Although there may be snow on the ground here at Gustavus, that doesn’t mean that the Gustavus softball team hasn’t been hard at work inside of Lund in preparation for another season. Less than one year ago, the Gusties were named the MIAC playoff champions and partook in the national tournament. Since that time, nearly half of the starting lineup of that team has graduated. This leaves this year’s softball squad with many fresh faces hoping to make an impact this season. Although the players from last year may differ from last season, the expectations for this season most definitely do not, as the Gusties came in second in the MIAC preseason coach’s poll.

“We expect to make the top 4 in the MIAC and win the MIAC tourney, which would put us into the NCAA post-season. This team is really looking forward to the season and wants to build off last year’s success,” Head Coach Jeff Annis said. As for the players, they share the same high expectations.

“Coming off a great 2015 season, I would say my expectations are set rather high this year. Although we graduated many players last year, I am very confident in the returners and the new faces that have joined the GAC softball team. Winning the MIAC last year was a major accomplishment and is always a goal within the program, as well as going beyond the MIAC, making an appearance at regionals and nationals,” Junior Rachel Malo said.

Malo, who was named a captain of this year’s team, admits that seeing the large senior class of last year’s team leave was sad, but like her head coach, she feels that this year’s team has adjusted to the change in many ways. “The returners have stepped into leading roles not only defensively and offensively, but also off the field. A major goal for the softball team this year is to play and win as a team, and with that comes a major emphasis on team chemistry and understanding each other as both athletes and individuals,” Malo said.

As for the senior class of this team, there will most definitely be a different feel to this season compared to those in the past. An interview with senior Jess Williams assured this. “Personally, my main goal for the season is to remain positive no matter what happens, just have fun, and leave it all on the field.  I know I’ll never get another opportunity to play softball at the collegiate level and with the amazing players on the team so I’m going to give it all I’ve got and hopefully in the end I won’t have any regrets,” Williams said.

The Gusties hope for a repeat of the success of the previous season, and believe that the feat is most definitely attainable. However, things must be taken one game at a time.

“As for the team, the ultimate goal is continuing past Regionals and hopefully making it to the National Tournament this year.  But in order to do that, we need to take it game by game and focus on the small tasks at hand,” Williams said.

Williams went on to explain how much work has been put since the end of last season by the members of the team, including fall practices, strength and conditioning programs, drills, and more. The sport of softball is truly a year round commitment here at Gustavus.

This past weekend, all of the team’s hard work in the offseason paid off in the team’s first competition of the season. The team handily defeated UW-Stevens Point and UW-River Falls in an indoor bubble at Rochester Community and Technical College. The victory over Stevens Point marked Head Coach Jeff Annis’ 300th victory. “Milestones are always nice to reach. Reaching 300 wins in 10 years means I have coached some good ball players over those years. So much of the credit needs to go to them,” Coach Annis said.

Although it is nice to play somewhere other than the Lund Center Blue, the team is anxious for warmer weather to get outside and play some ball. “As a junior in college now, I have finally come to accept the fact the Minnesota weather is not ideal for softball players, but working around the weather has almost become a second nature. Although the Rochester dome does not have the features of a traditional softball field, it beats the blue and green floors of the Lund center here at Gustavus. I think I am safe to speak for the team and say that we were all anxious to get out of our bubble on top of the hill and face teams other than each other,” Malo said.

The Gusties next take the field this Saturday in the RCTC bubble once again. Their outdoor season begins when the team takes a spring trip down to Tucson, Arizona just before spring break. As the season progresses, the Gusties will continue to work to make their aspirations of back-to-back MIAC Titles and National Tournament berths a reality.