front page this issue!
Megan Luna
The Start of a Tradition
Road to Playoffs
Once those cleats step in between the bright white chalk lines, it is time to get the job done. Day in and day out, it is the same story; ground ball after ground ball, and swing after swing. The game is about repetition, doing the little things right. This year, CSU Monterey Bay’s (CSUMB) softball team has been doing things right.
The Otters finished the regular season with a record of 35-24, and an even stronger record of 20-12 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) conference. They secured the No. 2 seed in the CCAA Tournament in a first day sweep against University of California of San Diego (UCSD). CSUMB will make its second consecutive appearance in four years to the CCAA Tournament.
“Of course you want to take conference, but I am very happy with our accomplishments and second-place finish,” said Head Coach Andrea Kenny. “There is nothing to be ashamed of,” Kenny started with the first-year program in 2005. In only its fourth year, the softball team has established itself as the most successful team in school history.
This season’s second-place finish marked the highest team finish in season. The Otters also dominated offensively this season, as one of the top two teams in almost every offensive category in the conference.
Additionally, sophomore catcher Shae Olds broke the single-season CCAA homerun record against UCSD with a total of 15. Olds was named Worth’s CCAA’s Softball Player of the Week, for the week of April 20-26. It marked the sixth time out of the 12 weeks of nominations that an Otter has received this honor. “I did not even know I was close [to the record] till this series,” said Olds, a Kinesiology major. “I was just focused on and want to be the first team to win a conference championship tournament for our school.”
With all their accomplishments, it is hard to believe the softball program did not have a field on campus or a place to call “home” until last year. “[We] overcame a lot of obstacles; it was good to have no pressure on us at first. We were able to just go out and play our game,” said senior Ashlee Trotter, Human Communication major, who has started every game with the program, thusfar. “With our new field we finally learned how to play and win as a team.”
Last year, the Otters had a turn around year for the program, with a fourth-place finish in conference and a second-place regional ranking. “There was a lot of pressure coming off of last year to do well.” said Kenny.
Yet it was a different story this year; the Otters exceeded that expectation and more. The softball team claimed the university's first CCAA Team Championship. The Otters are the 2009 CCAA Softball Tournament Champions and will represent the CCAA as the automatic qualifier for the NCAA Regional Tournament for the 2009 season.
