Hood softball and baseball headed down south to Florida for a series of competitions over spring break from March 13 to 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baseball participated in the Florida Coast Spring Training in Fort Pierce, Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCompeting down in Florida gives us a great opportunity to play against teams that we wouldn\u2019t necessarily play in a regular non-conference game due to location,\u201d Assistant Coach Nate Kessler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The men went 2-5 against the competition in Fort Pierce. The team split a double header on the first day with Franciscan University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.
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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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe next goal as the team comes back from Florida is to prepare for the conference portion of our schedule,\u201d Kessler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baseball returns to Frederick with an overall season record of 7-11. The next half of the season will consist solely of conference games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First-year pitcher Rebecca Gottleib and senior outfielder Brandi Davidson both had impressive games during the trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe got some great contributions from veteran and new players,\u201d head coach Terry Burdette said of the trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur goal is to compete with the best teams in the MAC Commonwealth and earn a playoff spot,\u201d Burdette said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"