GRAYSON PRATHER | STAFF REPORTER
The Butler softball team opens up its season on Feb. 6 against Loyola University at the Rosemont Rumble. But the Bulldogs have already started the training and preparation they need to be ready for the season.
Head coach Scott Hall says that the softball team’s ability to practice is all dependant on the weather and what is available.
“There is nothing normal about it,” Hall said. “We are at the mercy of the weather and the facilities, so we just try to make do with the best that we can and if the weather’s in the upper 30s or 40s, we can get out on the football field and go through some stuff. Otherwise, we are kind of stuck indoors in our hitting facility.”
Senior 2014 All-Big East First Team infielder Kristen Boros also mentioned the temperature restrictions that influenced whether the team would be outside or not.
“We practice six times a week for about two to two-and-a-half hours,” Boros said. “Right now, it depends on weather, how much we go outside or how much we do. If it is below 35, we will not go outside; but if it is above 35, we will.”
Hall says their goals for this season are to improve on last year’s run and contend for a Big East title.
“I would say our goal for each and every year is to be in a position to compete for a Big East title,” Hall said. “We came up a little short last year, being tied for fourth, so we would like to improve on that.”
Boros added to the team’s goals this year by saying that she would like for herself and her teammates to improve from years’ past.
“Our main goal is to make it to the tournament,” Boros said, “because the past two years, we have missed it by one game. But we just want to be in the top of our division. We are ranked fourth, but we hope to end first or second going into the tournament. We started off a little rough in the beginning of the season the past couple years, and one of our goals is to have a winning record going into the conference.”
Hall knows that although they had a fairly successful season last year, there is always room for improvement, especially in their plate appearances and slugging.
“I think our power numbers need to improve,” Hall said. “I think we only had something like 18 home runs last year, so we need to do a better job of putting balls on the other side of the fence, which means we need to be a little more aggressive at the plate and have a better game plan when we step in the box.”
Hall knows that the team is going into this season confident and ready to use its experience to put the Bulldogs in the competition for a Big East title.
“We are still kind of young but we have just got a lot experience,” Hall said. “So. hopefully, we have quite a few leaders on the team. And this is our second year in the Big East, so we kind of have a better idea of what to expect out of the conference, so we fully expect to be up there and competing for a Big East title.”
