By: Maegan Green
The Blazers (5-10) recently traveled to Harrisonburg,PA to face Eastern Mennonite University(15-2). EMU won 9-7.
The match-up was scheduled to be a double-header, but the second game was canceled due to inclement weather.
“I feel great about the EMU game,” said Terry Burdette, head coach of the Blazers. “Their team beat the National DIII runner-up, Christopher Newport University just 2 weeks ago and they have been winning by big margins so playing such a close game against them was a huge building block for our program.”
At bat, Amy Hagerdon (’14) and Emalie Stroup (’12) each registered a double for Hood. Hagerdon, Jackie Yurchak (’15), and Jackie Wenzel (’14) each posted an RBI.
“I think we have improved our hitting mechanics and being much more competitive with the bats,” said Burdette. “Our 7 runs against EMU is testament to the improvement in that area.”
The Blazers played well in the sixth inning, getting six runs on six hits.
“Our six-run sixth inning was our best offensive inning of the year and because it came against a very strong pitcher, that made it even better,” said Burdette. “We sent 11 batters to the plate and had quality at-bats throughout.”
Game two of the double-header has not been rescheduled yet. “We are allowed to schedule 40 regular season games per season,” said Burdette. “It’s not unusual to lose some of those to inclement weather. We have made efforts to pick up additional games to make up for those, but trying to fit them in our schedule hasn’t worked out yet.”
This is Burdette’s first year as head coach of Blazer softball. “I’ve coached fast-pitch softball since 1993, mostly at the travel ball level with the Maryland Heartbreakers where my teams have won 640 games and finished in the top 10 in the nation seven times,” said Burdette.
“I also served as an assistant coach at Mount Saint Mary’s University for three years and helped at Walkersville High School for 8 seasons including a State championship in 1999,” he added. “I love coaching and being at Hood as the full-time softball coach has been a great experience for me.”
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