Hood softball and baseball headed down south to Florida for a series of competitions over spring break from March 13 to 18.
Baseball participated in the Florida Coast Spring Training in Fort Pierce, Florida.
“Competing down in Florida gives us a great opportunity to play against teams that we wouldn’t necessarily play in a regular non-conference game due to location,” Assistant Coach Nate Kessler said.
The men went 2-5 against the competition in Fort Pierce. The team split a double header on the first day with Franciscan University.
Dutch Deprospero, who was named conference pitcher of the week for three consecutive weeks, threw a one-hit shutout against Franciscan. This led to a season high for the first-year pitcher.
Infielder Alex Jenkins had an impressive game against Western Connecticut State, where he helped secure a win for the Blazers. During the game, Jenkins earned four season highs, including two doubles that led to two scoring runs.
“The next goal as the team comes back from Florida is to prepare for the conference portion of our schedule,” Kessler said.
Baseball returns to Frederick with an overall season record of 7-11. The next half of the season will consist solely of conference games.
The team will host its first conference games on March 29 and April 1 against Messiah University. Following those games, the team will travel to Eastern University for a double-header on April 2.
Meanwhile, the softball team participated in The Spring Games, the largest softball competition in the country. The women finished with a winning record, going 6-3 during the trip.
Sophomore infielder Mallorie Hetzel tied the school record for most hits in a single game. Hetzel had four hits against the College of Wooster, going 4 for 4 at the plate. She shares the record with senior teammate Cailyn Barthlow. Barthlow first tied the record last year in April against York College.
First-year pitcher Rebecca Gottleib and senior outfielder Brandi Davidson both had impressive games during the trip.
Gottleib broke seven of her personal season records during the trip. In a victory over Rhodes College, Gottleib threw a shutout; she was also named MAC Commonwealth pitcher of the week earlier this month and leads the team with an earned running average of 1.84.
Davidson scored two runs from her three doubles in the win against Utica College. This led to Davidson tying the school record for most doubles in a single game.
“We got some great contributions from veteran and new players,” head coach Terry Burdette said of the trip.
The softball team ended its spring break trip with an overall season record of 7-7. The team will face Marymount University in a double-header on March 30 and host a conference match against Eastern on April 2.
“Our goal is to compete with the best teams in the MAC Commonwealth and earn a playoff spot,” Burdette said.
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