by Ellen Rossow

rossowel@mnstate.edu

While a spring break in Florida is traditionally spent on a beach, basking in the  southern sun, the Dragon softball team spent its week off sunbathing on a diamond. Arriving in the Sunshine State with a 2-5 record and leaving Florida 7-9, the team is ready for upcoming conference play.

“This spring break was a great time to work out jitters for the season and see who has come to play,” junior designated hitter Kristina Villalobos said.

The week started off with a 6-1  loss to Grand Valley State followed by a 5-0 win against St. Thomas Aquinas March 12. 

The following day started with a 2-0 loss to Pace University and continued with a 4-1 win against Mercy College. March 14 and 16 saw losses for the Dragons against Wayne State, Franklin Pierce University, and Southern New Hampshire University.

Despite the rollercoaster start, the Dragons finished their trip with a three-game winning streak against Philadelphia, Franklin Pierce and St. Michael’s.

During the winning stretch, MSUM was led by senior designated hitter Kristy Bruni, who went 7-for-10 with seven RBIs and two home runs.

For Villalobos, “each player brings their own talent to the team.”

“This year, we are a fast team, so once we are on base, we have the opportunity to steal to score,” she said. “When we get ahold of the ball, we are a great hitting team. Our pitchers do well on the mound striking girls out.”

She thinks team communication has also played a role in their success. 

“We are doing great as a team; communication with one another has been great,” she said.

Villalobos sees losses as learning opportunities.

“As a team, we look back on the games we played and work on what we didn’t do well,” she said.

Villalobos knows the team has “some small things” to improve on.

“We can definitely work on stringing hits together to score more runs,” she said.

The women have a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference doubleheader with Northern State University scheduled Tuesday, weather permitting.