Head coach takes the season ‘one game at a time.’
By: Ashley Biundo, Editor-In-Chief
STLCC Archers began the 2020 Softball season with a record of 3-1. Head Coach Kristi Swiderski said that their seasons have the same expectations as past seasons, which focuses heavily on making it to nationals.
“We’ve got a different mix of girls this year, a lot more speed, a lot more girls that can run and can force the other team to make errors,” she said. “But we’ve also got our big dogs back that can hit the ball over the fence. It’s a good mix and I definitely think that we can repeat what we did last year.”
It’s a new season, but the same rivals for the Archers’ softball team, said Swiderski.
“Jefferson [College], obviously because we competed against them. They’ve been labelled the number one team in St. Louis although we came in and have won six out of the eight times we faced them. So, that’s a must win for us,” Swiderski said. “Lewis and Clark [College] is another one team we play. They bring their game up when they play us so they’re definitely a team that we can’t overlook.”
A solid defense and speed is what the Archers have this season, said Swiderski. “Girls that can get on base and then hitting is always always a strength for us,” she said. “We’ve got some home run hitters and little ones that can just run around the bases,” she said.
Even with a strong defense and speed, the players have been dealing with injuries, said Swiderski. Fourteen out of 21 girls are able to play right now, she said.
“We just have a lot of injuries this year that we have to play carefully so that we don’t make injuries worse. The injuries are basically what our weaknesses are going to be,” said Swiderski. “We’ve got
a couple girls that have shoulder issues that actually do require surgery. It’s gonna be one game at a time, one pitch at a time to keep us together.”
Swiderski said that education is always first, though. “You’re not going to be able to play softball forever. And I’ve got kids that have had extra credit or study sessions. If it happens to be in the middle of practice, they go,” she said. “Unexpected injuries can cause you to lose your career a little bit sooner.”
The Archers softball has had a good year GPA wise, according to Swiderski. “We had a great GPA and we are congratulated by our AD [Athletic Director] for really good GPA averages. The girls know where their focus is,” she said.
