mistake on one part of the field lead to another one later on.
“We might have all the ability in the world, but the biggest challenge is our mindsets, our attitudes and not letting our heads get in the way,” outfielder and first basemen Eva Rasey said. “We always try to
pick each other up. If someone does make an error we say ‘It’s fine, you’ll get the next one.’”
Of course, the other side of staying mentally sharp on the field is staying mentally sharp off of it, which includes making safe choices and getting plenty of rest on the weekends, and most importantly grades, one of the main components Swiderski deals with as head coach. She cites work ethic, time management and intensity as qualities that softball instills in players that will help them in their jobs and lives after softball.
“Both on and off the field, [the coaches] are on us with grades, the next schools we’re going to, family lives, everything,” pitcher and outfielder Chloe Johnson said. “I came here to play softball because of the coaching style; there’s a lot of one-on-one time with the coaches and it’s a family atmosphere.”
Consistency of coaches is the main aspect of the team that Swiderski credits for the recent success. Where, in the past, several head coaches in a row would often be with the team for as little as a year, Swiderski and her husband, assistant coach Joe Swiderski, are committed to making sure every STLCC softball player is taken care of to ensure their greatest overall success.
“We push them, we push them to be better than they thought they could be… We had a lot of freshman last year who had no intention of playing a second year and here they are,” Swiderski said. “It’s neat for them to see that we as coaches believe in them and their ability. We’re just blue collar workers; we work hard, we’re scrappy and we get it done.”
A key turning point for the team this year was the spring break tournament in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Last year’s group went 7-1 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina over spring break, but Swiderski said that tournament was against primarily below average competition and gave them a false sense of what they were as a team. This year, however, saw STLCC facing Division 1 teams with national rankings, winning several games, and confirming that if they can win there, they can win here, and they have done just that, unifying as a team throughout the whole process. The goal for the team now is to win regionals, beginning April 28. STLCC lost in the last inning of the regional championship game last season, a hard pill to swallow, but the team is confident looking forward
from here.
“We beat everyone in our region already, so we know we can beat them. It’s just a mindset of getting there, doing it, executing, not making mental mistakes, being consistent,” Goers said.
