This article was edited to add information on Monday, Feb. 17 at 3:50 p.m.
Looking to start the season strong, Ferris softball opened its season in Honolulu, Hawaii this past week.
The Bulldogs (3-3, 0-0 in GLIAC) dropped their first two games to the Hillsdale Chargers and the Lewis Flyers before winning three of their last four in Honolulu to start the season 3-3.
The star during the team’s time in Hawaii was freshman shortstop Jayden Marlatt, who finished with a .500 batting average (8-for-16), including four extra-base hits, four RBIs, three walks, and two stolen bases.
While the pitching had some work to do, the star pitcher during these games was the sophomore transfer from Davenport, Cecelia Bell. She threw 17 innings to the tune of a 2.88 era and nine strikeouts while tossing a six-inning complete game win against the Lewis Flyers.
Looking ahead the Bulldogs have a week off before traveling to Evansville, Ind. for the Blue Ridge Battle to face off against non-conference opponents.
The Bulldogs will have their hands full during this stretch of games, having to face off against the Indianapolis Greyhounds, who made the NCAA DII National Semifinals last season. Two games later, the Bulldogs take on the Ohio-Dominican Panthers, who themselves made the NCAA DII Midwest Regional before losing to Grand Valley.
Senior third baseman Brooklyn Verbeek is excited about the challenges ahead of the team in Evansville.
“We’re definitely up against some tough competition in Evansville,” Verbeek said. “But we find that more exciting than intimidating. This is a special group of girls, and we can’t wait to get back on the field together, win some games, and hopefully enjoy some decent weather while we’re at it.
The Panthers are led by sophomore third baseman Addie Triplett, hitting .667 (6-for-9) with a 1.414 OPS and two RBIs. If the Bulldogs look to stifle the Panthers in this matchup, it starts with locking down the young star.
While the University of Indianapolis is a challenging team, to sophomore first baseman Alexis Kozlowski, it’s just another game.
“Of course playing UIndy will be a challenge for my team and I,” Kozlowski said. “But me and the team just think of it as yet another normal game, I do not go into the game thinking another team is amazing, it really does not matter who the opponent is, we control our attitude and effort, and if we play to the best of our ability this game will be a dog fight.”
The Bulldogs will need their offense to keep the runs coming in these games, as the offense has scored six or more runs in four of their six games thus far. The pitching needs to stay consistent, as they have allowed six or more runs in three of their six games.
The Bulldogs will have to clean up the number of errors the team is committing if they want to keep up with the Greyhounds and Panthers. In their first six games, the team has committed seven errors, with six occurring in three games. This is something that head coach Jake Schumann spoke about before the season started and continues to be a prevalent issue for Ferris.
Junior catcher Emily Killion knows the team needs to fix its errors, but the team will continue to make adjustments.
”It was our first time playing on dirt and outside since the fall,” Killion said. “We were able to make those adjustments over the first few games, our defense made great plays other than that and handled the ball well.”
Due to weather changes, the Bulldogs have pivoted to a doubleheader against the Tiffin Dragons inside the Rosemont Dome in Chicago. The doubleheader will take place this Thursday, Feb. 20 at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.