Placing their feet on the field for the first time this season, the members of the Oberlin softball team faced four tough opponents in their opening matches. The team had travelled to Centre, KY with only nine players.

The first team the Yeowomen played proved to be too much. The short-staffed team did its best to compete against Coe College, which is ranked 14th in the country in softball. The team lost 1-27 with the sole run being scored by first-year Syrea Thomas off an RBI from junior Michelle Zanni.

Zanni commented that she thought Thomas was “awesome at the plate. She had some really good at-bats and was really aggressive on the bases.” Despite Thomas’s aggressiveness, the team struggled to put runs on the scoreboard and lost the second game with a score of 3-14 to Translylvania University. Junior Ruth Allanbrook had an RBI triple and first-year Scarlet Woodrick added an RBI double.

 “I think the team played well, especially considering that it was our first time outside this year,” Allanbrook said. “We definitely still have a lot to work on in the field and also at the plate, but the main purpose for our trip to Kentucky was as a learning experience, and I think we all learned a lot and will continue to improve throughout the season. I think we just need to get our confidence up and believe that we can be competitors.”

Oberlin dropped both double headers on Sunday. The Yeowomen battled Case Western Reserve to an 0-8 loss and then lost to Wilmington College 2-10. However, Zanni had another great day at the plate and handled herself well on the mound. She was able to hit one RBI and strike out three players for the day.

The team was satisfied with its performance, since it had not competed on a real field until this tournament. Allanbrook said that she “felt good about our playing. We only had nine players for nine positions, and we all played the entire four games this weekend.”

The Yeowomen are plagued by short numbers. They only have 10 players on the team, and only nine traveled to Kentucky. According to Zanni, “We only had nine players, whereas everyone else had 14-plus players. We definitely have a lot of talent, probably more talent than some of the teams we played, and I think we had the most ‘spirit.’”

The team looks to take its “spirit” and  two-week break from games to continue to develop team chemistry as it prepares for another attempt to garner its first win on March 15 against Lake Erie College.